Schaar on Tunisia

Stuart Schaar has written an especially astute analysis of events in Tunisia and beyond. His article was published on February 6 in Mumbai, India by the Economic and Political Weekly. Schaar is the co-author of THE MIDDLE EAST AND ISLAMIC WORLD READER. He is professor emeritus of Brooklyn College and is now living in Morocco.

Egypt's future

Mazin Qumsiyeh writes about Israel and the Middle East. What distinguishes his writing is his fusion of sharp political critique and acknowledgment of our common humanity. His most recent commentary, on events in Egypt, contains valuable information and links, as well as his typically thoughtful, moving analysis.

Support for Tunisia's democratic revolution

The Campaign for Peace and Democracy (CPD) has issued an informative and politically important statement about events in Tunisia.

Actually-existing Islamic movements and states

Editor's note: This is the seventh article in a series by Richard Greeman about Islamism.

Liu Xiaobo and the Nobel Peace Prize - Debate within China

A fascinating analysis of Liu Xiaobo and the Nobel Peace Prize has been circulating in Europe but has not, to my knowledge, been reprinted in the US, in print or online. Au Loong Yu, who wrote about China for the New Politics symposium on labor's response to the global economic collapse, rejects the premises of a debate that is "primarily between the liberals who support Liu Xiaobo and the
nationalists is essentially a debate of either Washington or the

The political gangbang of WikiLeaks

I’m with Peter Tatchell in supporting WikiLeaks and Julian Assange, who are exposing the U.S. government’s lies and its support for human rights abuses. Tatchell wants Brits to protest the U.S.-led attacks on WikiLeaks and argues that the charges against Assange have to be pursued in the court of law.  Where I disagree is in estimating the probability of a frameup, and I think comparison with  Daniel Ellsberg and the  Pentagon Papers supports my case.

The U.S. March of Folly in the Middle-East

Does desperation alone account for reckless escalation of U.S. military aggression in the Middle East for which the “threat” of an aggressive Islamism provides the rationalization? To be sure, the  worsening world economic crisis directly conditions the international context, aggravating U.S. capital’s frantic rush to control the world’s remaining oil reserves. America's willingness to use excessive force and to go it alone also serves to intimidate would-be imperialist rivals like China, Russia and France, so as to retain its lion’s share.

Obama's Dangerous Escalations

Obama’s decision to radically escalate the wars he was ostensibly elected to terminate is a measure of U.S. imperialism's desperation. It’s not just that our erstwhile peace candidate and future Nobel peace laureate is withdrawing exhausted U.S. troops from the frying pan of Iraq only to transfer them into the fire of Afghanistan, although that itself was an act of desperation. Many of these “volunteer” soldiers and reservists, shattered after several devastating tours of duty in Iraq, are being forced to remain in the service years beyond their contracts.

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