Marching Toward Syria and Beyond: Imperial Madness

CounterPunch 
by Ben Schreiner 

With Syria firmly in the cross hairs, Washington’s war cries are nearing a crescendo. 

The Barack Obama 10 Step Guide to the U.S. Presidency

CounterPunch
by Ben Schreiner 

1. Kill Foreigners

Every president must consolidate his or her domestic power.  And long the best way to consolidate power within the world’s lone indispensable nation has been to knock off a few foreigners.  This services your power in three ways.  First, it ensures the profitability of the defense industry—i.e., your corporate masters.  Second, it proves that you are sufficiently tough, not some peacenik wuss.  And third, it makes your subjects feel safe; for nothing seems to bring greater comfort to Americans than knowing someone, somewhere has been snuffed out in the service of their safety. 

But not just any foreigner will do here.  Generally think of the impoverished, faraway type.  But right now, really any Muslim will do just fine.      

The Chemical Weapons Pretext for War on Syria: A Pack of Lies

CounterPunch/Dissident Voice/Global Research
by Ben Schreiner

In the wake of having its illegal domestic surveillance dragnet exposed, laying bare (yet again) the utter duplicity and criminality of the U.S. ruling class, Washington is once again digging deep to conjure up a pretext for yet another war of aggression in the Middle East.    

Obama to Mark Iraq War Anniversary with War Summit in Israel

CounterPunch/Dissident Voice/Global Research 
by Ben Schreiner

A decade after the American-led invasion of Iraq, the U.S. is once again preparing to set the Middle East ablaze.  In fact, President Obama will touch down in Tel Aviv ten years to the day “shock and awe” was first unleashed for what appears to be little more than a war summit with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

U.S. Approach to Iran's Nuclear Program Hypocritical

Iranian journalist Kourosh Ziabari's interview with me on U.S. policy toward Iran has been published on the Fars News Agency website.  The full text of the interview, which was conducted in mid-February, can be read here. 

U.S. Policy Shift on Syria: Edging Closer to Direct Military Intervention

CounterPunch/Dissident Voice/Global Research 
by Ben Schreiner

Though President Obama last year rejected a proposal from the State Department, Pentagon, and CIA to directly arm Syrian rebel fighters, his administration is once again edging closer to directly intervening in the Syrian war. 

Imperial Jockeying in Africa: U.S. Intervention Sets to Deepen

CounterPunch/Dissident Voice/Global Research

by Ben Schreiner

As “the peril of guerrilla war looms” for the French in Mali, the United States prepares to step-up its intervention across Africa.

Israel Enters Syria: Targeting the Iranian Threat to “Stability”

CounterPunch/Global Research

by Ben Schreiner

 Iran is undermining the world's stability.

Benjamin Netanyahu

With its air strikes against targets inside Syria last week, Israel announced its formal entry into the Syrian crisis.  The Israeli targeting of Iran has thus entered the Syrian theater.

The Iran Nuke Threat: Phantom Menace

Brave New World/CounterPunch/Dissident Voice 
by Ben Schreiner

They say you can’t kill that which has never lived.  It’s useful advice when analyzing the persistence of the so-called “Iranian nuclear threat.” 

Containing China by “Fighting Al-Qaeda” in Africa

Global Research 

by Ben Schreiner

Harnessing Asia's growth and dynamism is central to American economic and strategic interests.

Hillary Clinton

France’s military intervention into Mali may at first glance appear to have little to do with the U.S. “pivot” to Asia.  But as a French mission supposedly meant to bolster a U.N. sanctioned and African-led intervention has gone from “a question of weeks” to “the total re-conquest of Mali,” what may have begun as a French affair has now become a Western intervention.  And this in turn has drawn wider strategic interests into the conflict.  Strategic interests, it is becoming clearer, shaped by the imperatives of the U.S. Asia pivot.

Davos Mysticism: Elite Optimism Amid Endless Crisis

CounterPunch/Dissident Voice

by Ben Schreiner

An economic recovery has begun.

President Obama, Second Inaugural Address

President Obama’s optimism — baseless as it may be — was surely appreciated at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum.  For in what was described as the “most optimistic” meeting since 2007, 2,600 members of the global elite convened over the weekend at their exclusive Davos, Switzerland retreat to once again set upon “improving the state of the world.” 

The Crisis in Mali

Watch my appearance Tuesday on RT, as I discuss the crisis in Mali and Western intervention in Africa.

Mali and the Scramble for Africa: A New Wave of Barbarism

CounterPunch/Dissident Voice/Global Research

by Ben Schreiner

The French military intervention into Mali on Friday — France’s second in as many years into a former African colony — was reportedly “seconded” by the United States.  This ought to come as no great surprise, given the Pentagon’s deepening penetration into Africa.

Discussing Sanctions Against Iran

Listen to my appearance Friday on KDVS 90.3 FM in Davis, California, as Richard Estes and I discuss the U.S. sanctions regime against Iran.
 

Sanctioning Iran: Punishing the Crime of Defiance

CounterPunch/Dissident Voice/Global Research

by Ben Schreiner

Washington’s quest to bring Tehran to its knees continues to accelerate.  And in turn, ordinary Iranians increasingly find themselves caught in the crosshairs.