Asia

Biden is a Transformative President Domestically, but from China to Iran he embraces the Same old Washington Militarism

America is back–to the same old, same old. ( Foreign Policy in Focus ) -On the domestic front, Joe Biden is flirting with transformational policies around energy, environment, and infrastructure. It’s not a revolution, but it’s considerably less timid than what Barack Obama offered in that pre-Trump, pre-pandemic era. When it comes to foreign policy, […]

Africa

The Wealthy Countries are getting Past the Pandemic, but the Poor are in Catastrophe, which is a looming Catastrophe for the Wealthy

Tomdispatch

By Rajan Menon | – ( Tomdispatch.com ) – Fifteen months ago, the SARS-CoV-2 virus unleashed Covid-19. Since then, it’s killed more than 3.8 million people worldwide (and possibly many more). Finally, a return to normalcy seems likely for a distinct minority of the world’s people, those living mainly in the United States, Canada, the […]

China

Is Putin’s Positive View of the Biden Summit a sign he is Souring on his China Alliance?

Nikola Mikovic

Belgrade (Special to Informed Comment) – The results of the historic summit between the US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, held in Switzerland on June 16, will be felt for some time. Officially, the two leaders discussed Syria, Libya, Iran, Afghanistan, Ukraine, hacking and “strategic stability”, but what they agreed during […]

China

Our National Security Elite has China on the Brain: Does that really make us Safer?

Tom Engelhardt

( Tomdispatch.com ) – Let me start with my friend and the boat. Admittedly, they might not seem to have anything to do with each other. The boat, a guided-missile destroyer named the USS Curtis Wilbur, reportedly passed through the Straits of Taiwan and into the South China Sea, skirting the Paracel Islands that China […]

Israel/ Palestine

How Pro-Israel Sentiment took Hold in Japan’s Conservative Government

Michael Penn

Tokyo (Special to Informed Comment) – The recent flareup of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has revealed the degree to which pro-Israel sentiment has crept into the views of Japan’s conservative government. The most overt indication of this trend became visible in the tweeting of State Minister for Defense Yasuhide Nakayama. He entered the fray on May […]

Afghanistan

Killing Schoolgirls in Afghanistan: Fundamentalist Attackers Target Girls Leaving Kabul High School

Human Rights Watch

By Heather Barr | Interim Co-Director, Women’s Rights Division | – ( Human Rights Watch) – Scenes from Sayed ul-Shuhada High School in Kabul, Afghanistan, where as many as 85 people including many schoolgirls were killed in an attack this weekend, should break anyone’s heart. They certainly broke mine. In 2017 a filmmaker and I […]

Afghanistan

Can Biden’s Withdrawal from Afghanistan escape the Shadow of Saigon?

Alfred W. McCoy

( Tomdispatch.com) – Many of us have had a recurring nightmare. You know the one. In a fog between sleeping and waking, you’re trying desperately to escape from something awful, some looming threat, but you feel paralyzed. Then, with great relief, you suddenly wake up, covered in sweat. The next night, or the next week, […]

China

The Cold War Has Already Turned Hot — on the Internet

John Feffer

( Tomdispatch.com) – America has a serious infrastructure problem. Maybe when I say that what comes to mind are all the potholes on your street. Or the dismal state of public transportation in your city. Or crumbling bridges all over the country. But that’s so twentieth century of you. America’s most urgent infrastructure vulnerability is […]

Afghanistan

U.S. Withdrawal From Afghanistan Could Bring Iran Opportunities, Threats

Golnaz Esfandiari

( RFE/RL) – The announced withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan will grant Iran one of its biggest wishes and lead to the departure of all foreign forces, which Tehran has long blamed for insecurity in the region. Analysts say the pullout of U.S.-led NATO forces from Afghanistan could potentially give Iran more room to […]