Tag: humanitarian interventionism

Amnesty’s Shilling for US Wars

The new Executive Director of Amnesty International USA – Suzanne Nossel – is a recent U.S. government insider. So it’s a safe bet that AI’s decision to seize upon a topic that dovetailed with American foreign policy interests, "women’s rights in Afghanistan," at the NATO Conference last month in Chicago came directly from her. Nossel was … Continue reading “Amnesty’s Shilling for US Wars”

American Foreign Policy: Have Gun, Will Travel

American foreign policy has become so militarized that pressure groups can now seemingly order up a government armed intervention like customers at a fast food restaurant drive-through window can order up a burger and fries. The latest example is the U.S. Special Forces’ chasing of the wacky but brutal African warlord Joseph Kony in the … Continue reading “American Foreign Policy: Have Gun, Will Travel”

Military Intervention in Syria is a Bad Idea

Although the impulse to try to end the ongoing repression by the Syrian regime against its own people through foreign military intervention is understandable, it would be a very bad idea. Empirical studies have repeatedly demonstrated that international military interventions in cases of severe repression actually exacerbate violence in the short term and can only reduce … Continue reading “Military Intervention in Syria is a Bad Idea”

Progressives Embrace Humanitarian Imperialism – Again

"Foreign Intervention in Syria? A Debate with Joshua Landis and Karam Nachar." promised the headline on DemocracyNow! of 2/22.  Eagerly I tuned in, hoping to hear a thorough exposé of the machinations of the US Empire in Syria on its march to Iran. But this was neither exposé nor debate.  Both sides, Landis and Nachar, were pro-intervention … Continue reading “Progressives Embrace Humanitarian Imperialism – Again”

Libya and the New Warmongering

The NATO intervention in Libya is likely to produce a more militarized and insecure world, and this will be its most enduring legacy. The military “success” in Libya has increased the possibility of new wars. There is a widespread perception that NATO has achieved an easy victory against Gadhafi, and the resulting sense of hubris … Continue reading “Libya and the New Warmongering”

We Are All Humanitarian Interventionists

A “happy holidays” email from The Atlantic’s ubiquitous self-promoter Steve Clemons last week suggests that any unified right-left movement to end America’s wars of choice might be unattainable. Normally I do not read Clemons, but on this occasion I persevered and was rewarded with a bit of political folderol that was too deliciously bizarre not … Continue reading “We Are All Humanitarian Interventionists”

Americans Should Worry About Obama, Not Uganda

President Obama has ordered about 100 U.S. troops into Uganda to “help” and “advise” in capturing Joseph Kony, the head of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). The troops, Obama claimed, are not to engage Kony’s forces unless it becomes necessary for their own self-defense. Kony and the LRA were declared a terrorist organization under the … Continue reading “Americans Should Worry About Obama, Not Uganda”