This article was issued by COUNTERCURRENTS and is being republished courtesy of them. Viewpoint by Anis Chowdhury* SYDNEY (IDN) — “Weaponising trade”, i.e., using trade as a tool of foreign policy aspirations and marginalising rivals instead of as an opportunity for economic growth, is not new. It is well known that “the United States bears […]
The Battle Against Gun Violence Being Fought at the Grassroots
By Thalif Deen NEW YORK (IDN) — A sign outside a gun store in the United States was dead on target: “We sell guns to every Dick, Tom and Dirty Harry.” Clint Eastwood, one of Hollywood’s enduring tough guys, played the role of the maverick San Francisco cop “Dirty Harry” in the 1971 crime thriller […]
Ukraine-Russia: With Activation of NATO Response Force, U.S. Military Ready to Provide Forces
By C. Todd Lopez This article was issued by U.S. Department of Defense. WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) — In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced on February 25 activation of the alliance’s defense plans, which means also that it can deploy the NATO Defense Force. The U.S. Defense Department […]
Growing Calls for Investigation into Bronx Fire That Took Over a Dozen African Lives
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — A smoky building fire that raced through a 19-story building on an early Sunday this month took 17 lives—adults and children, many from the African nation of The Gambia—is raising questions about the building’s reported insufficient heat and automatic doors that should have been shut […]
Three African Countries Lose U.S. Trade Benefits Over Rights Violations
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — The Biden administration has cracked down on three African countries accused of serious rights violations, expelling them from AGOA, a duty-free trade program worth millions in benefits. The three countries—Ethiopia, Mali and Guinea—had been warned in November of the threatened action which affects imports and […]
US Hosts Summits Promoting Democracy But 83 are Missing from List of Invitees
By Thalif Deen NEW YORK (IDN) — A head of state, who presided over an authoritarian regime in Southeast Asia, was once asked about rigged elections in his country. “I promised I will give you the right to vote,” he was quoted as saying, perhaps half-jokingly “But I did not say anything about counting those […]
Breaking Down Barriers to Food Entrepreneurship to Connect Us Beyond Our Differences
By Elizabeth Frame Ellison The writer is president and CEO of the Lobeck Taylor Family Foundation. TULSA, United States (IDN) — As Oklahoma is poised to resettle nearly 2,000 Afghan refugees in the near future, it is more important than ever to welcome newcomers who are fleeing war, poverty, trauma and many other hardships. That […]
AUKUS Threatens to Damage NATO
Viewpoint by James W. Carden This article was produced by Globetrotter in partnership with the American Committee for U.S.-Russia Accord. James W. Carden is a writing fellow at Globetrotter and a former adviser to the U.S. State Department. Previously, he was a contributing writer on foreign affairs at the Nation, and his work has also […]
US-China Relations Face Transitional Period Ahead
Viewpoint by M.K. Bhadrakumar * NEW DELHI (IDN) — The ‘official working visit’ by the German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the White House on July 15 has been most conspicuous for its subdued tone regarding the most fateful topic of her discussion with President Joe Biden—China. Merkel’s guarded remarks about China at the joint press […]
What About Iraq and Iran Now That U.S. Afghan War Is Over?
Viewpoint by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies* NEW YORK (IDN) — At Bagram air-base, Afghan scrap merchants are already picking through the graveyard of U.S. military equipment that was until recently the headquarters of America’s 20-year occupation of their country. Afghan officials say the last U.S. forces slipped away from Bagram in the […]