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.