The Failure of America’s Trillion Dollar War Machine by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the United States spent $21 trillion on its military between 2001 and 2024 (in constant 2024 dollars), equal to the combined military spending of the next eighteen countries. Iran barely made that list at all, spending only 2% of what the US did, and SIPRI estimated Iran’s [...]
by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies The memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the US and Iran extended the ceasefire between them for 60 days, during which time they agreed to try to negotiate the details of a permanent peace agreement. If the US can make peace with Iran, this could mark the beginning of a transition away from the doctrine of “low-intensity conflict” that has shaped U.S. foreign policy for [...]
The War on Iran—and Washington’s Missing Exit Strategy by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies The United States has once again launched a war in the Middle East based on false claims about weapons of mass destruction. Like the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the U.S. assault on Iran rests on allegations that international inspectors have already debunked. But beyond the false pretext lies an even more pressing question that few [...]
by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies When European Union leaders met in Brussels on February 6th to discuss the war in Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron called this time “a turning point in history.” Western leaders agree that this is an historic moment when decisive action is needed, but what kind of action depends on their interpretation of the nature of this moment. Is this the beginning of a new [...]
A Brief History of Kill Lists, From Langley to Lavender by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies The Israeli online magazine +972 has published a detailed report on Israel’s use of an artificial intelligence (AI) system called “Lavender” to target thousands of Palestinian men in its bombing campaign in Gaza. When Israel attacked Gaza after October 7, the Lavender system had a database of 37,000 Palestinian men with suspected links to [...]
by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies As we approach the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a monumental shift is taking place that might just lead to the end of this calamitous war. This is not a breakthrough on the battlefield, but a stark reversal of the U.S. position from being the major supplier of weapons and funding to prolong the war to one of peacemaker. Donald Trump [...]
by Medea Benjamin & Nicolas J. S. Davies [Excerpts] With President Jimmy Carter’s passing and Donald Trump about to return to the White House, it’s a good time to recall a phone conversation that Carter had with Trump during his first term. Carter’s advice would serve Trump well if he really wants to fulfill his campaign promise to Put America First–something he failed to do in his first term. In April 2019, [...]
A Brief History of Kill Lists, From Langley to Lavender by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies The Israeli online magazine +972 has published a detailed report on Israel’s use of an artificial intelligence (AI) system called “Lavender” to target thousands of Palestinian men in its bombing campaign in Gaza. When Israel attacked Gaza after October 7, the Lavender system had a database of 37,000 Palestinian men with suspected links to [...]
by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies President Biden began his State of the Union speech with an impassioned warning that failing to pass his $61 billion dollar weapons package for Ukraine “will put Ukraine at risk, Europe at risk, the free world at risk.” But even if the president’s request were suddenly passed, it would only prolong, and dangerously escalate, the brutal war that is destroying Ukraine. The assumption of [...]
by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies While Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has been frantically shuttling around the Middle East trying to stop the Israeli con b flict in Gaza from exploding into a regional war, the United States has also sent two aircraft carrier strike groups, a Marine Expeditionary Unit and 1,200 extra troops to the Middle East as a “deterrent.” In plain language, the United States is threatening [...]
by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies [Photo credit: canada talks israel palestine - Life in Gaza under Israeli bombardment.] On Friday, October 27, the nations of the world voted in the UN General Assembly, by a vote of 120 to 14, for an “immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities” in Gaza. The resolution was sponsored by the government of sometime U.S. ally King Abdullah [...]
by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies As it did last year, the 2023 United Nations General Assembly has been debating what role the United Nations and its members should play in the crisis in Ukraine. The United States and its allies still insist that the UN Charter requires countries to take Ukraine’s side in the conflict, “for as long as it takes” to restore Ukraine’s pre-2014 internationally recognized borders. They [...]
