Is Global Dominance A Thing Of The Past?

As the U.S. government debates what to do about Syrian chemical weapons use—and the stated aim threads the needle between nothing at all and a strike that would markedly affect the course of the civil war—it’s a good time to reflect on the declining utility of overwhelming global military dominance. The good news is that […]

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Iran And Its Syria Pushback

Has Iran’s position on Syria begun to change? This is a crucial question, as Iran’s tone toward military action against Syria has altered from being threatening throughout years of supporting Bashar al-Assad, to becoming much milder. It appears as though the issues around the chemical weapons instigated this change; the Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani, strongly […]

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Ending War Rape

The United Nations Security Council took an unprecedented step this summer. Pushed principally by the United Kingdom, the council passed its first resolution addressing what it calls “sexual violence in conflict.” That’s a euphemism for an all-too-common problem in many parts of the world: Using rape as a weapon of wartime intimidation. In the human-rights world, it’s called […]

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That Spiral of Instability Again

The Middle East is caught in a seemingly endless spiral of instability. The likely American military intervention in Syria, together with the deteriorating situation in Egypt since President Mohammad Morsi’s ouster, which was organized by the Egyptian army, has placed the region on a razor’s edge. Read Here – The Daily Star, Beirut

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The Poison Chalice

The reason that U.S. President Barack Obama passed the buck on authorizing a military strike on Syria to Congress is not because getting congressional approval is the constitutional thing to do. It always has been, although presidents have regularly denied it. Rather, Obama passed the buck to Congress because it was the only way out […]

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The Boiling Sea

So far, public debate about the intervention in Syria has centered on the immediate scope and aims of any U.S.-led military operation, and whether the U.S. Congress should be involved. But no matter how the possible intervention and its aftermath play out, one thing is certain: the eastern Mediterranean — where exploratory drilling has unearthed […]

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Good War Vs Bad War

The US does not fight for land, resources, hatred, revenge, tribute, religious conversion — the usual stuff. Along with the occasional barrel of oil, America fights for virtue. Read Here – Gulf News

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Unleash Diplomacy, Not Missiles in Syria

The alternative to the proposed US strike is not inaction, but rather a more comprehensive approach which takes into account the underlying reality in which the horrors at al-Ghouta took place: the proxy war in Syria.  Come what may, only talks aimed at achieving a ceasefire, including wrangling with Russia and Iran, will stop the […]

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