Tomgram: Nick Turse, The Forgotten People of a Fictional Country

This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To receive TomDispatch in your inbox three times a week, click here.

Imagine this for a moment: in 2020, Brown University’s invaluable Costs of War Project estimated that, from the Philippines and Afghanistan across the Greater Middle East into northern Africa, Washington’s disastrous two-decade long global war on terror had uprooted and displaced 37 million people. That was, of course, a mind-boggling figure.

Now, having read more

Tomgram: Andrew Bacevich, Jack and Joe, The Perils of Getting Tough

This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To receive TomDispatch in your inbox three times a week, click here.

Since we’re clearly heading into a new Cold War, if not a hot one, how appropriate today to hear at TomDispatch (via Andrew Bacevich) from, of all people, John F. Kennedy. He was the president of my youth, the one I thrilled to see once upon a time (even if at a great distance) giving a speech in New Haven, Connecticut. He was also the one who, on October 22, 1962, read more

Talk World Radio: Alfred de Zayas on Ukraine and the Rule of Law

AUDIO:

Talk World Radio is recorded as audio and video on Riverside.fm. Here is this week’s video and all the videos on Youtube.

VIDEO:

This week on Talk World Radio, we’re talking with Alfred de Zayas, author of Building a Just World Order. He is former UN Independent Expert on international order (2012-18), senior lawyer with the UN Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights, Secretary of the UN Human Rights Committee and Chief of the Petitions Department.

Total run time: 29:00
read more

RAND Corporation Urged Creation of the Horrors You’re Seeing in Ukraine

By David Swanson, World BEYOND War, February 28, 2022

In 2019, the RAND Corporation tentacle of the U.S. Military Industrial Congressional “Intelligence” Media Academic “Think” Tank Complex published a report claiming to have “conducted a qualitative assessment of ‘cost-imposing options’ that could unbalance and overextend Russia.”

Here was one of the “cost-imposing options,” one that U.S. President Barack Obama had been refusing, but in 2019, RAND was preparing for a regime read more

Solidarity Between U.S. and Russian Peace Activists

By David Swanson, World BEYOND War, February 27, 2022

War is fairly well known for killing, injuring, traumatizing, destroying, and rendering homeless. It’s somewhat well known for diverting massive resources from urgent needs, preventing global cooperation on pressing emergencies, damaging the environment, eroding civil liberties, justifying government secrecy, corroding culture, fueling bigotry, weakening the rule of law, and risking nuclear apocalypse. In a few corners it’s known read more

VIDEO: Debate: Can War Ever Be Justified? Mark Welton vs. David Swanson

By World BEYOND War, February 24, 2022

This debate was held online on February 23, 2022, and was co-sponsored by World BEYOND War Central Florida and Veterans For Peace Chapter 136 The Villages, FL. The debaters were:

Arguing the Affirmative:
Dr. Mark Welton is Professor Emeritus at the United States Military Academy at West Point. He is an expert in International and Comparative (U.S., European, and Islamic) Law, Jurisprudence and Legal Theory, and Constitutional Law. He has authored chapters read more

Don’t Overlook NATO’s Successes

By David Swanson, World BEYOND War, February 22, 2022

I’m hearing a lot of talk about U.S. and NATO failures, so I want to call attention to the successes. Feel free to cheer wildly for each one.

Germany has canceled a Russian pipeline and will be destroying the Earth with more U.S. fossil fuels, and oil prices are up!

Poland is buying billions of dollars worth of U.S. tanks.

Ukraine and the rest of Eastern Europe and other members of NATO are all going to be buying a lot more U.S. weapons or having read more

Talk World Radio: Stephen Zunes on the Occupation of Western Sahara

AUDIO:

Talk World Radio is recorded as audio and video on Riverside.fm. Here is this week’s video and all the videos on Youtube.

VIDEO:

This week on Talk World Radio, we’re talking about Western Sahara and a book — now out in an updated second edition — called Western Sahara: War, Nationalism, and Conflict Irresolution by Stephen Zunes and Jacob Mundy. Our guest, Stephen Zunes is professor of politics and international studies at the University of San Francisco. His read more