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US Policy World:
A People's Foreign Policy
This Week:
  • Effects of the Iraq War
  • Taiwan

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    60-Second Expert
    This Week:
  • Religion and Empire
  • U.S.-Korea Relations

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    Postcard from ...
    Pusan
    By John Feffer

    Postcard from ...
    Mexico
    By Katie Kohlstedt

      

    Just Security

    FPIF in the NewsFPIF in the News

    Mar 14, 2008
    FPIF co-director Emira Woods talked about the foreign policy positions of the U.S. presidential candidates on Morning Call on WBAI, the New York City Pacifica station.

    Mar 11, 2008
    FPIF co-director Emira Woods discussed Zimbabwe, Northern Uganda, and Darfur on National Public Radio's News & Notes.

    Mar 4, 2008
    FPIF co-director Emira Woods discussed Kenya and Somalia on National Public Radio's News & Notes.

    Mar 3, 2008
    FPIF co-director Emira Woods talked about the Stop Firestone Campaign and U.S.- Liberia relations on KPFA, the Berkley, California Pacifica station.

    Feb 28, 2008
    FPIF co-director Emira Woods discussed Kenya's power sharing agreement on National Public Radio's Tell Me More.
          

    How Not to Handle Nuclear Security
    If the United States can't secure its own nuclear complex, columnist Zia Mian asks, why expect Pakistan to do it any better?


    Spotlight on the Candidates

    Hillary Clinton on Iraq: Hillary says she wants the troops out. But does she really?
    On International Law: When it comes to human rights around the world, Hillary Clinton is little more than Bush Lite.
    On her military policy: There's every indication that it closely parallels that of the Bush administration.


    Fiesta!

    With words and pictures, artist Ellen O'Grady tells a story from the Occupied Territories.



    Carmela Cruz talks with acclaimed war photographer Philip Jones Griffith about photography, Vietnam, and the relationship between art and media.

    Religion and Foreign Policy

    FPIF's latest strategic focus zeroes in on the role of religion in global affairs. This fall, read about missionaries, monks, and the intersection of monotheism and modernity. Photo: T.C. Davis.

    In The Story of Religion, Joe Volk asks whether religion can help us replace the narrative of "us versus them" with a more compelling story of peace.

    Religious communities are beginning to address the connections between climate change and global justice, reports Cassandra Carmichael in Greening the Pews.

    In Liberation Theology Lives On, Jason Rowe considers the political and social legacies of liberation theology in Latin America.

    Previous essays: Dancing in the Earthquake, How and Why to Promote Religion Overseas, Monks Versus the Military, The Theology of American Empire, My Meeting with Ahmadinejad, Neo-Zionism, Religion, and Citizenship, The Religion of Divide and Conquer, Faith and Conflict, Pope Versus President, The Esther Strategy, America's Armageddonites, A Foreign Policy for Foreign Religions


    Strategic Dialogue

    In the first two pieces of a Strategic Dialogue on Divestment from Sudan, Daniel Millenson argues that the Save Darfur movement is now taking a page from history and looking to divestment to end the atrocities in Darfur; Kevin Funk and Steve Fake, on the other hand, don't think that divestment is the most useful technique because it distracts activists from focusing on U.S. responsibility. Millenson, in his response, argues that Funk and Fake are Changing the Subject from actually stopping the violence. Funk and Fake argue in Efficacy, Winding Blowing, and the Favored Villain that divestment is not only a distraction, but also falls into blindly supporting U.S. interest.

    Ian Williams argues that the United States should not abandon Taiwan in its time of need in his essay Support Taiwan's Democracy. Yu Bin disagrees in America's Rogue Ally: Taiwan's uncompromising push for independence is destabilizing the region. Ian Williams responds by emphasizing Taiwan's Right to a State. Yu Bin's answer: Making Democracy Safe for the World.

    Youth and Activism

    In Putting Foreign Policy in a Domestic Focus, Joshua F. String argues that a transformation of our militarist foreign policy comes from first seeing how such policies are often unknowingly maintained by our very real social paradigm. From seeing, we must then move, acting to reconstruct those institutions that will give birth to a new social covenant.

    In How to be a Good Friend, Patrick Quirk explains the "friendship" of people who are seemingly worlds away: The Landless Workers Movement (MST) in Brazil and their friends here in the United States—the Friends of the MST.


    Annotate This

    In this edition of Annotate This... Yifat Susskind provides a guide to the key provisions of an important new UN document.

    War and Peace

    The Bush administration has announced a major new Middle East initiative: more weapons for the overly weaponized. In Gasoline for the Fire, Matt Duss compares the U.S. government to a gambling addict who has to keep betting more to cover his previous losses. The plan to provide some $65 billion worth of advanced weapons to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Israel over the next 10 years, he argues, represents a reckless, poorly considered attempt to mitigate the consequences of its disastrous invasion of Iraq.

    In The Saudi Arms Deal, Rachel Stohl explains that congressional opposition to the plan is growing. Ultimately, this turkey might not fly.

    And Dan Smith, in Why Saudi Arabia, Why Now, gives the back story on why the administration thinks this deal makes sense even when so many others think it doesn't.


    Peace and Security
    Revisiting Intelligence Reform
    Tim Shorrock
    Congress and the next president must take U.S. intelligence agencies away from the Pentagon and put them under civilian control.
    Empire and Nuclear Weapons
    Joseph Gerson
    The United States has used its nuclear weapons in many ways. Like cannibalism and slavery, however, nuclear weapons can be abolished.
    Beyond the Green Zone
    Dahr Jamail
    An honest look at Iraq and the U.S. occupation from an unembedded journalist.

    Multilateralism
    The Soil that Saves
    Michael Shank
    The European Union is considering a way to use trees—and soil—to save us from global warming.
    Ban Ki Whom?
    Ian Williams
    Ban Ki Moon's first six months as UN Secretary General have registered on the low decibel end of the scale.
    Green Market Hustlers
    M. K. Dorsey
    Little green (business) men have hijacked the climate debate. Their market-based proposals are out of this world—and not in a good way.

    Global Economy
    Trade, Climate, and Bali
    Victor Menotti
    Expanding trade rules can only complicate and delay the much-needed response to climate change.
    Heavy Metal Peril
    Alec Dubro
    The scandal of lead paint on toys imported from China is an issue that is as much about U.S. domestic politics and culture as toxicology.
    Changing of the Guard at the IMF
    Soren Ambrose and Bhumika Muchhala
    Former French Finance Minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the Fund's new chief, has a lot of promises to keep.

    Africa
    The Color of AIDS
    Gerald LeMelle
    Linking Washington DC and Africa, this World AIDS Day commentary underscores that the color of AIDS is Black.
    Darfur: The Other Anniversary
    Nii Akuetteh
    Don't be too surprised, but a tough attitude is the best gift you can give Darfur today.
    The Flawed ABCs of PEPFAR
    Michael Stulman
    The Bush administration's AIDS policy is underfunded and poorly targeted.

    Americas
    Hemispheric Hypocrisy
    Rubrick Biegon
    As Latin America's leftward political shift grows deeper roots, U.S. influence over the region is declining.
    Fear and Voting in Costa Rica
    Elsa Arismendi
    The Costa Rican and U.S. governments use scare tactics to win a referendum on a free trade agreement.
    Keep the Freeze On Colombia
    Stephen Heidt
    Colombia is full of drugs, guns, and human rights violations. Why is the United States still giving it military aid?

    Asia
    The Paradox of East Asian Peace
    John Feffer
    A peace structure in East Asia is both impossible and inevitable.
    Parallel Editing in Burma
    May Oo
    Burma's military regime should be encouraged for taking a few positive steps, yet there's another side of the story.
    Myanmar, the UN, and ASEAN
    Haseenah Koyakutty
    There should be no returning to the unsustainable status quo at the East Asia Summit.

    Eurasia
    Running Against the West
    Robert Coalson
    In the upcoming Russian elections, the only real opponent that Putin’s party is facing has no face, no name, and no spot on the ballot.
    The United States and the Kurds: A Brief History
    Stephen Zunes
    American policy has brought the situation to its current critical juncture and made prospects for a just and peaceful solution so challenging.
    U.S. Denial of the Armenian Genocide
    Stephen Zunes
    Fearful of being labeled soft on terrorism, the Dems are on the verge of caving on the Armenian genocide resolution.
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    A Unified Security Budget for the United States, FY 2008
    Congress is debating the war. But it also needs to debate the Pentagon's plans for a permanently expanded military with matching budget. This new report shows how to demilitarize our overall security budget.


    WSF Focus

    Erinc Yeldan, Bret Benjamin,Guacira César de Oliveira, Patrick Bond, Jamal Juma', Melanie Joseph, Rita Thapa, Adam Ma'anit, Walden Bello, Emira Woods


    Iraq Focus

    Iraq in Focus Index; Congress; the Anti-War movement; Life inside Iraq; the tragedy of PTSD; Democratization; Refugees; Iraqi Women; The Costs of War; Embassy of Empire; An Anniversary?; A Divide with Europe; A New Course; Interview with Rep. Ron Paul; A Vet's Perspective, War Coverage, Reconstruction, Regional Implications, Military Shortcomings, Unbalanced Security, Peace Movement, Interview with Dennis Kucinich

    China Focus

    Introduction, Central Asia, Arms Sales, Partnership or Competition?, Southeast Asia, India's Nuclear Deal, East Asian Security, China's Labor Law, Taiwanese Independence, Cross-Straits Unification, China and the Environment, Kung-Fu Nationalism, Debate on Labor, China in Africa, China and Human Rights, Frankenstein Alliance, Conclusion

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