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Lessons from Iraq

FPIF's latest book assesses the wreckage from Iraq and highlights key lessons for our foreign and military policy.


Iran in the Crosshairs

An easy to read primer with common questions and answers about a possible war with Iran.


60-Second Expert
This Week:
  • UN Peacekeeping
  • Religion and Empire

  • Postcard from ...
    Kwajalein
    By Andre Vltchek

    Postcard from ...
    Sarajevo
    By John Feffer

     

    Just Security

    Current U.S. foreign policy is unjust and breeds insecurity. This report charts a new relationship between the United States and the world.


    FPIF in the NewsFPIF in the News

    Jul 21, 2008
    IPS Director John Cavanagh was quoted in "Obama's Evolving Foreign Policy," an article in The Nation.

    Jul 16, 2008
    FPIF Peace and Security Editor Miriam Pemberton was interviewed on KPFK Radio (Los Angeles) about Iraq, Guantanamo, Afghanistan, and Lessons from Iraq: Avoiding the Next War, a book she co-edited.

    Jul 14, 2008
    FPIF Co-Director Emira Woods was interviewed on Voice of America about calls among African leaders for political change in Zimbabwe.

    Jul 13, 2008
    FPIF Co-Director Emira Woods was quoted in "SA-US Relations Take A Knock," an article in Independent Online.

    Jul 1, 2008
    FPIF Co-Director Emira Woods was interviewed on NPR's News & Notes about the response of African leaders to Zimbabwe's political crisis and a vote by Congress to remove former South African president Nelson Mandela and his African National Congress from the U.S. terror watch list.

     

    Frida BerriganAvoiding Brinksmanship with Iran
    Columnist Frida Berrigan discusses how to ensure that the next administration is not left with a major nuclear mess on its hands.


    Spotlight on the Candidates

    Chess vs Checkers: It is rare for a candidate to ask Americans to take a step back and think strategically about the national security problems facing the United States.

    John McCain and IRI: The presidential candidate has many questions to answer about the taxpayer-funded organization.

     

    Obama's Right Turn?: In his recent AIPAC speech, Barack Obama veers right.

     

    Obama, McCain, and Munich: The president and the Republican presidential candidate are calling Barack Obama an appeaser. They've got their history and their diplomacy all wrong.

    Comparing the Candidates: Obama, Clinton, and McCain on Foreign Policy: FPIF Policy Outreach director Erik Leaver looks behind the hype to the records, advisors, and promises of the presidential candidates in this special feature for Yes! Magazine.

    The Candidates and Iran: The candidates' positions on Iran are not just about war and peace.

     

    More ...

    Food Crisis

    Food prices are up all over the world. Is the current food crisis a temporary problem or a sign of something more serious?

    In Mad Cows, Mad People, Gavan McCormack asks, what's the relationship between the beef crisis in South Korea, the humanitarian crisis in North Korea, and the global food crisis?

    In The Commodities Bubble, Sameer Dossani explains the economics behind the food crisis.

    John Feffer writes in Mother Earth's Triple Whammy, if you think the current global food crisis is something new, just ask the North Koreans.

    The World Bank and the IMF are the real culprits behind the current food crisis, argues columnist Walden Bello in Destroying African Agriculture.


    FPIF Strategic Dialogue

    On Pakistan

    The United States must support the ongoing talks between Pakistan and its local Taliban, according to Mehlaqa Samdani. Sharad Joshi asserts that Pakistan is in danger of giving away too much to its local Taliban in the current talks. In a continuation of the discussion of Pakistan's negotiations with extremists within its borders, three experts, Mehlaqa Samdani, Sharad Joshi, and Tarique Niazi, take issue with each other.

    On the Beijing Olympics

    The international community should boycott the opening ceremonies of the Olympics to send a signal to China about its support of the Sudanese government, argues Eric Reeves. James Nolt disagrees: those protesting Beijing's hosting of the summer Olympics are simply stoking patriotic feelings within China. Reeves and Nolt continue the debate over whether China's relations with Sudan are a reason for the international community to boycott the opening ceremonies.


    Fiesta!

    Genocide is horrifying, but it's not always a black-and-white issue, as Frankie Sturm explains in Picturing Genocide.


    Music can change hearts and minds, and help bring down empires, writes Stephen Zunes in Estonia's Singing Revolution.


    On the 100th anniversary of Richard Wright's birth, E. Ethelbert Miller interviews three scholars on the writer's take on Africa and colonialism.


    Music, foreign policy, and activism don't often go together. One band is changing that. Saif Rahman talks to Jonny 5 of the Flobots about their music, views on foreign policy, the Democratic National Convention being held in their hometown, and their hopes for the movement and this country.


    Annotate This ...

    The U.S. rationale for skipping the cluster bomb negotiations is truly off the wall. Daniel Allen analyzes the official U.S. response.


    Youth and Activism

    In Hungry for Justice, Indian guest workers, brought to the United States to help rebuild following hurricanes Katrina and Rita, hold a hunger strike to protest abuse by Signal International.


    The United States needs to practice at home what it preaches abroad, argues Patrick W. Quirk in Democracy Promotion Doublespeak.


    Peace and Security
    Sharp Attack Unwarranted
    Stephen Zunes
    The campaign against Gene Sharp and the Albert Einstein Institution is beyond bizarre.

    Learning from the Soviets in Afghanistan
    Yelena Biberman
    By withdrawing from Iraq, the United States can learn from the mistakes the Soviet Union made in Afghanistan.

    An Honorable Way Out of Iraq
    Adil E. Shamoo
    The Iraqis have reached a consensus—the U.S. should leave Iraq.

    Multilateralism
    Nuclear Recycling Fails the Test
    Robert Alvarez
    The debate over nuclear power is heating up, along with the planet. Can nuclear fuel recycling be part of the mix? Not a chance.

    Food Safety on the Butcher's Block
    Christine Ahn and GRAIN
    Washington is using new free trade agreements to push U.S. food—and food safety standards—down the throats of other countries.

    The World Bank's Carbon Deals
    Janet Redman
    As it outsources emissions cuts, the World Bank is dealing from both ends of the climate change deck.

    Global Economy
    How to Enter the Global Green Economy
    Jonathan Rynn
    To reap the environmental and economic benefits of green technology, we'll need to rebuild our manufacturing base.

    The Failed Expectations of U.S Trade Policy
    Robert Cassidy
    A former U.S. trade negotiator criticizes U.S. trade policy.

    The Democrats "Free Trade" Divide
    Mark Engler
    "Free trade," a key issue in the battle for the soul of the Democratic Party, is behind some of the most contentious political debates of our times.

    Africa
    Ballots vs. Bullets in Kenya and Zimbabwe
    Briggs Bomba
    The world's attention has been riveted in 2008 by election crises in Kenya and now Zimbabwe. What's next the the battle of the ballot vs. the bullet?

    African Dictatorships and Double Standards
    Stephen Zunes
    Washington has rightly condemned human rights abuses in Zimbabwe. So why not Equatorial Guinea?

    AFRI(OIL)COM
    Antonia Juhasz
    Will the next war for oil be in Africa?

    Americas
    Three Amigos Summit
    Manuel Pérez Rocha and Sarah Anderson
    The NAFTA-expanding Security and Prosperity Partnership is too cozy with big business.

    Cuba's Post-Castro Revolutionary Transition
    James Early
    It's time to honestly step forth and engage Cubans and their government on the terms they negotiate inside their own country.

    Getting Smart About Cuba
    Lissa Weinmann
    Now that Fidel Castro has stepped down, it's time to derail the embargo gravy train.

    Asia
    The Abduction Narrative of Charles Robert Jenkins
    John Feffer
    Japan is obsessed with the North Korean abduction issue. A new book by a U.S. defector sheds light on this obsession.

    Japan and the Future of Nuclear Disarmament
    Masako Toki
    The disarmament movement is poised to make great strides in the next few years. Much may depend on Japan.

    South Korea's Beef with America
    Christine Ahn
    South Korean concerns over American beef imports are legitimate.

    Eurasia
    Hunger Strikers Take on Radar Base
    Joanne Landy and Thomas Harrison
    Two Czech peace activists went on a hunger strike to protest a proposed U.S. radar base in their country. Their message is spreading.

    The National Future of Belarus
    Jan Grinberg
    Will Belarus buck the recent trend and give up its sovereignty to merge with Russia?

    Next Moves in Kosovo
    David Young
    Kosovo is on the verge of independence. What can Washington and Brussells do to overcome Serbian and Russian opposition?

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    FPIF Content

    Avoiding Brinksmanship with Iran
    Frida Berrigan
    Jul 23, 2008

    Congress Challenges AFRICOM
    Beth Tuckey
    Jul 23, 2008

    Reject Colombia Trade Deal
    Mark Engler
    Jul 22, 2008

    Iran Isolation Attempts Backfire
    Hannes Artens
    Jul 22, 2008

    Hair of the Dog
    Vol. 3, No. 29
    Jul 21, 2008

    Playing Games with Iran
    William O. Beeman
    Jul 21, 2008

    An Uncomfortable Conversation about Nukes
    Conn Hallinan
    Jul 17, 2008

    Chess vs Checkers: Iraq, National Security and the Presidential Candidates
    Travis Sharp
    Jul 17, 2008

    The WTO's Raw Deal on Services
    Walden Bello
    Jul 17, 2008

    Regime Change: The Strategies and Potential of Nonviolent Struggle
    Mary King
    Jul 16, 2008

    Postcard from...Cambodia
    Aditi Fruitwala
    Jul 16, 2008

    The Anti-Climate Summit
    Walden Bello
    Jul 15, 2008

    Be Ahead of the Pack
    Vol. 3, No. 28
    Jul 14, 2008

    The Real Crisis in Pakistan
    Fouad Pervez
    Jul 11, 2008

    Mad Cows, Mad People
    Gavan McCormack
    Jul 10, 2008

    Ballots vs. Bullets in Kenya and Zimbabwe
    Briggs Bomba
    Jul 9, 2008

    Pakistan’s American Problem
    Zia Mian
    Jul 9, 2008

    Bush Gets One Right?
    Vol. 3, No. 27
    Jul 7, 2008

    Nuclear Recycling Fails the Test
    Robert Alvarez
    Jul 7, 2008

    The Abduction Narrative of Charles Robert Jenkins
    John Feffer
    Jul 3, 2008


    Military Footprint Focus U.S. Military Footprint

    The United States maintains more than 700 bases around the world and is pushing to set up even more. What are these bases doing, how is the Pentagon rethinking their functions, and how can we reduce this military footprint?


    Religion and Foreign Policy
    Religion and Foreign Policy

    A look at the role of religion in global affairs. Read about missionaries, monks, and the intersection of monotheism and modernity.


    World Social Forum Focus
    WSF Focus

    A new stage in the evolution of the global justice movement was reached with the inauguration of the World Social Forum (WSF) in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in January 2001. Six years later, what's the result?

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


    China Special Focus
    China Focus

    With China emerging as the new global go-to guy, FPIF assesses this growing influence and its impact on U.S. foreign policy.

    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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    Material published and distributed by FPIF represents the views of the author(s) and does not necessarily represent the views of the board members or staff of IPS or of the FPIF editors. FPIF is committed to sponsoring a broad public dialogue about U.S. foreign policy and the role of the United States in the world.