Month: August 2014

For seventy years, one of the critical foundations of American power has been the dollar’s standing as the world’s most important currency. For the last forty years, a pillar of dollar primacy has been the greenback’s dominant role in international energy markets. Today, China is leveraging its rise as an economic power, and as the … Continue reading “The Rise of the Petroyuan and the Slow Erosion of Dollar Hegemony”

Fighting raged in Sinjar today where Peshmerga forces began their campaign to retake the Sinjar, which they call Shengal. Iraqi forces bombed parts of the city and other nearby locations. Militants, however, are removing victims from Sinjar and executing them deeper within their consolidated territory. One Yazidi spokesperson claimed that thousands were already slaughtered. That has not been independently confirmed, yet. At least 457 people were killed and 63 were wounded.

For all the hands shaken and hamburgers eaten, President Obama has never quite shaken his reputation for detachment. He is the “cool” president who doesn’t lose his temper even when he should. He is the former constitutional law professor who is too “academic” for the Oval Office. He uses his brain when he should be … Continue reading “Is Obama Really Adrift in the World?”

President Obama announced last week that he was imposing yet another round of sanctions on Russia, this time targeting financial, arms, and energy sectors. The European Union, as it has done each time, quickly followed suit. These sanctions will not produce the results Washington demands, but they will hurt the economies of the US and … Continue reading “Why Won’t Obama Just Leave Ukraine Alone?”

History is full of ironies: World War I, marketed to Americans as a "war to end all wars," paved the way for an even more massive slaughter. The invasion and conquest of Iraq – which was supposed to augur what George W. Bush hailed as a "global democratic revolution" – instead ushered in a new … Continue reading “Israel, Genocide, and the ‘Logic’ of Zionism”

Originally posted at TomDispatch. As every schoolchild knows, there are three check-and-balance branches of the U.S. government: the executive, Congress, and the judiciary. That’s bedrock Americanism and the most basic high school civics material. Only one problem: it’s just not so. During the Cold War years and far more strikingly in the twenty-first century, the … Continue reading “The Rise to Power of the National Security State”

Islamic State militants have reportedly taken over the Mosul Dam on the Tigris River and the town of Sinjar, in which the U.N. fears could be the beginning of a “humanitarian tragedy.” Meanwhile, the Iraqi government reported they had killed over 650 militants, mostly in airstrikes.

Battles and airstrikes took their toll on militant forces, leaving almost 300 of them dead. Attacks against security forces and civilians drove the total number of dead today to 357 killed. Another 150 people were wounded.

The controversy surrounding Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has been as notable for its moral poverty as its rhetorical intensity. Conservatives have branded Bergdahl a traitor, hardly worth the five Afghan detainees for whom he was traded. Liberals have defended the exchange while stopping well short of defending the man himself. But if Bergdahl did indeed desert … Continue reading “Bowe Bergdahl and America’s Antiwar Hypocrisy”

There was this village in England which took great pride in its archery. In every yard there stood a large target board showing the skills of its owner. On one of these boards every single arrow had hit a bull’s eye. A curious visitor asked the owner: how is this possible? The reply: "Simple. First … Continue reading “Meeting in a Tunnel”