July 2013
Attacks against anti-occupation activism increase Dr. Stephen Zunes: A growing movement has emerged on college campus calling for divestment from companies that support the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. It is part of broader international campaign initiated by Palestinian civil society for boycott, divestment and sanctions to pressure Israel to end its occupation of territories seized in the 1967 war. The activists hope to emulate the success of a similar movement in the 1970s and '80s to divest institutional stockholdings from corporations doing business in apartheid South Africa. Read More
US intelligence and the rise of a national security state By Arthur Scott: Only two Presidents have alerted the American public to the dangers of a National Security State. One was Dwight D. Eisenhower who in his Farewell Address to the American public warned the nation of the threat posed by the military –industrial complex when he said: “This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence – economic, political, even spiritual – is felt in every city, every Statehouse, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources, and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.” Read More
Cairo's military is the best friend the U.S. has got: Indyk By Abdus Sattar Ghazali: Amid violent demonstrations orchestrated by Tamaroud group, Egypt’s pro-US army Wednesday (July 3, 2013) deposed and arrested the elected President Mohammad Morsi. Adly Mansour, the head of the Supreme Constititonal Court, with which Morsi had repeated confrontations, was sworn in as interim president. Not surprisingly, President Obama expressed concern about Morsi's ouster, but he avoided describing it as a coup, which would trigger automatic cuts in U.S. aid to a longtime ally. Obama did not call for Morsi to be returned to power. He did not openly condemn the Egyptian military. President Obama said: “…..we are deeply concerned by the decision of the Egyptian Armed Forces to remove President Morsi and suspend the Egyptian constitution. I now call on the Egyptian military to move quickly and responsibly full authority back to a democratically elected civilian government as soon as possible through an inclusive and transparent process…..” However, Martin Indyk, the Director of the Foreign Policy Program at the Brookings Institution, was blunt. Writing in Foreign Policy magazine under the title "It's Time to Work With Egypt's Generals," he advocates that " in a turbulent time, Cairo's military is the best friend the U.S. has got." Read More
Banned in Phoenix: How the Arizona State Bar Association considers analysis of international law in the Middle East too controversial? By Stephen Zunes: The Arizona State Bar Association (SBA) last month held its annual convention. It appears that the ban on my participation is still in effect. It was exactly ten years ago that the session in which an academic paper I was scheduled to present on the application of international law in conflicts in the greater Middle East was abruptly cancelled just two weeks before its scheduled presentation at the 2003 convention. No one in the organization’s leadership could explain anything objectionable in the paper, which they acknowledged they had not actually read, but were apparently convinced by a right-wing campaign that I was “anti-Israel” and “anti-American.” They have refused to allow me to give the paper at any of their subsequent annual meetings, including the one last month (June). It is highly disturbing that the level of intolerance and censorship in the post-9/11 political climate is still so strong that even a state bar association actively suppresses scholarly analysis that raises legal questions regarding the policies of the United States and its Middle East allies. Read More
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