The United States is the world’s leading arms trafficking nation, with $60 billion in arms transfer agreements last year alone. In 2011, U.S. companies and the US government controlled over three-quarters of the international weapons trade. The Obama administration regularly touts the role of US officials in promoting US arms sales. Acting Assistant Secretary of …
Continue reading “Obama’s Arms Sales Policy: Promotion or Restraint?”
William Hartung on what we can do about it
President Bush’s alleged new strategy for Iraq, outlined in a mercifully brief prime time speech last night, is a recipe for disaster for Iraq, the United States, and the region. For Iraqis, the prospect of stepped-up US military action in Baghdad will spur a sharp increase in civilian casualties, sectarian violence and recruitment by al-Qaeda …
Continue reading “Bush’s Prescription for More War”
Today’s release of the Iraq Study Group report [.pdf] raises as many questions as it answers. A few highlights of the report and its 79 recommendations follow. Troop Withdrawals? Despite some early headlines suggesting that the Iraq Study Group would be calling for a withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from Iraq by the beginning of …
Continue reading “Iraq Study Group:
How Big a Change?” 
