Antiwar.com

BEIJING – Two high-profile envoys of the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet, have arrived in China amidst hopes that their visit could lead to a substantive dialogue with the Chinese government after tentative behind-the-scenes contacts in recent months. The Dalai Lama is said to seek assurances from Beijing that it would not … Continue reading “Dalai Lama’s Overtures to Seek Tibet Solution”

Behind a recent, highly controversial indictment by the U.S. Department of Justice, the Bush administration is maneuvering to revive military ties with the Indonesian Army (TNI), one of the world’s most oppressive institutions. In late June, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft convinced a federal grand jury to indict Anthonius Wamang for a 2002 ambush in … Continue reading “Indonesia: US Underwriting Terrorism?”

Japan’s commitment to help Indonesia train its police and upgrade its sea defenses may be compromised by Japan’s constitutional ban on participating in military actions overseas, according to a senior Indonesian diplomat. Specifically, Indonesia wants Japan to strengthen collective security in the Malacca Straits by providing financial assistance to the Indonesian Coast Guard, said Soemadi … Continue reading “Japan Constitution May Hinder Ties to Indonesia”

With the recent downing of two planes over Russian airspace, now believed to be the result of a terrorist attack, and the horrific Beslan stand-off, in which women and children were butchered on the world stage and in living color, a curious double standard is asserting itself in the West, almost without argument or even … Continue reading “Putin, the Patriot”

If you forced me to bet today, I would probably wager that Dubya will win the election in November, despite some interesting observations from Will Saletan at Slate.com suggesting that the president is more vulnerable than he seems to be. However, in his speech Thursday before the National Guard Association in Las Vegas, Democrat John … Continue reading “Trading for Peace”

Even as people throughout Iraq continue to suffer from severe shortages of water, electricity and other crucial services, including the health care resources needed to treat the resulting illnesses, the Bush administration on Wednesday officially proposed to shift money away from the reconstruction effort toward internal security, the oil industry, "economic development" in Iraq’s private … Continue reading “US Occupation Shuffling Money Before Flushing It”

UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations is reluctant to impose punitive economic sanctions on Sudan – accused of genocide in the politically troubled province of Darfur – because embargoes have a relatively poor track record, according to senior UN officials and diplomats. "If the Security Council wants to punish Sudan," says one Third World diplomat, … Continue reading “UN Reluctant to Push Sanctions for Sudan”

CARACAS – Spain took a step aimed at smoothing relations between Bogota and Caracas by canceling the sale of 40 French-made AMX-30 tanks to the Colombian government. If the sale had gone through, the tanks’ guns would likely have pointed toward the Venezuelan border. This week, however, a new snag emerged in bilateral relations, with … Continue reading “Spanish Tank Sale Called Off, but Colombia-Venezuela Tension Remains”

After weeks of hurricanes and controversies over swift boats in Vietnam and Texas and Alabama National Guard records, Iraq is beginning to creep back onto the front pages, and the news is uniformly bad. Consider some of the headlines in major newspapers that appeared on their front pages on Wednesday alone: Wall Street Journal: "Rebel … Continue reading “Growing Consensus That Iraq Is Hopeless”

In Hegemony or Survival, Noam Chomsky suggested that our leaders, facing the choice in the book’s title, might well opt for hegemony over survival. “There is ample historical precedent,” he wrote, “for the willingness of leaders to threaten or resort to violence in the face of significant risk of catastrophe. But the stakes are far … Continue reading “Hegemony or Survival?”