Friday, August 30, 2013

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. 

Friday, August 16, 2013

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.      

Monday, June 17, 2013

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.    

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

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. 

Monday, March 4, 2013

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. 

Thursday, February 28, 2013

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. 

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

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.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

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.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

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.” 

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

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.

Monday, January 28, 2013

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.” 

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

The Crisis in Mali

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


Monday, January 14, 2013

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.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

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.
 

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

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.