Category Archives: Foreign Policy

The Sanctuary Movement: Still a Model for Shaping Policy from the Grassroots Up

The Urbana-Champaign community has a long history of making national and even global matters topics of local debate. Apartheid in South Africa, the US war in Vietnam, and nuclear proliferation are among the many issues that galvanized residents in past … Continue reading

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Recent Local Wins for the Growing BDS Movement

Almost three years into Israel’s genocide in Palestine, the US federal government continues to double down on support for Israel. Despite Israel ranking last in global perception surveys for three years in a row. Despite over 60 percent of all … Continue reading

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The Anatomy of a Defeat: Why the United States Lost the War on Iran

This article previously was published in Italian in il manifesto on June 27. From the first shots targeting the Islamic Republic’s leadership, the United States and Israel waged an illegal war against Iran that was doomed to fail. Articles 1 … Continue reading

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Bad News from Venezuela

On July 28, the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry summoned Iranian Ambassador Ali Chegini to deliver a formal note of protest against a comment made by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in a video circulating online, in which he said Iran was … Continue reading

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Cuba Si, Bloqueo No

The crisis of Trump’s second term in the White House is increasing the suffering of communities at home and abroad. In few places is this crisis felt more severely than for those living in Cuba. The people of Cuba are … Continue reading

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“Revolution” in Iran? Doomed If It Succeeds

This essay was written before the February 28 beginning of the US–Israeli war on Iran. It is an edited version of one that appeared in The People’s Voice, the chapter newsletter of YDSA ISU, on February 18. An oft-repeated sentiment … Continue reading

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The Venezuela Raid: Venture Capitalism in a Gunboat

Kidnapping the president of Venezuela was a showy move, to be sure. Having already attacked boats in nearby international waters and positioned dozens of naval vessels in the region, on January 3 the US deployed 150 aircraft from bases across … Continue reading

Posted in Foreign Policy, Imperialism, International, International, International law, Latin America, Section, Social Media, Trump, Venezuela, War, World-wide death and suffering | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Venezuela Raid: Venture Capitalism in a Gunboat

The Venezuelan Crisis: Product Placement for the Wars at Home

Trump notified the world of his intended campaign against “narco-terrorist cartels” on Inauguration Day, but the reality of this summer’s naval buildup and military strikes in the Caribbean still took Americans by surprise. Analysts have been working overtime to decipher … Continue reading

Posted in Drug policy, Foreign Policy, ICE, Immigrants, Imperialism, International, Latin America, military, Section, Venezuela, War | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Venezuelan Crisis: Product Placement for the Wars at Home

Yemen, Gaza and the Obscenity of the Collateral Damage Claim

It’s telling that Americans discussing the March Signal leak detailing plans for the US air strikes on Yemen have focused more on White House emoji choices than the death tolls. This is what “over-the-horizon” warfare means for Americans now: it … Continue reading

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The Gaza Protests and Grassroot Challenges to US Foreign Policy

Letters to the editor, teach-ins, motions for divestment, campus protests, city resolutions . . . These expressions of citizen concern are not unique to the ongoing war on Gaza and are entirely appropriate to a democracy. Local communities have the … Continue reading

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Winter Issue Front Cover

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The Age of Disconnect: US Policy and the War Beyond Gaza

The hypocrisy gap between US diplomatic pronouncements and US actions is no surprise to world audiences, but the disconnect on display since October 7 has put the nail in the coffin of the American Century. American officials have been invoking … Continue reading

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Another View of the Ukraine War

Readers will note that the Public i has recently published three articles about the Ukraine War. However, there are still more issues not yet fully addressed. “When two elephants fight it is the grass that gets trampled.” Swahili proverb The … Continue reading

Posted in Afghanistan, Corporate media, Eastern Europe, Foreign Policy, Imperialism, International, International, Latin America, Nuclear War, Peace movement, Section, Ukraine, War | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Another View of the Ukraine War

US/NATO Proxy War in Ukraine: Continuity in US Foreign Policy

The war in Ukraine is barbarous and awful beyond comprehension. The formula in the US media that the attack was unjustified is true, but its frequent corollary, that it was completely unprovoked, is not. This is Noam Chomsky’s and Daniel … Continue reading

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Frozen Conflicts, Flashmob Militants, and the End of the Gunpowder State

Syria, Libya, Yemen . . . and now Sudan. Sudan has the unhappy potential to become the next of the intractable conflicts that have unfolded over the past decade. These multisided struggles involving a cocktail of militaries, militias, and mercenaries … Continue reading

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Daniel Ellsberg: “The Most Dangerous Man in America” and Heroic Whistleblower

“Wouldn’t you go to prison to help end this war?” Daniel Ellsberg, 1971 “I was PFC Manning.” Daniel Ellsberg, 2011 “The current risk of nuclear war, over Ukraine, is as great as the world has ever seen.” Daniel Ellsberg, 2023 … Continue reading

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Silence and the Continuing Legacy of the US Invasion of Iraq

The twentieth anniversary of the 2003 US invasion of Iraq slid by with an encore performance of the arrogance that characterized the invasion itself. In 2003 that arrogance disregarded inconvenient international norms as easily as it disregarded the Iraqi victims … Continue reading

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Woman – Life – Freedom: Interview on Resistance in Iran, Part 2

Part 1 of this interview was published in the December 2022 issue. The text has been substantially shortened and edited. Public i: I want to shift the discussion to the US now, and ask what can or should the US … Continue reading

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Biden’s Sanctions on Afghanistan Threaten to Kill More Civilians than Two Decades of War

When President Joe Biden decided to withdraw the US military from Afghanistan last year, much of America’s news media came down on him like a ton of bricks. Republicans piled on, calling the withdrawal an “unmitigated disaster.” But getting out was the right … Continue reading

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Progressive Dilemmas on Ukraine

The Left has tangled itself in knots over how to respond to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Early statements, such as by CodePink and Black Alliance for Peace, while putatively opposing war, laid emphasis on US and Western responsibility, NATO’s … Continue reading

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