War

It Is What It Is

A call by the Hayward gallery has been circulating regarding a second installment of the Jeremy Deller piece, It Is What It Is. The call, an excerpt of which follows, was sent out to look for participants in the gallery show opening this month (February 22) in London: “I work as Assistant Curator at the Hayward Gallery and am currently carrying out research for our forthcoming exhibition on Turner prize-winner Jeremy Deller which takes place at the Hayward Gallery from 22 February - 13 May 2012.  The exhibition will feature a number of works, including an installation of ‘It Is What It Is’ - a work which explores the recent history and current circumstances of Iraq ...

Our Friend Anthony Shadid's Stories

I feel like I need to write the stories, he would say, or the stories will not get told. And so often Anthony Shadid did write the stories no one else would—the stories from Iraq, from Lebanon, from Libya, from Syria. In the end, he died on a dirt road in Syria, carried by a fellow journalist across the border to Turkey, like a fallen hero. To many, he was a hero, but he was also a beloved friend, a son who adored his parents, a father who lived for his children, a husband who beamed at mention of his wife. He always tried to balance that pull of the reporter to cover the story with the responsibility he had to those who loved him to just stay with us. The line between ...

Egypt's Other Revolution: Modernizing the Military-Industrial Complex

The Egyptian military produces a staggering array of manufactured goods: kitchen cutlery, flat-screen televisions, agricultural and household chemicals, refrigerators, industrial machinery, railway cars, and election booths. And while many of the military’s factory webpages make a concerted attempt to promote their wares, the careful observer gets the feeling that the production of air conditioners and gas stoves has superseded the production of guns and ammo. Although the military has been co-producing weapons systems in its factories under license from Western arms manufacturers for decades, the production lines and maintenance facilities constructing and modifying ...

War Talk: The Obama Administration and Iran

“Let there be no doubt,” President Obama declared in his 2012 State of the Union address. “America is determined to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and I will take no options off the table to achieve that goal.” The comment drew a rousing and sustained standing ovation from the US Congress. “But a peaceful resolution of this issue is still possible,” the President continued to a smattering of applause that tumbled awkwardly across the silent chamber. The spectacle would suggest war on Iran seems not just a viable but perhaps even a highly popular prospect on Capital Hill. War talk holds a certain appeal. For an American president facing a difficult ...

Is the Special Tribunal for Lebanon a Quest for Justice or a Political Intervention?

In 2007, in response to a request by the 2005 Lebanese government, the United Nations (UN) Security Council established the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL). Based in the Netherlands, the STL seeks to prosecute those responsible for the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and twenty-two others on 14 February 2005, as well as for a select number of other attempted assassinations in Lebanon between 2004 and 2006. Though Lebanon and the UN established the STL by treaty, the Lebanese parliament never ratified it due to political divisions. This prompted then Prime Minister Fouad Siniora to send a letter to then UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon that ...

Lawfare and Targeted Killing: Developments in the Israeli and US Contexts

Over the last decade, the term lawfare, an amalgamation of “law” and “warfare,” has been adopted and popularized among people engaged in monitoring, judging and debating the legality of a state’s wartime behavior vis-à-vis enemies on and off the battlefield. Today, the dominant theme in debates about lawfare turns on the contested legitimacy of litigation to challenge military and security policies and practices; and efforts to sue or prosecute state agents, government-funded contractors, and corporations who are alleged to have engaged in or abetted serious violations of law in the conduct of war. While some people (myself included) attach a positive connotation to the ...

War on Iran

Stark Challenges for Iraq as US Exits: Interview with The Guardian's Martin Chulov

Martin Chulov has been the Baghdad correspondent for the Guardian of London. He has been covering the Middle East since 2005. In this interview, Chulov discusses the situation on the ground in Iraq as the last of the American soldiers complete their withdrawal. The end of the war leaves a country with a tense atmosphere, a fearful populace, and barely-functioning state institutions. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's agenda is uncertain, and his recent issuance of an arrest warrant for Vice President Tariq al-Hashmi on terrorism accusations has outraged many Sunnis and risks fanning the flames of sectarian tensions. Chulov offers a stark assessment of ...

American Empire and the Good Life: Hypocrisy and Fantasy at Home and Abroad

On television, we watch attractive lovers drinking red wine in a lush New Zealand vineyard. Cut. Syrian soldiers drag a body down the street. Incongruous images like these aren’t just the stuff of late-night television viewing; equally discordant scenes, "links," flash up on computer screens where many of us surf.  In fact, just about everywhere you look, advertisements for the "good life" coincide, with almost naturalized self-evidence, with registrations of another country’s cruelty. It’s as if the desires for pleasure and calls for moral outrage have something in common, which they do: the capacity to make us feel good. All the more ...

Adventures in Candyland

This week, walking through Columbia University's campus, I noticed a piece of paper stuck to the metal railings around me. It was a flyer advertising Israel week at Columbia University, a popular yearly event meant to discuss issues related to Israel and foster support on campus for that state. This year, one of the events in particular caught my eye. The event was titled Mapping Israel's Borders, and the blurb read: “Do you want to learn more about the history of Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflict? Do you love CANDY? Map out the history of Israel's map . . . with candy! Watch how the borders of Israel have fluctuated over the years and discuss how these historical ...

Amnesty International Memorandum on Investigating Former US President George W. Bush for Crimes Under International Law

[The following is the latest from Amnesty International on the criminality of George W. Bush's use of torture.] VISIT TO CANADA OF FORMER US PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH AND CANADIAN OBLIGATIONS UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL MEMORANDUM TO THE CANADIAN AUTHORITIES AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL Summary: Amnesty International considers that there is enough material in the public domain – even if one were to rely only upon information released by United States authorities, and by former US President George W. Bush himself – to give rise to an obligation for Canada, should former President Bush proceed with his visit to Canada on or around 20 October ...