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Readings 2009 - 2010

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  • Obama's Pentagon Rebrands Iraq War, Rolls Out PR Offensive in Afghanistan – Liliana Segura
    The new PR campaign has all the qualities of a George Orwell novel. Perhaps 'Operation Imperial Sunset' is a more appropriate name. – AlterNet, February 20, 2010

  • Mothers in Combat Boots – Mary Eberstadt,
    A single mom whose child care option fell through, refused to go to Afghanistan. She was arrested and threatened with court martial and her son was temporarily placed in foster care. – Hoover Institution, Stanford University, Feb. - March, 2010

  • The Afghan Speech Obama Should Give (but Won't) – Tom Engelhardt, TomSispatch.com
    What if the president decided to de-escalate in Afghanistan, or even pull out? – Truthout, November 19, 2009

  • Gates Invokes New Authority to Block Release of Detainee Abuse Photos – Jason Leopold
    Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has blocked the release of photographs of US soldiers abusing detainees in Iraq and Afghanistan, invoking new powers just granted to him by Congress that allows him to circumvent the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) n national security grounds. – truthout, November, 14, 2009

  • Climate change and conflict – The International Crisis Group
    The potential consequences of climate changes and of associated environmental degradation are grave, including food and water shortages, population shifts and economic losses. These in turn may increase a range of risks to human security, including the risk of deadly conflict. – International Crisis Group, August, 2008

  • Of health care, war, costs and consequences – David Morris, Institute for Local Self Reliance, Minneapolis
    Soon, this country will make two decisions of great consequence: Will we send additional troops to Afghanistan? Will we reform our health care system? Why is cost a non-issue for one and a deal breaker for the other? – Star Tribune, October 11, 2009

  • Where is the Defund Blackwater Act? – Jeremy Scahill, RebelReports
    Democrats joined Republicans in voting to “Defund ACORN,” yet have done nothing to stop Blackwater’s ongoing taxpayer funded crusade in Iraq and Afghanistan. – Common Dreams, September 24, 2009

  • Why Europe welcomes US missile defense shield decision – Robert Marquand
    German analysts say this gives the US and Europe more leeway in negotiations with Russia, and give Poland a ‘healthier’ foreign policy. – Christian Science Monitor, September 21, 2009

  • Saving the Obama Revolution – Robert Scheer
    The Obama revolution, and there was the hope of one, might still succeed. But only if Barack Obama follows the model of the successful Reagan revolution and heeds the political base that made his presidency possible. – truthout, September 24, 2009

  • U.S. must deploy more foreign diplomacy personnel – By Eight Former Secretaries of State
    National security is about more than bullets. “Smart power,” “soft power” and the “Three D’s” — development, diplomacy and defense — are widely accepted as important and effective foreign policy principles. But they too often get short shrift. – Politico, June 25, 2009

  • Peaceful tradition – Kathy Magnuson
    "I feel we have a job to do. Our job is to resist, to resist war," said Marie Braun, one of several individuals and groups who started a weekly peace vigil 10 years ago on the Lake Street/Marshall Avenue Bridge over the Mississippi River. – Minnesota Women's Press, July 2009

  • Double Jeopardy – Adam Serwer
    Civil-liberties and human-rights groups have found themselves fighting a two-front battle on how the United States tries terrorist suspects. – The American Prospect, August 6, 2009

  • Hearing on the Legal, Moral, and National Security Consequences of Prolonged Detention – U.S. Senator Russ Feingold
    Any system that permits the government to indefinitely detain individuals without charge or without a meaningful opportunity to have accusations against them adjudicated by an impartial arbiter violates basic American values, and is likely unconstitutional. – Feingold Senate website, June 9, 2009

  • Bush-era US torture system: The Nuremberg Truth and Reconciliation Commission? – Jeremy Scahill, CounterPunch
    Representatives John Conyers and Jerrold Nadler are officially asking Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint an independent Special Prosecutor “to investigate and, where appropriate, prosecute” participants in the Bush-era US torture system. – Global Research, April 30, 2009

  • If Iraq was a Mistake, Why are We Still There? – Camillo Bica
    We live in a Nation believes in the importance of the Constitution and the rule of law, both moral and International. We conduct ourselves as a Nation, not only by what is in our national interest but also by what is right. – Common Dreams, May 29, 2009

  • What the U.S. Government Can Learn From Three 22-Year Olds on Taking Action For Iraqi Refugees – Courtney E. Martin
    At least 4.8 million Iraqi refugees are struggling for every day survival. We don't have time for more reports or pretty graphs. We must act now. – AlterNet, April 23, 2009

  • Minnesota torture critics weigh in on Bush-era memos – Chris Steller
    Four outspoken critics of America’s torture policies were contacted for reaction to revelations about Bush-era treatment of prisoners: Steven Miles, Douglas Johnson, Kirk Anderson, Coleen Rowley. – The Minnesota Independent, April 24, 2009

  • Occupying Hearts and Minds – Dahr Jamail
    The US military has embedded anthropologists, sociologists and social psychologists with their own troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan as part of a Pentagon program called Human Terrain System (HTS). – truthout.org, April 30, 2009

  • National Guard Deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq Unprecedented and Alarming – Kathlyn Stone
    Opponents believe the National Guard deployments prolong wars and occupation, deepen the country’s debt, cause hardship to soldiers, and leave communities vulnerable to natural disasters. – Women Against Military Madness, April, 2009

  • We Can't Remake Afghanistan – Russ Hoyle
    The Limits of Power: Reinvent US containment policy toward the Soviet Union as the cornerstone for dealing with Al Qaeda and Islamic terrorism. – The Nation, April 1, 2009

  • Poet and Soldier – The Story
    A mom's poems help re-open lines of communication between her and her son in the Special Forces in Iraq. Now the poems have been published and they're both talking about the change in their relationship. – American Public Radio, May 22 2008

  • Minnesotans and Iraqis work together for reconciliation – Luke Wilcox
    For the Iraqi and American Reconciliation Project (IARP) and the Muslim Peacemaker Teams (MPT), interpersonal and local community connections are exactly what is needed to sustain an enduring process of reconciliation and peacebuilding. – Twin Cities Daily Planet, February 25, 2009

  • Can Congress Save Obama From Afghan Quagmire? – Robert Naiman
    A progressive presidency is a terrible thing to waste. Wouldn't it be a shame if Americans' hopes for the Obama administration were squandered in Afghanistan? – truthout.org, March 11, 2009

  • The Obama Code – George Lakoff
    For the sake of unity, the President tends to express his moral vision indirectly. He connects with his audience using what cognitive scientists call the “cognitive unconscious.” – Daily Kos, February 24, 2009

  • Obama's ban on torture: Minnesotans played a role – Sharon Schmickle
    Center for Victims of Torture's behind-the-scenes work to build support to help the new president end a practice which had bitterly divided the nation. – MinnPost.com, January 30, 2009

  • Stimulate Peace, Not War – Anne Miller, The Capital Times (Wisconsin)
    Better for tax dollars go to staunch the bloodletting of American jobs than wasteful Pentagon programs whose primary purpose is to kill human beings. – CommonDreams.com, February 19, 2009

  • Obama Moving on Nuclear Arms Control Pledges, – Chris Schneidmiller, Global Security Newswire
    The new administration has already indicated that its next budget would include no funding for development of a new nuclear weapon and that it intends to cut spending on missile defense activities. – Nuclear Threat Initiative, February 17, 2009

  • Don't Escalate in Afghanistan – Editorial
    Instead, President Obama should focus on devising a regional strategy to stabilize Afghanistan and strengthen Pakistan. – The Nation, February 4, 2009

  • A military solution to a war on terrorism is doomed – Deepak Chopra, Ken Robinson
    It's a sore temptation to hunt down Osama bin Laden - one of the most consistent campaign promises made by President Obama - and yet there are strong arguments against it. – SFGate/San Francisco Chronicle, February 3, 2009

  • Obama wages quiet war on Bush’s terror-speak – AP
    The "War on Terror" is losing the war of words. The catchphrase burned into the American lexicon hours after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, is fading away, slowly if not deliberately... – Hurriyet Daily News, January, 2009

  • Getting Rid of the "War on Terror" Mindset – Matthew Yglesias
    The Obama administration marks the beginning of the end of the war in Iraq. But it's less clear what it means for the larger "war on terror." The phrase has long been a controversial one in foreign-policy precincts, and momentum for its abolition is clearly building. – The American Prospect, January 22, 2009

  • The Newest Fear-Mongering Campaign From the Right and the Media – Glenn Greenwald, Salon.com
    Scaring Americans that they will be slaughtered if Guantanamo is closed and Terrorism suspects are brought into the U.S. for real trials. – Common Dreams, January 23, 2009