DOCSLIB.ORG

A Thesis Entitled Rogue State? the United States, Unilateralism, and the United Nations by Robert L. Macdonald Submitted As

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A Thesis Entitled Rogue State? the United States, Unilateralism, and the United Nations by Robert L. Macdonald Submitted As A Thesis Entitled Rogue State? The United States, Unilateralism, and the United Nations By Robert L. MacDonald Submitted as partial fulfillment of the requirements for The Master of Arts in History ________________________ Advisor: Diane Britton ________________________ Graduate School The University of Toledo August 2006 Copyright © 2006 This document is copyrighted material. Under copyright law, no parts of this document may be reproduced without the expressed permission of the author. ii Acknowledgements This project could not have succeeded without the help, support, and encouragement of my family, friends, and professors during the past few years. I wish to thank Dr. Diane Britton for her commitment to be my advisor throughout this process and her open-mindedness in finding a link between her interests and research and the topic discussed in the following pages. I wish to thank Drs. Peter Linebaugh, Charles Beatty Medina, and Timothy Messer-Kruse for their willingness to serve as members of my committee and for their thoughtful questions and insightful commentary. I will keep their advice close at hand as I continue to develop my researching and writing skills. I wish to especially thank Dr. Ruth Herndon, who has served as a mentor during both my undergraduate and graduate years at the University of Toledo, for always seeing the best in my work while thoughtfully challenging me to do better. I wish also to thank all of the professors that I have worked with while at the University of Toledo, including of course William Longton, Michael Jakobson, Ron Lora, William O’Neal, Roger Ray, Charles Glaab, Robert Smith, and Alfred Cave. My family, especially my parents, Richard and Debbie MacDonald, has provided enormous support and patience throughout this entire process. I thank them for their love and support and hope that they can be proud of the finished product. I wish to express my love and gratitude to my partner, best-friend, and soul mate, Amanda Dennison, who has provided the motivation and inspiration to keep working, kept me sane during the past few months, and lent her expertise in reading, revising, and commenting on my work. Finally, I wish to thank our cat, Layla Gordon, for constantly trying to help by sitting on the computer, books, or notebooks that I was working with at the time. As with all works, I am deeply indebted to everyone who has iii been involved with this project. Those listed above are responsible for any of its successes. I, on the other hand, am completely responsible for all errors and omissions found therein. Robert MacDonald July 2006 iv Table of Contents Acknowledgements iii Table of Contents v List of Tables vi List of Maps viii Introduction 1 Chapter One 13 The New American Century Chapter Two 48 Righteous Aggression Chapter Three 100 The Law of the Jungle Chapter Four 151 Israel: Rogue Ally Chapter Five 202 Vetoing the United Nations Conclusion 289 Select Bibliography 294 Appendix I 300 Tables of United Nations General Assembly Resolutions Appendix II 417 Maps v List of Tables TABLE I 309 40 th Session of the United Nations General Assembly: September 24, 1985 – December 18, 1985 TABLE II 317 41 st Session of the United Nations General Assembly: October 10, 1986 – December 19,1986 TABLE III 326 42 nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly: October 7, 1987 – August 17, 1998 TABLE IV 334 43 rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly: October 17, 1988 – April 20, 1989 TABLE V 342 44 th Session of the United Nations General Assembly: September 28, 1989 – September 17, 1990 TABLE VI 349 45 th Session of the United Nations General Assembly: September 18, 1990 – August 27, 1991 TABLE VII 354 46 th Session of the United Nations General Assembly: September 17, 1991 – August 25, 1992 TABLE VIII 358 47 th Session of the United Nations General Assembly: September 22, 1992 – September 14, 1993 TABLE IX 362 48 th Session of the United Nations General Assembly: October 8, 1993 – September 19, 1994 TABLE X 366 49 th Session of the United Nations General Assembly: October 17, 1994 – September 14, 1995 TABLE XI 370 50 th Session of the United Nations General Assembly: October 12, 1995 – September 17, 1996 vi TABLE XII 374 51 st Session of the United Nations General Assembly: October 15, 1996 – September 15, 1997 TABLE XIII 379 52 nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly: October 15, 1997 - September 8, 1998 TABLE XIV 383 53rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly: October 1, 1998 - September 13, 1999 TABLE XV 386 54 th Session of the United Nations General Assembly: September 14, 1999 – September 5, 2000 TABLE XVI 390 55 th Session of the United Nations General Assembly: September 5, 2000 – September 7, 2001 TABLE XVII 394 56 th Session of the United Nations General Assembly: September 15, 2001 – September 9, 2002 TABLE XVIII 398 57 th Session of the United Nations General Assembly: September 10, 2002 – September 15, 2003 TABLE XIX 403 58 th Session of the United Nations General Assembly: October 16, 2003 – September 13, 2004 TABLE XX 408 59 th Session of the United Nations General Assembly: October 11, 2004 – September 13, 2005 TABLE XXI 412 60 th Session of the United Nations General Assembly: September 16, 2005 – July 7, 2006 vii List of Maps MAP I 417 Landownership in Palestine and the UN Partition Plan, 1947; Palestine Villages Depopulated in 1948 and 1967 MAP II 418 The Near East after the 1967 June War MAP III 419 The Wall in the West Bank (2003) MAP IV 420 The Wall and Projected Israeli Unilateral Disengagement (February 2005) MAP V 421 The Wall in Jerusalem (2005) MAP VI 422 The Occupation’s “Convergence Plan” (April 2006) viii Introduction We have about 50% of the world's wealth, but only 6.3% of its population. In this situation, we cannot fail to be the object of envy and resentment. Our real task in the coming period is to devise a pattern of relationships which will permit us to maintain this position of disparity. To do so, we will have to dispense with all sentimentality and day-dreaming; and our attention will have to be concentrated everywhere on our immediate national objectives. We should cease to talk about vague and . unreal objectives such as human rights, the raising of the living standards, and democratization. The day is not far off when we are going to have to deal in straight power concepts. The less we are then hampered by idealistic slogans, the better. George Kennan State Department Policy Planning Study 23 24 February 1948 1 According to the 2002 United States National Security Strategy, rogue states: Brutalize their own people and squander their natural resources for the personal gain of the rulers; display no regard for international law, threaten their neighbors, and callously violate international treaties to which they are party; are determined to acquire weapons of mass destruction, along with other advanced military technology, to be used as threats or offensively to achieve the aggressive design of their regimes; sponsor terrorism around the globe; reject basic human values (and hate the United States and everything for which it stands). 2 The primary purpose of this thesis is to illustrate the chasm-like contradictions between the lofty, idealistic rhetoric and the foreign and domestic policies of the corporate and 1 George Kennan, Policy Planning Study 23, cited in Noam Chomsky, What Uncle Sam Really Wants (Berkeley: Odonian Press, 1992), 9-10; Policy Planning Study 23 can be found in the official history of the State Department, Foreign Relations of the United States: 1948, Vol. I, Part II, 510-529. For a more complete discussion of the secret policy document, see Chomsky, Deterring Democracy (London: Verso Press, 1991). 2 2002 National Security Strategy of the United States, <www.whitehouse.gov/nsc/nss.pdf>. political elite in the United States and prove that the United States government meets every qualification of its own definition of a rogue state, including fearing real democracy and despising the American people. Americans are unfortunately ignorant of history and the mainstream media fail to place any event in context that would encourage critical thinking or any response beside blind patriotism. 3 When a president plans war on false pretexts or infringes upon the civil liberties of American citizens, the press and the pundits and the politicians treat it as an anomaly, a unique situation in American history requiring obedience to and support for the government’s policy. However, if Americans knew that many presidents have lied about the reasons for war, including James Madison and the War of 1812, James Polk and the Mexican War, Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War, William McKinley and the war in the Philippines, Woodrow Wilson and World War I, Franklin Roosevelt and World War II, Harry Truman and the Korean War, Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon and Vietnam, Ronald Regan and Grenada and Nicaragua, George H.W. Bush and Panama and Iraq, William Clinton and Yugoslavia, and George W. Bush and Afghanistan and Iraq, if they knew that all wars are imperial wars despite the rhetoric, then perhaps they would not be so quick to support the president in another imperialistic venture. If Americans knew that the government has incessantly attempted to curb civil liberties and real democracy (in the form of popular criticism and control of policies) especially during war, through the Alien and Sedition Act, Lincoln’s suspension of habeus corpus and the imprisonment of war dissenters, the Espionage Act during World War I targeting dissenters, the Red 3 For convincing arguments and evidence that the media act as a propaganda machine for the political and economic elite, see for instance Chomsky and Edward Herman, Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media (New York: Pantheon Books, 1988); Chomsky, Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies (Boston, Mass.: South End Press, 1989) ; and Michael Parenti, Inventing Reality: The Politics of the Mass Media (New York: St.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • A WAY FORWARD with IRAN? Options for Crafting a U.S. Strategy
    A WAY FORWARD WITH IRAN? Options for Crafting a U.S. Strategy THE SOUFAN CENTER FEBRUARY 2021 A WAY FORWARD WITH IRAN? OPTIONS FOR CRAFTING A U.S. STRATEGY A WAY FORWARD WITH IRAN? Options for Crafting a U.S. Strategy THE SOUFAN CENTER FEBRUARY 2021 Cover photo: Associated Press Photo/Photographer: Mohammad Berno 2 A WAY FORWARD WITH IRAN? OPTIONS FOR CRAFTING A U.S. STRATEGY CONTENTS List of Abbreviations 4 List of Figures 5 Key Findings 6 How Did We Reach This Point? 7 Roots of the U.S.-Iran Relationship 9 The Results of the Maximum Pressure Policy 13 Any Change in Iranian Behavior? 21 Biden Administration Policy and Implementation Options 31 Conclusion 48 Contributors 49 About The Soufan Center 51 3 A WAY FORWARD WITH IRAN? OPTIONS FOR CRAFTING A U.S. STRATEGY LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS BPD Barrels Per Day FTO Foreign Terrorist Organization GCC Gulf Cooperation Council IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency ICBM Intercontinental Ballistic Missile IMF International Monetary Fund IMSC International Maritime Security Construct INARA Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act INSTEX Instrument for Supporting Trade Exchanges IRGC Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps IRGC-QF Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps - Qods Force JCPOA Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action MBD Million Barrels Per Day PMF Popular Mobilization Forces SRE Significant Reduction Exception 4 A WAY FORWARD WITH IRAN? OPTIONS FOR CRAFTING A U.S. STRATEGY LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Iran Annual GDP Growth and Change in Crude Oil Exports 18 Figure 2: Economic Effects of Maximum Pressure 19 Figure 3: Armed Factions Supported by Iran 25 Figure 4: Comparison of Iran Nuclear Program with JCPOA Limitations 28 5 A WAY FORWARD WITH IRAN? OPTIONS FOR CRAFTING A U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • The National Security Council and the Iran-Contra Affair
    THE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL AND THE IRAN- CONTRA AFFAIR Congressman Ed Jenkins* and Robert H. Brink** I. INTRODUCTION Early in November of 1986, newspapers in the United States carried the first reports that the United States government, in an effort to gain release of United States citizens held hostage by terrorists in Lebanon, had engaged in a covert policy of supplying arms to elements within Iran.' Later in that month, following a preliminary inquiry into the matter, it was revealed that some of the funds generated from those arms sales had been diverted to support the "Contra" 2 forces fighting the Sandinista government in Nicaragua. The events giving rise to these disclosures became known collectively as the "Iran-Contra Affair." Both elements of the affair raised serious questions regarding the formulation and conduct of our nation's foreign policy. In regard to the Iranian phase of the affair, the Regan administration's rhetoric had placed the administration firmly in op- position to any dealings with nations supporting terrorism, and with Iran in particular.' In addition, the United States had made significant * Member, United States House of Representatives, Ninth District of Georgia. LL.B., University of Georgia Law School, 1959. In 1987, Congressman Jenkins served as a member of the House Select Committee to Investigate Covert Arms Transactions with Iran. ** Professional Staff Member, Committee on Government Operations, United States House of Representatives. J.D., Marshall-Wythe School of Law, College of William and Mary, 1978. In 1987, Mr. Brink served as a member of the associate staff of the House Select Committee to Investigate Covert Arms Transactions with Iran.
    [Show full text]
  • The Regime Change Consensus: Iraq in American Politics, 1990-2003
    THE REGIME CHANGE CONSENSUS: IRAQ IN AMERICAN POLITICS, 1990-2003 Joseph Stieb A dissertation submitted to the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of History in the College of Arts and Sciences. Chapel Hill 2019 Approved by: Wayne Lee Michael Morgan Benjamin Waterhouse Daniel Bolger Hal Brands ©2019 Joseph David Stieb ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT Joseph David Stieb: The Regime Change Consensus: Iraq in American Politics, 1990-2003 (Under the direction of Wayne Lee) This study examines the containment policy that the United States and its allies imposed on Iraq after the 1991 Gulf War and argues for a new understanding of why the United States invaded Iraq in 2003. At the core of this story is a political puzzle: Why did a largely successful policy that mostly stripped Iraq of its unconventional weapons lose support in American politics to the point that the policy itself became less effective? I argue that, within intellectual and policymaking circles, a claim steadily emerged that the only solution to the Iraqi threat was regime change and democratization. While this “regime change consensus” was not part of the original containment policy, a cohort of intellectuals and policymakers assembled political support for the idea that Saddam’s personality and the totalitarian nature of the Baathist regime made Iraq uniquely immune to “management” strategies like containment. The entrenchment of this consensus before 9/11 helps explain why so many politicians, policymakers, and intellectuals rejected containment after 9/11 and embraced regime change and invasion.
    [Show full text]
  • ISRAELI-ARAB CONFLICT Primer to Understanding the Centuries-Old Struggle
    ISRAELI-ARAB CONFLICT Primer to understanding the centuries-old struggle “When people criticize Zionists, they mean Jews. You’re talking anti-Semitism.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. HonestReporting Defending Israel From Media Bias ANTI-SEMITISM IS THE DISSEMINATION OF FALSEHOODS ABOUT JEWS AND ISRAEL www.honestreporting.com 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Part 1 History Part 2 Jerusalem Part 3 Delegitimization Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Part 4 Hamas, Gaza, and the Gaza War Part 5 Why Media Matters 2 www.honestreporting.com ISRAELI-ARAB CONFLICT Primer to understanding the centuries-old struggle The Middle East nation we now know as the State of Israel has existed throughout history under a va riety of names: Palestine, Judah, Israel, and others. Today it is surrounded by Arab states that have purged most Jews from their borders. Israel is governed differently. It follows modern principles of a western liberal democracy and it pro vides freedom of religion. Until the recent discovery of large offshore natural gas deposits, Israel had few natural resources (including oil), but it has an entrepreneurial spirit that has helped it become a center of research and development in areas such as agriculture, computer science and medical tech nologies. All Israeli citizens have benefited from the country’s success. Yet anti-Israel attitudes have become popular in some circles. The reason ing is often related to the false belief that Israel “stole” Palestinian Arab lands and mistreated the Arab refugees. But the lands mandated by the United Nations as the State of Israel had actually been inhabited by Jews for thousands of years.
    [Show full text]
  • Mustang Daily, April 14, 1997
    Campus Opinion Sports Cal Poly's most dedicated student Petition peeves pro-Poly Plan people. The Cal Poly football team has hired a employee was honored new coach. Find out who the lucky Thursday. applicant is. 8 CALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY SAN LUIS OBISPO usdvng aiiy M APRIL 14, 1997 VOLUME D LXI, No. 98 , M O N D A Y Expert discusses Middle East peace Upcoming Barry Rubin attributes problems to economic student vote development, recognition of existing governmentsworries By Emily Brodley Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan Doily Staff Writer University in Tel Aviv, Israel. His expertise in terrorism led The Middle East is a region of him to appearances on television Committee conflict and turmoil, but according programs such as “Nightline,” By Emily Bradley to speaker Barry Rubin, it is also a “CBS News,” ‘The MacNeil-Lehrer Daily Stoff Writer place of hope. NewsHour” and “Larry King Live.” He has also edited three books lV Optimism flowed during the Tensions are rising for the Cal talk “Conflict and Peacemaking in on terrorism and his articles have appeared in The New York Times, Poly Plan Steering Committee as the Middle East” Thursday night, it rounds the final stretch of the presented by an authority on ter­ the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, The New Republic planning process before the April rorism and the Middle East to 29 and May 1 student votes. more than 45 students and com­ and the Jerusalem Post. Thursday night’s topics focused In its meeting Thursday munity members in the on the long-term issues facing the evening, the committee (composed Performing Arts Center.
    [Show full text]
  • Annual Report
    COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS ANNUAL REPORT July 1,1996-June 30,1997 Main Office Washington Office The Harold Pratt House 1779 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. 58 East 68th Street, New York, NY 10021 Washington, DC 20036 Tel. (212) 434-9400; Fax (212) 861-1789 Tel. (202) 518-3400; Fax (202) 986-2984 Website www. foreignrela tions. org e-mail publicaffairs@email. cfr. org OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS, 1997-98 Officers Directors Charlayne Hunter-Gault Peter G. Peterson Term Expiring 1998 Frank Savage* Chairman of the Board Peggy Dulany Laura D'Andrea Tyson Maurice R. Greenberg Robert F Erburu Leslie H. Gelb Vice Chairman Karen Elliott House ex officio Leslie H. Gelb Joshua Lederberg President Vincent A. Mai Honorary Officers Michael P Peters Garrick Utley and Directors Emeriti Senior Vice President Term Expiring 1999 Douglas Dillon and Chief Operating Officer Carla A. Hills Caryl R Haskins Alton Frye Robert D. Hormats Grayson Kirk Senior Vice President William J. McDonough Charles McC. Mathias, Jr. Paula J. Dobriansky Theodore C. Sorensen James A. Perkins Vice President, Washington Program George Soros David Rockefeller Gary C. Hufbauer Paul A. Volcker Honorary Chairman Vice President, Director of Studies Robert A. Scalapino Term Expiring 2000 David Kellogg Cyrus R. Vance Jessica R Einhorn Vice President, Communications Glenn E. Watts and Corporate Affairs Louis V Gerstner, Jr. Abraham F. Lowenthal Hanna Holborn Gray Vice President and Maurice R. Greenberg Deputy National Director George J. Mitchell Janice L. Murray Warren B. Rudman Vice President and Treasurer Term Expiring 2001 Karen M. Sughrue Lee Cullum Vice President, Programs Mario L. Baeza and Media Projects Thomas R.
    [Show full text]
  • Views Or Conclusions
    The American Public and Israel in the Twenty-First Century Eytan Gilboa Mideast Security and Policy Studies No. 181 THE BEGIN-SADAT CENTER FOR STRATEGIC STUDIES BAR-ILAN UNIVERSITY Mideast Security and Policy Studies No. 181 The American Public and Israel in the Twenty-First Century Eytan Gilboa The American Public and Israel in the Twenty-First Century Eytan Gilboa © The Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies Bar-Ilan University Ramat Gan 5290002 Israel Tel. 972-3-5318959 Fax. 972-3-5359195 [email protected] www.besacenter.org ISSN 0793-1042 October 2020 Cover image: Sheri Hooley via Unsplash The Begin-Sadat (BESA) Center for Strategic Studies The Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies is an independent, non-partisan think tank conducting policy-relevant research on Middle Eastern and global strategic affairs, particularly as they relate to the national security and foreign policy of Israel and regional peace and stability. It is named in memory of Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat, whose efforts in pursuing peace laid the cornerstone for conflict resolution in the Middle East. Mideast Security and Policy Studies serve as a forum for publication or re-publication of research conducted by BESA associates. Publication of a work by BESA signifies that it is deemed worthy of public consideration but does not imply endorsement of the author’s views or conclusions. Colloquia on Strategy and Diplomacy summarize the papers delivered at conferences and seminars held by the Center for the academic, military, official and general publics. In sponsoring these discussions, the BESA Center aims to stimulate public debate on, and consideration of, contending approaches to problems of peace and war in the Middle East.
    [Show full text]
  • 121219 Shorenstein Newsletter
    J Winter 2006 PRESS/POLITICS News from the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University From the Director John S. Carroll to Serve as First Knight Something Visiting Lecturer basic in main- stream journal- The Shoren- and the highest ethical standards. ism has stein Center Earlier this year, Carroll retired changed, and it will host the after five years as top editor of has happened first Knight Vis- the Los Angeles Times, during without debate iting Lecturer. which time the paper won 13 or even much The lectureship Pulitzer Prizes. discussion. is a position for “John Carroll is one of the Alex S. Jones Now, as John S. Carroll distinguished most important journalists of readers and viewers, we feel it is journalists who his generation,” said Alberto our right to know why news will study, analyze and comment Ibargüen, president and CEO decisions were made. We now on the future of journalism in of Knight Foundation. “We’re feel entitled to a transparency America and around the world. glad to help make possible an that is unprecedented. John S. Carroll, former editor opportunity to reflect on his For instance, readers of the of the Los Angeles Times, is the experience and on journalism in New York Times have demanded first to receive this appointment, society at a time of transforma- to know why the Times decided funded with a $200,000 grant tional change. Students and to hold its story on domestic from the John S. and James L.
    [Show full text]
  • 2003 Iraq War: Intelligence Or Political Failure?
    2003 IRAQ WAR: INTELLIGENCE OR POLITICAL FAILURE? A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of The School of Continuing Studies and of The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Liberal Studies By Dione Brunson, B.A. Georgetown University Washington, D.C. April, 2011 DISCLAIMER THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THIS ACADEMIC RESEARCH PAPER ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR AND DO NOT REFLECT THE OFFICIAL POLICIES OR POSITIONS OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, OR THE U.S. INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY. ALL INFORMATION AND SOURCES FOR THIS PAPER WERE DRAWN FROM OPEN SOURCE MATERIALS. ii 2003 IRAQ WAR: INTELLIGENCE OR POLITICAL FAILURE? Dione Brunson, B.A. MALS Mentor: Ralph Nurnberger, Ph.D. ABSTRACT The bold U.S. decision to invade Iraq in 2003 was anchored in intelligence justifications that would later challenge U.S. credibility. Policymakers exhibited unusual bureaucratic and public dependencies on intelligence analysis, so much so that efforts were made to create supporting information. To better understand the amplification of intelligence, the use of data to justify invading Iraq will be explored alongside events leading up to the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. This paper will examine the use of intelligence to invade Iraq as well as broader implications for politicization. It will not examine the justness or ethics of going to war with Iraq but, conclude with the implications of abusing intelligence. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thank you God for continued wisdom. Thank you Dr. Nurnberger for your patience. iv DEDICATION This work is dedicated to Mom and Dad for their continued support.
    [Show full text]
  • Regarding the Involvement of the CIA in Nicaraguan Drug Running
    Western Oregon University Digital Commons@WOU Student Theses, Papers and Projects (History) Department of History 3-9-2004 Following the White Line: Regarding the Involvement of the CIA in Nicaraguan Drug Running Nicholas Tipton Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.wou.edu/his Part of the Latin American History Commons, Political History Commons, and the United States History Commons Nicholas Tipton 319t04 HST 351 Following the White Line: Regarding the Involvement of the CIA in Nicaraguan Drug Running Conspiracies abound on the internet, and given time, chances are that you will run across one that involves the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the organization within the federal government responsible for foreign intelligence gathering and covert policy enforcement. While the suspicions concerning this agency vary from the conspiracy belief that they orchestrated the assassination of John F. Kennedy to that they are in direct communication with aliens, there are instances when their secret activities have been found to be illegal and all to real, as evidenced by assassinations that they admit to doing following congressional banning and to their unsuccessful experimentation with LSD as a truth serum. LSD is not the only drug that has been tied to CIA activities, as rumors both Heroin and Cocaine have also crossed the historical trail of the agency, some merely alleged, others substantiated. In August ofl996, Gary Webb of the San Jose Mercury News wrote a three part series of articles under the title of "Dark Alliance" that would seek to firmly substantiate the connection of the Crack cocaine explosion in Los Angeles during the Mid-eighties to dealers associated with and funding the Contra army of Nicaragua, which was also bank rolled off and on by the CIA.
    [Show full text]
  • Between Geopolitics and Geoeconomics: the Growing Role of Gulf States in the Eastern Mediterranean
    Between Geopolitics and Geoeconomics: The Growing Role of Gulf States © 2021 IAI in the Eastern Mediterranean by Adel Abdel Ghafar ABSTRACT The role played by countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in the Eastern Mediterranean is becoming increasingly ISSN 2610-9603 | ISBN 978-88-9368-177-3 important. This calls for an assessment of their evolving relationship with countries in the region, as well as their involvement in the Libyan conflict. Increased involvement by Gulf actors may inflame existing regional rivalries and geopolitical tensions. The interests of GCC countries in the Eastern Mediterranean are first analysed in the broader context of regional rivalries. Special attention is then devoted to Egypt, Libya, Lebanon, Greece and Cyprus, while considering the role of other key regional actors such as Turkey and Israel. Recommendations on why and how the new US administration should intervene to decrease regional tensions are provided. Gulf countries | Eastern Mediterranean | Turkish foreign policy | Egypt | keywords Libya | Lebanon | Greece | Cyprus | Israel IAI PAPERS 21 | 06 - FEBRUARY 2021 21 | 06 - FEBRUARY IAI PAPERS Between Geopolitics and Geoeconomics: The Growing Role of Gulf States in the Eastern Mediterranean Between Geopolitics and Geoeconomics: The Growing Role of Gulf States in the Eastern Mediterranean © 2021 IAI by Adel Abdel Ghafar* Introduction In August 2020, United Arab Emirates (UAE) Minister of State Anwar Gargash tweeted: “the signing of the maritime boundary demarcation agreement between Egypt and Greece is a victory for international law over the law of the jungle”.1 This thinly veiled insult, directed at Turkey, was the latest salvo in the growing competition in the Eastern Mediterranean.
    [Show full text]
  • National Action Plan for Human Rights in Lebanon
    Copyright © 2013 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the United Nations Development Programme. The analyses and policy recommendations in this report do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations Development Programme-Technical Support to the Lebanese Parliament. حقوق الطبع © 2013 جميع حقوق �لطبع حمفوظة. وﻻ يجوز ��شتن�ش�خ ّ�أي جزء من هذ� �ملن�شور �أو تخزينه يف نظ�م �إ�شرتج�ع �أو نقله ب�أي �شكل �أو ب�أية و�شيلة، �إلكرتونية ك�نت �أو �آلية، �أو ب�لن�شخ �ل�شوئي �أو ب�لت�شجيل، �أو ب�أية و�شيلة �أخرى، بدون �حل�شول على �إذن م�شبق من برن�مج �ﻻأمم �ملتحدة �ﻻإمن�ئي. ّ�إن �لتحليﻻت و�لتو�شي�ت ب�ش�أن �ل�شي��ش�ت �لو�ردة يف هذ� �لتقرير، ﻻ ّتعب ب�ل�شرورة عن �آر�ء برن�مج �ﻻأمم �ملتحدة �ﻻإمن�ئي- م�شروع تقدمي �لدعم �لتقني ملجل�س �لنو�ب �للبن�ين. Contents Foreword 5 Executive Summary 6 Chapter (1): General Framework 20 I. Methodology and Executive Measures for Follow Up and Implementation 20 II. Issues and general executive measures 25 General Executive Measures 32 Chapter (2): Sectoral Themes 33 1. The independence of the judiciary 33 2. The principles of investigation and detention 39 3. Torture and inhuman treatment 42 4. Forced disappearance 47 5. Prisons and detention facilities 51 6. Death penalty 61 7. Freedom of expression, opinion and the media 65 8.
    [Show full text]