August 2006

There has been much commentary on the significance of the Lebanon War. There is an unresolved debate about whether there was a victorious side in the war, and even what the idea of victory means. There are various suggestions about how to prevent a new war between Israel and Hezbollah, whether by relying mainly on the UN stabilization force or by reviving diplomacy between Israel and its various adversaries. Is it time to talk with Hezbollah and Hamas? What does the inconclusiveness of the war tell us about the benefits and limitations of military superiority in such a conflict? Could Israel have used its military capabilities more effectively, or were deeper structural restraints operative? These are all important issues, deserving of reflection and dialogue, and hopefully encourage a turn away from violence by all sides in their search for peace and security. Beyond these immediate concerns lies the question of...

LONDON – Despite the rhetoric emanating from Washington, London and Tel Aviv the fact is the situation in the Lebanon is being allowed to return to the status quo ante – as it was before the recent war. All that is being changed is that the UN force is being enlarged dramatically. But there is going to be no mandate for it to disarm Hezbollah. No big change for the Lebanon or for Israel, but a big one for the UN. The UN is now back in favor as everyone’s favourite peacekeeper, having recovered from the setbacks of the early 1990s when for different reasons it fell on its face in Rwanda, Bosnia and Somalia. Now Washington happily pays much of its bills. The Chinese contribute more military and civilian policemen than any of the other Security Council member. The big powers airlift its troops to the field and send...

August 31, 2006 Richard Falk There has been much commentary on the significance of the Lebanon War. There is an unresolved debate about whether there was a victorious side in the war, and even what the idea of victory means. There are various suggestions about how to prevent a new war between Israel and Hezbollah, whether by relying mainly on the UN stabilization force or by reviving diplomacy between Israel and its various adversaries. Is it time to talk with Hezbollah and Hamas? What does the inconclusiveness of the war tell us about the benefits and limitations of military superiority in such a conflict? Could Israel have used its military capabilities more effectively, or were deeper structural restraints operative? These are all important issues, deserving of reflection and dialogue, and hopefully encourage a turn away from violence by all sides in their search for peace and security. Beyond these immediate...

LONDON – Many of the great and the good have dismissed the utility of nuclear weapons as well as finding the idea of their use morally indefensible but still they exist in enormous numbers in the arsenals of the great powers. Secretary of Defence Robert McNamara and Secretary of State Dean Rusk both came to be convinced during their tenure in the Kennedy administration that their use was “unthinkable”. President George H.W. Bush has written that in private he ruled out a nuclear response during the 1991 Gulf War although in public his Administration did not. General Colin Powell, then the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in his autobiography recalls chiding his boss, Dick Cheney, for even considering it. Paul Nitze, one of the principal architects of containing the Soviet Union by nuclear deterrence, went even further. He argued in a Washington Post article in 1994 that it...

Responsible scholarship in ‘dark times’ – The thoughtless who never doubt Meet the thoughtful who never act. Bertold Brecht, “In Praise of Doubt” We humanize what is going on in the world and in ourselves only by speaking of it, and in the course of speaking we learn to be human. Hannah Arendt, Men in Dark Times, 1968 Thinking and Speaking in Dark Times These two inscriptions express the animating assumptions that express my views on responsible scholarship. The first assumption affirms the tension between unreflective certainty and paralyzing thoughtfulness. It recalls the famous Yeats’ line, “The best lack all conviction while the worst are full of passionate intensity.” Both poetic formulations capture the dominant mood in American university life during the early part of the 21st century. It is an atmosphere that does not encourage ‘responsible scholarship’ that is sensitive and responsive to the challenge of ‘dark times.’ Embarking...

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How to end the wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan Farhang Jahanpour Copyright © TFF & the author 1997 till today. All rights reserved. Tell a friend about this TFF article Send to: From: Message and your name Get free TFF articles & updates

Lund 1.maj 2007 – Mellem oktober 2006 og april 2007 skrev jeg 12 klummer i gratisavisen dato. Desværre blev den nedlagt i april. Mine korte artikler – på omkring 300 ord – fortsætter her, nogle publicerede i den trykte presse, andre kun hér. Om Kosovo og andre aktuelle ting ved årets begyndelse Arne Hansen, Frederikshavns Lokalradio 20. januar 2008Samtale om Kosovo og andre aktuelle ting Łbent brev til TV-Avisen – Indslag om missil”skjoldet” (Læs Mette Fugls svar og min duplik herunder) 10. januar 2008 Kære TV-Avisen og Mette Fugl Indslaget i aften om missilskjoldet er såvel ukyndigt som ensidigt. Ukyndigt fordi det implicit formidler det – vildledende – indtryk at Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) er et forsvarssystem. Det er en del af den væsentligste forandring i kærnevåbendoktrinerne siden 1945 og indebærer en mulig afslutning på den periode af sammenligningsvis relativ stabilitet som har præget den såkaldte terrorbalance siden da. Den lidt større og helt nødvendige sammenhæng...

The Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs withdraws organisational support for TFF, without prior consultation, motivation or documentation but with immediate effect. We intend to survive! September 22, 2000Jan ÖbergTFF’s global constituency and presence on Internet Reflections on the Support Campaign in the year 2000 September 22, 2000TFF SupportersIn their own voiceWhat people around the world wrote to and about TFF September 22, 2000Jan ÖbergAnalys av UD:s beslut om att slopa organisationsbidrag till TFF för år 2000 TFF PressInfo # 98Support Appeal Svensk Stödappell TFF PressInfo # 95Action Request – How You Can Help TFF Now TFF PressInfo # 94The Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs Deprives TFF of Its Annual Organisational Grant – and Allocates Millions without Documentation TFF PressInfo # 94 (in Swedish)UD slopar stöd till TFF – och fördelar miljoner utan redovisning Arbetets ledarsida 26 maj 2000Mot en snävare debatt Arbetet 6 juni 2000Socialdemokratin svek idealen, idag jamsar man med...

Marianne With Bindslev, Poliiken.dk, 19 december 2003EU mister folkelig gejstStrid om blandt andet Irakkrigen har blotlagt EU som en institution med mange ord og lidt handling, og det smitter af på befolkningens tillid til unionen. Poul Husted, Politiken.dk, 19 december 2003Iraks nye hær i opløsningMenneskeretsgrupper kritiserer de irakiske dommere for ikke at have den fornødne baggrund. Anders Jerichow & Adam Hannestad, Politiken.dk, 19 december 2003Dansk plan for atabisk demokratiRegeringen gør op med årtiers tilbageholdenhed over for arabiske lande. Nu skal 100 millioner kroner fremme reformer, støtte en fri presse og sikre menneskerettigheder. Henrik Kaufholz & Thomas Lauritzen, Politiken.dk,19 december 2003EU-veteran: Et lykkeligt sammenbrud for EuropaBritisk EU-ekspert mener, at unionen står i en meget alvorlig krise. Vibeke Sperling, Politiken.dk, 19 december 2003Vinde på anklagebænken i HaagMilan Babic, leder af et blodigt forsøg på at løsrive Krajina fra Kroatien, har vidnet imod Milosevic, men onsdag indledte Haag-domstolen en sag imod ham. Marc...

(Denna text skrevs före inledningen av bombningarna i Afghanistan) Statsminister Göran Persson sände den 12 september ett kondoleansbrev, omedelbart efter terrorattackerna den 11 september. Sverige deltog också i EU:s uttalande. Det dröjde emellertid ända till den 22 september innan statsministern gjorde följande uttalande: Det är korrekt att FN:s säkerhetsråd erkände den konstitutiva rätten till individuellt och kollektivt självförsvar i enlighet med Stadgan i resolution 1368 den 12 september. Det betraktade också terrorhandlingarna som ett hot mot internationell fred och säkerhet. Resolutionen betonar vidare att de som är ansvariga för att hjälpa, stödja eller ge skydd åt förövarna, organisatörerna eller sponsorerna av dessa handlingar kommer att hållas ansvariga. I detta syfte uttrycker det at det – Rådet – är redo “att vidta alla nådvändiga åtgärder för att svara på terroristattackerna…” Men inte med ett ord ger resolutionen Förenta staterna någon rätt att svara på terrorattackerna genom att inleda ett “krig mot...

LONDON – The most successful socialist society on earth goes to the polls on Sunday. It is not the socialism of Lenin, and certainly not of Mao. Nor, at the other extreme, is it the New Labour type of Tony Blair. Yet it is the socialism that the dreamers, thinkers and writers from Voltaire to George Bernard Shaw to Galbraith always imagined – a successful mix of human endeavour with human compassion, where the doors of a classless education are open to everyone, where it is not too difficult to get ahead, where you can make money, but you have to share it – with those who are not having it so good today and with yourself at some future age when you might be ill, infirm, lonely and unemployed. On the other hand, if you don’t miss a step and you die comfortable you can leave every penny to your...