Andrew Young, the civil rights activist, politician, and diplomat, was present in Selma, Alabama, during the “Bloody Sunday” violence of March 7, 1965. When hundreds of Black Americans and others tried to march for voting rights only to be beaten and tear-gassed by Alabama state troopers, Young helped the wounded and others retreating from the … Continue reading Hard Questions about the Response to Terrorism: Looking Back on September 11th
Category: US Foreign Policy
A Global License to Kill: The History of US Targeted Killing
Qaed Salim Sinan al-Harethi, allegedly a top al Qaeda member, met his death on November 3, 2002. Harethi, who was suspected of involvement in the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole, was killed by a missile fired from a CIA-operated Predator drone, along with five other alleged al Qaeda members riding with him in a … Continue reading A Global License to Kill: The History of US Targeted Killing
Seek Arms Control, Not an Arms Race: Responding to China’s Possible Nuclear Build-Up
Satellite images have revealed evidence that China may be increasing the number of nuclear weapons it possesses. Any increase in these massively lethal weapons is cause for concern for peace activists. However, the proper response to such an increase is diplomacy and arms control. We must resist any efforts by foreign policy hawks in the … Continue reading Seek Arms Control, Not an Arms Race: Responding to China’s Possible Nuclear Build-Up
No Combat Experience, No Opinion: Parallels in Pro-bombing and Pro-choice Rhetoric
Paul Fussell, a literary critic and World War II veteran, wrote an essay in the 1980s with the arresting title “Thank God for the Atom Bomb.”[1] A passionate defense of the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Fussell’s essay is still sometimes invoked today by bombing supporters.[2] However, Fussell’s argument is seriously flawed—and notably … Continue reading No Combat Experience, No Opinion: Parallels in Pro-bombing and Pro-choice Rhetoric
“My Conscience…Came Roaring Back to Life”: Daniel Hale and US Targeted Killing
Daniel Hale, a former US airman and military contractor, received an almost four-year prison sentence in federal court on July 27th. Hale’s crime was sharing with the media classified government documents related to targeted killing and other US counter-terrorism policies. Prosecuted for violating the Espionage Act, Hale pled guilty earlier this year to one of … Continue reading “My Conscience…Came Roaring Back to Life”: Daniel Hale and US Targeted Killing
Wasting Money on Instruments of Death: Nuclear Weapons in the 2022 Budget
The Biden administration’s budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2022 contains much to disturb peace activists. The budget continues the long-standing pattern of grotesquely large military spending, with $715 billion allocated to the Defense Department.[1] Further, the budget specifically continues to fund lavishly the most extreme instruments of death, nuclear weapons. Peace activists need to work … Continue reading Wasting Money on Instruments of Death: Nuclear Weapons in the 2022 Budget
Encouraging Words That Require Action: Comments on the Geneva Summit
President Biden met, for the first time since his inauguration, Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 16 in Geneva. While the summit meeting didn’t produce any dramatic breakthroughs in US-Russian relations, it did provide some encouraging signs. The two countries’ joint statement, released after the summit, contained an important declaration on the evil of nuclear … Continue reading Encouraging Words That Require Action: Comments on the Geneva Summit
A Cold War Comes Home? Anti-Asian Racism in Light of US-China Hostility
Racism against Americans of Asian heritage has received significant attention recently. Concerns about anti-Asian hate crimes arose last spring as the Covid-19 pandemic began to affect the United States.[1] The horrifying murders of eight people, six of them Asian, in the greater Atlanta area in March 2021 revived concerns about bigotry toward Asian Americans. As … Continue reading A Cold War Comes Home? Anti-Asian Racism in Light of US-China Hostility
A Blueprint for a Different Type of Peace Organization
Effective peace activism is urgently needed today. Tensions between the United States on the one hand and both Russia and China on the other are high and have the potential to escalate into war, leading to a nuclear catastrophe. US relations with Iran and North Korea also threaten larger violent conflicts. Meanwhile, the US military … Continue reading A Blueprint for a Different Type of Peace Organization
Keeping Rivalry from Becoming War: Lessons from “China, the U.S. and the Risk of Nuclear War”
Peace activists everywhere should be concerned with the rising tensions between the United States and China. The two countries’ relationship has been worsening for some time and shows little sign of improvement. During the Trump administration, the United States and China were at odds, with trade policy and later the response to the Covid-19 pandemic … Continue reading Keeping Rivalry from Becoming War: Lessons from “China, the U.S. and the Risk of Nuclear War”
Peacemaking for Life 