Ever since the Black Lives Matter movement exploded into the headlines, violence by American police officers has come under fire from activists and ordinary citizens alike. Less discussed, however, is how the U.S. government winks at the police brutality of its client...
Yemen Is Starving, and We’re Partly To Blame
Twenty million people in Yemen, the poorest country in the Arab world, are at risk of dying from hunger or thirst. That’s 80 percent of the country’s population, which according to UN agencies badly needs emergency supplies of food and water, along with fuel and...
Footing the Bill While Israel Thumbs Its Nose
It’s tax season again. How about a little accounting? Every year, Washington sends $3.1 billion of taxpayers’ hard-earned money to Israel. It’s only fair to ask what Americans are getting in return. That seems especially appropriate now. Israeli Prime Minister...
Operation Lip Service
The popular uprising in Bahrain shows no signs of going away. The royal family tried crushing the revolt, importing shock troops from Saudi Arabia and elsewhere. It tried jailing important figures in the opposition, such as human rights activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja,...
Harsh Rhetoric About Iran Isn’t Helping
Nothing is certain except for death and taxes. But in campaign season, it's awfully predictable that Democratic politicians will do a little chest-thumping about foreign policy. As the 2012 presidential contest approaches, the Obama administration is ratcheting up its...
Washington’s Physics Problem in Iraq
The Joint Chiefs of Staff, says its chairman, Adm. Mike Mullen, has a "physics problem." According to a 2008 accord between the United States and Iraq, the U.S. military is to be evacuated from Mesopotamia — down to the last tank mechanic and dishwasher — by the close...
Rebranding the Iraq War
The war in Iraq is over. Or so the government and most media outlets will claim on Sept. 1, by which time thousands of U.S. troops will have departed the land of two rivers for other assignments. With this phase of the drawdown, says President Barack Obama, "America's...