Stephen Zunes

President George W Bush announced during his recent Middle East trip that he is formally serving notice to Congress of his administration’s decision to approve the sale of bomb-guidance kits to Saudi Arabia. This announcement follows notification on five other arms deals to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait that are part of … Continue reading “Arming the Middle East”

Pundits responded to news of the retirement of Representative Tom Lantos (D-CA) at the end of his current term with platitudes and praise. They have focused primarily on his heroic role as a Holocaust survivor and member of the anti-Nazi resistance in his native Hungary as well as his leadership on human rights issues in … Continue reading “Lantos’ Tarnished Legacy”

A sizable number of progressive activists, celebrities, and unions who, for various reasons, are unwilling to support the underfunded, long-shot bid of Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich are backing the presidential campaign of former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards as their favorite among the top-tier candidates for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. Indeed, the charismatic populist … Continue reading “A Progressive Looks at John Edwards”

While much attention has been given to Senator Hillary Clinton’s support for the U.S. invasion of Iraq, her foreign policy record regarding other international conflicts and her apparent eagerness to accept the use of force appears to indicate that her fateful vote authorizing the invasion and her subsequent support for the occupation and counter-insurgency war … Continue reading “Hillary Clinton’s Illiberal Belligerence”

Public opinion polls have consistently shown that the majority of Americans – and even a larger majority of Democrats – believe that Iraq is the most important issue of the day, that it was wrong for the United States to have invaded that country, and the United States should completely withdraw its forces in short … Continue reading “Hillary Clinton on Iraq”

Despite the best efforts by the Bush administration of putting a positive spin on the recently completed summit in Annapolis to restart the "Performance-Based Road Map to Peace," there is little reason to expect that it will actually move the Israeli-Palestinian peace process forward as long as the United States insists on simultaneously playing the … Continue reading “The Failure of Annapolis”

There’s little reason to hope for a breakthrough at the Middle East peace summit in Annapolis, unless there is a fundamental shift in U.S. policy in addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. And there’s little evidence to suggest such a change is forthcoming. Indeed, Yossi Beilin, the Israeli Knesset member and former cabinet official who served as … Continue reading “Is Annapolis Hopeless?”

In his 2005 inaugural address, President George W. Bush declared that the United States would support democratic movements around the world and work to end tyranny. Furthermore, he pledged to those struggling for freedom that the United States would “not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors.” Despite these promises, the Bush administration – with … Continue reading “Musharraf Isn’t the First,
but He Should Be the Last”

This week marks the fifth anniversary of the congressional vote granting President George W. Bush unprecedented war-making authority to invade Iraq at the time and circumstances of his own choosing. Had a majority of either the Republican-controlled House or the Democratic-controlled Senate voted against the resolution or had they passed an alternative resolution conditioning such … Continue reading “Five Years Later, We Can’t Forgive or Forget”

This past Wednesday, I was among a group of American religious leaders and scholars who met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in New York. In what was billed as an inter-faith dialogue, we frankly shared our strong opposition to certain Iranian government policies and provocative statements made by the Iranian president. At the same time, … Continue reading “My Meeting With Ahmadinejad”