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    The Global War of Error

    Yes, our infrastructure stinks, our schools are failing, this country’s a nightmare of inequality and there’s a self-promoting madman in the White House. So, isn’t it time to take pride in the rare institutional victories America has had in this century? Arguably, none has been more striking than the triumphal success of the American war system. Oh, you’re going […] More

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    Joe Biden’s True Grit and Trump’s Strategic Failure

    As vice president to Barack Obama, whose proudest claim to honor and presidential stature was the assassination of Osama bin Laden in 2011, Joe Biden understands what it means — at least in terms of political marketing — to fulfill the requirements of justice. Commenting on the US drone strike on January 3 that killed […] More

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    Will Iran and the US Go to War?

    The assassination of the commander of Iran’s Quds Force, Major General Qassem Soleimani, by the United States on January 3, along with his right-hand man in Iraq, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, was a surprising move for many. Soleimani’s assassination increased pressure on President Donald Trump in Washington and has already intensified concerns about a new war […] More

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    The Countries Addicted to Coal

    Scott Morrison is the prime minister of Australia. Over the past few months, parts of his country have gone up in flames. Hundreds of homes have been lost in widespread bushfires, and a number of Australians have lost their lives in the inferno. Apparently, the catastrophe at home did not trouble the prime minister. He spent his vacation […] More

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    Was Qassem Soleimani a Bad Guy or a Martyr?

    When people live (and die) with a binary vision of the world, the same object may end up with two opposite meanings. This tends to be the norm in wartime, but the trend toward reducing everything to a binary opposition has increased radically in recent years, even in times of peace. The instinct to label […] More

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    When Presence Becomes Absence in the Middle East

    History is constructed out of symbolic moments. As the year 2020 and a new decade begin, US President Donald Trump has provided the iconic gesture destined to ensure that future memories of both the year and the decade will be focused on his towering personality. How Will Iran Respond to the Assassination of Qassem Soleimani? […] More

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    Is Elizabeth Warren’s Wealth Tax Proposal Too Optimistic?

    An “ultra-millionaire tax” — or wealth tax — proposed by Democratic presidential primaries candidate Elizabeth Warren is likely to raise between $2.3 trillion and $2.7 trillion in additional revenue in 10 years from 2021 to 2030, according to a study by the Penn Wharton Budget Model (PWBM), a nonpartisan research initiative that analyzes the fiscal impact of public […] More