THINKING BEYOND WAR AND VIOLENCE
According to the Australian national anthem, “our home is girt by sea”. So much sea in fact, that our not-so-tiny island has a whopping 22,293 miles of coastline.
The Gang’s All Here
Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia (and their Gulf partners), Israel, Turkey, France, the U.S., and Russia each have some military involvement in Syria, soon to be followed by the United Kingdom. Needless to say, there are a lot of players in the Middle East and an abundance of interests, all at the expense of …
Diplomacy Is the Way To Beat the ‘Islamic State’
During the short drive from Beirut toward Damascus, our taxi turned off the road and pulled into a refugee camp in the Lebanese Bekaa Valley. As a journalist and academic who writes about international security, I wanted to see the refugee situation I had read about for myself. I watched as a truckload of women …
Diplomacy Is the Way To Beat the ‘Islamic State’ Read More »
The Heresies of Humans
In the month of August 1945, Japan witnessed the most horrific human carnage. Two nuclear bombs plummeted from United States warplanes killing thousands. Some estimates put the death toll at over 200,000 within the first two months due to the affects of the radiation. Within months, people succumbed to burns, radiation sickness and other illness …
To Have or Not to Have Guns
One week ago twenty children in an American school were massacred in less than ten minutes by a semiautomatic weapon. Too many innocent children are getting killed senselessly by guns. It is absolutely shocking that the Newton Elementary School shooting had to happen for people to noticed how many kids are dying in gun violence. …
Eyes and Ears: It’s Time They are Opened: The tragedy in Libya
Eleven years after the September 11th attacks, I woke up to an eerily similar day. Clear skies, nice weather, and, more or less, a noticeable amount of silence. I remember that day, first I heard the planes and then I watched the towers fall. I remember thinking how small the world had gotten, how actions …
Eyes and Ears: It’s Time They are Opened: The tragedy in Libya Read More »
Afghanistan: Time To End This War
Western officials are hoping the violent outburst after the careless Koran burning at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan will not happen again. Despite their deepest desires there is no doubt that it will. This was not the first furious demonstration against the U.S. and its NATO partners, who Afghans consider occupiers, and it definitely will …
To go or NOT to go to war with Iran
Israeli Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, is on his way to the United States to argue, again, for a war with Iran. Plenty of US officials including the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey, National Security Adviser Tom Donilon and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper have also been in Israel to discuss …
Time for Israel to Embrace the Arab Spring
The Arab Spring began 2010. Many across the region continue to protest against repressive governments that are robbing populations of their basic human and civil rights. The “revolution” that has gripped the region has had vastly different impacts. Nevertheless, while the Arab masses continue to fight for their freedoms, Israel is, in turn, speechless because …
Military Budget Cuts: No Big Deal or Excellent Opportunity?
Secretary Panetta is set to come out with his new “strategy” to offer his assessment on how to cut the military budget. The question remains: will it be the same old or will he have the courage to mandate what truly needs to be done to build a stellar military for America’s future national security …
Military Budget Cuts: No Big Deal or Excellent Opportunity? Read More »