Your source for foreign policy news.
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June 9th, 2021
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Human rights defenders on Wednesday accused the Biden administration of joining its predecessors in undercounting the number of civilians killed during US wars, as the latest annual Pentagon report on noncombatants killed by American bombs and bullets was blasted as "grossly inadequate" by a leading ACLU official.
According to a Department of Defense report, US forces killed 23 civilians last year during military operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen.
However, the true number of civilians killed by US attacks in 2020 was far higher, according to organizations that monitor such casualties. The U.K.-based journalistic monitoring group Airwars, for example, reported between 34 and 36 civilian deaths caused by U.S.-led attacks on Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria last year. Airwars also reported between seven and 13 civilians killed by US forces in Somalia last year.
By Brett Wilkins
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Syrian state media reported a flurry of airstrikes overnight Tuesday. The strikes came from Lebanese airspace, and appear to have been an Israeli attack, which hit and damaged several sites in southern and central Syria.
The Syrian military reported moving to intercept the incoming missiles, and that they had shot some down. Others hit, with media reporting large explosions. Details on what was hit aren't clear, but Homs Province was apparently among the sites where explosions happened.
Interceptions aside, the fact that multiple targets were hit means we should expect casualties, potentially substantial ones. Despite this, Syrian state media has reported no casualties so far, instead saying that the strikes only caused material damage.
By Jason Ditz
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In this crisply written, well-researched book, Lesley Blume, a journalist and biographer, tells the fascinating story of the background to John Hersey's pathbreaking article "Hiroshima," and of its extraordinary impact upon the world.
In 1945, although only 30 years of age, Hersey was a very prominent war correspondent for Time magazine - a key part of publisher Henry Luce's magazine empire - and living in the fast lane. That year, he won the Pulitzer Prize for his novel, A Bell for Adano, which had already been adapted into a movie and a Broadway play. Born the son of missionaries in China, Hersey had been educated at upper class, elite institutions, including the Hotchkiss School, Yale, and Cambridge. During the war, Hersey's wife, Frances Ann, a former lover of young Lieutenant John F. Kennedy, arranged for the three of them to get together over dinner.
By Lawrence Wittner
Since Joe Biden took office as president in January, there has been considerable speculation about the prospects for successful U.S. negotiations with Iran to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) regarding Tehran's nuclear program. President Donald Trump effectively torpedoed that agreement when he rescinded Washington's adherence to its provisions in 2018. The chances of resuscitating the JCPOA remain uncertain, even as tensions between the United States and Iran on the nuclear issue continue to simmer.
However, ongoing suspicions about nuclear matters is not the only manifestation of ill-will between Washington and Tehran. Two other recent developments are notable, and the Biden administration's stance on both of them highlights the chronic blind spots and hypocrisy that have plagued US policy toward Iran for the past four decades.
By Ted Galen Carpenter
President Biden is continuing the Cuba policy of his predecessor despite campaign promises to move closer to normalization with Havana. According to a report to The Hill, the Biden administration might be keeping Cuba under embargo so Democrats can get more votes in the Miami area.
Democrats had traditionally done very well in Miami-Dade County. In 2016, Trump won the state of Florida, but Hillary Clinton won Miami-Dade by nearly 30 percent. In 2020, President Biden won the county, but only by about 7.5 percent. While there are many factors, Democratic strategists are attributing the shift in voting to Trump's hardline Cuba policy since the Miami area is home to many Cuban-Americans.
"You have to ask yourself: what do we get for going back to the pre-Trump approach to Cuba?" a Florida Democratic strategist told The Hill. "The answer is nothing. The Cuba issue doesn't play anywhere in the country but Florida, and here I think it's a liability to say 'let's normalize relations with Cuba.' It's not going to win you any votes, but it will lose you votes."
By Dave DeCamp
On Tuesday, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke on the phone with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and reaffirmed Washington's commitment to "defend" Saudi Arabia.
The two discussed the war in Yemen, where the US is still supporting Riyadh's vicious siege despite President Biden's promise to end support for "offensive" operations. Biden made the vow in February, and at the end of April, it was revealed that the US is still servicing Saudi warplanes that are bombing Yemen.
In a readout of the call, the Pentagon said that Austin spoke with MbS to "emphasize the US commitment to helping Saudi Arabia defend its territory and people."
By Dave DeCamp
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