Geography Archives: Iraq

  • Critique of the Arab Left: On Palestine and Arab Unity

    The situation of the Arab Left is similar to “the phenomenon of the transformation of the Left” on the global scale and a reflection of it.  The reason is simple: the Arab Left, as a general rule though with some exceptions, was never a “Left” in the dialectical materialist sense.  It has always been a […]

  • El Pueblo, Unido!: Houstonians Protest the War in Iraq

    Saturday, November 17.  In the energy capital of the US and under a light drizzling rain, a couple of hundred Houstonians marched and rallied against the ongoing oil war against the people of Iraq.  Neither the cloudy skies nor the small turnout dampened the spirit of the crowd or the tone of the message. The […]

  • The Danger of War Grows: The Scenario Reminiscent of the Iraq War [Die Kriegsgefahr wächst: Das Szenario erinnert an den Irak-Krieg]

      Die ständigen Mitglieder des UN-Sicherheitsrats hatten sich im Atomstreit mit dem Iran Anfang Oktober geeinigt: Die Entscheidung über verschärfte Sanktionen wird vertagt, bis die Internationale Atomenergiebehörde (IAEO) einen neuen Bericht über das Atomprogramm Irans vorgelegt hat.  Aber so viel Geduld wollten die USA nicht aufbringen.  Im Alleingang verschärften sie die Wirtschaftssanktionen, stuften die Revolutionsgarden […]

  • The G20: The New Ruling Aristocracy of the World?

    Introduction On the 17th and 18th of November 2007, the finance ministers and reserve bank governors of the G20 countries, along with leading International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank officials, will be gathering in the seaside village of Kleinmond, South Africa.1  During this meeting — which will be hosted by the current Chair of […]

  • Poppin’ Fresh Declares Martial Law

    Poppin’ Fresh, chubby little standard-bearer for the mass marketing of lip-smacking glutens, interrupted regularly scheduled TV programming today at 8:46 a.m. to announce the imposition of martial law across the continental United States. “Now, don’t you folks go out of your homes, and don’t you try to stop those roundups in the streets — we’ve […]

  • Twenty Reasons against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran

      INTRODUCTION Five years into the US-UK illegal invasion of Iraq and its consequent catastrophe for Iraqi people, peace loving people throughout the world are appalled by the current Iran-US standoff and its resemblance to the run-up to the invasion of Iraq.  The hawks, headed by Dick Cheney in Washington, are now shamelessly calling for […]

  • Oil and Efficiency Myths

    Everything Americans do requires transportation because our individualized homes, like our jobs and shopping locations, are all considerable distances from one another except in our largest, densest cities.  The private automobile rules.  Everything we buy in a store got there by truck.  Two-thirds of US oil consumption goes for transportation, most of that for private […]

  • Kurds, Turkey, and the US: Playing with Fire

      Once again the Turkish generals threaten to invade areas in Northern Iraq, or, if you want, Southern Kurdistan. Historically, these areas with their flat fields around the Euphrates and Tigris, surrounded by peaked mountaintops, were home to a multitude of religions and cultures, in the way mountainous areas often are.  But, after decades of […]

  • Olympia Activists Stand Firm against Continued Military Shipments through Port

      November 10, 2007 Late Friday afternoon, approximately 50 members of Olympia Port Militarization Resistance (OlyPMR) sat down near the main gate of the Port of Olympia in Washington State.  Two tractor trailers, one carrying two Stryker combat vehicles, another filled with military cargo, were blocked from exiting the port.  Police arrived on the scene […]

  • Turkey into the Vortex of the Iraq Quagmire: Another Breach in US Policy

    A new dimension of immense importance is being added to the contradictions of US policy in Iraq and the Middle East at large.  Turkey, a staunch US ally for over half a century and a NATO member, is threatening to militarily intervene in Northern Iraq, i.e. Iraqi Kurdistan.  A resolution was passed by the Turkish […]

  • Mapping the Human Terrain and Developing Kill Chains:Social Science in Service to Capitalism

    Author’s Note:  The appearance of General Petraeus’s Counterinsurgency Field Manual, published recently for the US book trade by the University of Chicago Press, has created a stir because of charges of pilfered scholarship, damage to the reputation of UC, and the role of anthropologist Montgomery McFate in writing the book.  The mission of social science […]

  • America, America!

    Directed by KP Sasi and based on Kamaan Singh Dhami’s anti-war song “American War Paar Da! (Check Out the American War!),” the 4-minute music video is a satirical but severe indictment of America’s role in escalating world conflict.  Originally written following the post-9/11 bombing of Afghanistan by the USA, and developed to address the occupation […]

  • Resistance Movements Unite! Cairo International Conference and Liberation Forum

      International Campaign against Zionist and American Occupation Cairo International Conference and Liberation Forum, 27-30 March 2008 Declaration of Principles For National and Individual Liberation In Support of Resistance to the Zionist/American Project Against Zionism and Imperialism Against Despotism and Oppression Against Exploitation and Corruption The political forces, popular committees, civil society organizations, and independent […]

  • They Met the Resistance

    On one of those beautiful, fall Sunday mornings that can make you feel all is right with the world, filmmakers Molly Bingham and Steve Connors discussed their new documentary about Iraqis fighting the U.S. occupation, Meeting Resistance, 84 minutes of unflinching wallop destined to unhinge the way millions of Americans see their country’s role in […]

  • On the Ninetieth Anniversary of the Russian Revolution: Why Socialism Did Not Fail

    When the Russian Revolution of October 1917 took place, it raised the hopes of the working class worldwide that a socialist state was possible.  The civil war that followed plus the intervention of foreign powers devastated the economy, necessitating a postponement in the transition to socialist relations of production.  The New Economic Policy was a […]

  • Surmounting Sectarianism in the Middle East: An Interview with Hisham Bustani

    In a recent interview with the Qatari daily al-Raya, the Jordanian Marxist writer and activist Hisham Bustani analyses current issues: the situation in the Arab region; threats against Iran; the “Broader Middle East Initiative”; the U.S., Arab regimes, and Islamists; and prospects of the Arab liberation project.  This interview, conducted by the journalist As’ad al-Azzouni, […]

  • Iran: Bernard Kouchner’s Declaration [Iran : Déclaration de Bernard Kouchner]

    La déclaration de Bernard Kouchner appelant à se préparer à la possibilité d’une guerre avec l’Iran est inquiétante.  Cette déclaration venant après le discours de Nicolas Sarkozy sur une alternative entre « la bombe iranienne ou le bombardement de l’Iran », simplifiant à l’outrance le problème du dossier nucléaire iranien, vise en réalité à préparer […]

  • Abuse of Iran’s President in New York Fits a Pattern

    Many Iranians, ranging from university presidents in Iran to immigrants here in the United States, feel insulted by the treatment president Ahmadinejad received in New York in September.  This is understandable, coming in the midst of a larger media campaign to demonize Iran, including the newspaper cartoon last month that depicted Iranians as cockroaches crawling […]

  • Russian and Iranian Presidents’ Joint Statement

    Wednesday, October 17, 2007 Tehran, 16 October: A joint statement has been signed following today’s talks in Tehran between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinezhad.  Here is its full text. On 16 October 2007, which corresponds to 24 Mehr 1386 in the Iranian calendar, Russian President Vladimir Putin, at the head of […]

  • “Resistance Is Part of Our Culture and History”: Interview with Khaled Hadadeh, Secretary General of the Lebanese Communist Party (PCL) [“La résistance fait partie de notre culture et de notre histoire”: Interview de Khaled Hadadeh, secrétaire général du PCL, parti communiste libanais]

    Le Parti communiste libanais participe à la résistance contre l’occupation israélienne, résistance politique, sociale, mais aussi armée, malgré le peu de moyens dont il dispose.  Nous avons passé une journée entière à Jamaliya, dans la vallée de la Bekaa, où 7 militants communistes sont tombés les armes à la main lors d’une opération israélienne en […]