Thalif Deen

When the UN Security Council met last week to discuss the deaths and devastation caused to civilians in ongoing military conflicts and civil wars, the killings in Yemen and the air attacks on hospitals, schools, mosques, and market places – whether deliberate or otherwise – were singled out as the worst ever. But the destruction … Continue reading “US ‘Emergency’ Arms Sales to Mideast Nations Under Fire”

The overwhelming Israeli firepower unleashed on the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the ongoing battle in Gaza is perhaps reminiscent of the Algerian war of independence (1954-1962) when France, the colonial power, used its vastly superior military strength to strike back at the insurgents with brutal ferocity. While France was accused of using its air … Continue reading “Israel’s US-Made Military Might Overwhelms Palestinians”

When the 193-member General Assembly adopts a resolution next month censuring the illegal electronic surveillance of governments and world leaders by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), the U.N.’s highest policy-making body will spare the United States from public condemnation despite its culpability in widespread wiretapping. A draft resolution currently in limited circulation – a … Continue reading “UN Will Censure Illegal Spying, But Not US”

When Clare Short, Britain’s former minister for international development, revealed that British intelligence agents had spied on former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan by bugging his office just before the disastrous U.S. invasion of Iraq in March 2003, the UN chief was furious that his discussions with world leaders had been compromised. And as she talked … Continue reading “US Spying Worldwide May Come Under UN Scrutiny”

Throwing diplomatic protocol to the winds, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff launched a blistering attack on the United States for illegally infiltrating its communications network, surreptitiously intercepting phone calls, and breaking into the Brazilian Mission to the United Nations. Departing from a longstanding tradition of closed-door diplomacy on bilateral disputes, she dropped a political bombshell on … Continue reading “Breaking UN Protocol, Brazil Lambastes US Spying”

The United Nations, which has remained deadlocked over Syria, is in danger of being craftily exploited to justify the impending air strike on Damascus. The threat of double vetoes by Russia and China against an attack on Syria has shifted the focus to the UN team of inspectors whose report on the chemical weapons attack … Continue reading “U.N. Inspection a Figleaf To Justify Air Strike on Syria”

When the dust settles from the ongoing deadly confrontations between the Egyptian armed forces and thousands of Islamist protesters in the streets of Cairo and Alexandria, the eventual winner will be the United States – specifically U.S.-made weapons systems in the hands of the country’s 440,000-strong military. At last count, over 50 demonstrators were killed … Continue reading “Egyptian Army’s Firepower Overwhelmingly U.S.-Supplied”

When the United States invaded Iraq back in March 2003, one of its primary objectives was to track down and destroy weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) reportedly stockpiled by the regime of President Saddam Hussein. By its own definition – and by U.N. standards – the United States was frantically searching for WMDs constituting three … Continue reading “US Accused of Politicising Weapons of Mass Destruction”

The spreading economic crisis is taking a bite out of Western military spending – even as the world’s developing nations, along with Russia and China, boosted their arms expenditures last year. In a study released Monday, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) reported a decline in military spending last year in the United States, … Continue reading “As West Falters, Arms Spending Rises in Developing World”

Since the Israelis last month exercised the first option, causing devastation in Gaza, they opted for 3,000 new settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank immediately after the 193-member General Assembly adopted a resolution last week elevating Palestine from an “observer” to a “non-member state”. The settlements were condemned not only by the United … Continue reading “Israel Rains Fire When UN Votes Against It”