By Richard Heydarian* This article is republished courtesy of Internatinal Politics and Society. Read original MANILA | 4 August 2024 (IDN) — Following years of intensive negotiations, the Philippines and Japan have consolidated their military cooperation with a new defence pact. Under the recently signed Reciprocal Access Agreement, the two Asian countries will define procedural […]
Seven-Nation Prisoner Swap Shows How Diplomacy, Not Law, Governs Exchanges
By William E. Butler* This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read original. PENNSYLVANIA | 3 August 2024 (IDN) — Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and two other Americans were freed from Russia in a prisoner exchange on Aug. 1, 2024. In total, 24 prisoners, including 12 German nationals […]
US Strengthens Military Bonds with Asia—with 500 million USD to Philippines
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS | 1 August 2024 (IDN) — The US is strengthening its economic and military relationships with Asian allies, including Japan and 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), comprising Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand. Brunei Darussalam, Viet Nam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia. As political and military tensions […]
US to Elevate Alliance with Japan to an “Unprecedented Height”
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS | 30 July 2024 (IDN) —The US, responding to a new nuclear alliance comprising Russia, China and North Korea, has reassured Japan protection under its nuclear umbrella and pledged to “elevate the Japan-US alliance to an unprecedented height.” At a July 28 press briefing in Tokyo, US Secretary of State […]
U.S. Defense Secretary Embarks on His Eleventh Trip to Indo-Pacific
By Joseph Clark, DOD News U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III embarked on his 11th trip to the Indo-Pacific on 26 July amid what officials said is a landmark period for U.S. ties throughout the region. WASHINGTON D C | 27 July 2024 (IDN) — The 10-day series of engagements will include stops […]
The Democratic Party Has a Culture of Loyalty
By Norman Solomon* This article was issued by TomDispatch and is being republished with the author’s permission. SAN FRANCISCO | 25 July 2024 (IDN) —The Biden campaign drove the Democratic Party into a ditch and speculation is rampant about grim prospects for the election. But little scrutiny has gone into examining how such a dire situation […]
Europe Should not Be Pushed by US Influence to Confront Russia
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden | 25 July 2024 (IDN) — Once the Warsaw Pact closed shop there was no good or honest reason for keeping NATO going. The threat that NATO was created to deter disappeared when the Soviet Union collapsed. The European Union’s influence on the new post-Cold War order has been by […]
Ten Principles for Perpetual Peace in the 21st Century
The United Nations-based structures are fragile and in need of an urgent upgrade; we should consider this one at the U.N. Summit of the Future in September. By Jeffrey D. Sachs* This article was published in Common Dreams and is being republished with the author’s permission. NEW YORK | 24 July 2024 (IDN) — Next […]
A Certified Genocidaire Visits Washington
By James E. Jennings* ATLANTA, Georgia | 23 July 2024 (IDN) — Tomorrow, 24 July, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under indictment for crimes of fraud in his own country and a certified genocidaire in the eyes of much of the world, will be enthusiastically welcomed to speak to the US Congress and meet President […]
Samantha Power Should Resign
By James E. Jennings* ATLANTA, Georgia | 20 July 2024 (IDN) — Samantha Power is a moral coward and a disgrace to the US. She should resign as head of USAID. Anyone who has read her famous book on genocide, A Problem From Hell, knows that she is a fierce opponent of genocides past, but […]