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military
What does Gaddafi's fall mean for Africa?
Mahmood Mamdani
2011-09-06, Issue 546
cc V VGaddafi’s fall points to more Western interventions to come in Africa, writes Mahmood Mamdani.
The chickens are coming home to roost
US credit downgrade
Horace Campbell
2011-08-11, Issue 544
cc TaxBrackets.orgThe 'downgrade of the US credit rating is part of the forward planning by the top capitalists to guarantee the political and military hegemony of the richest one per cent of the US population,’ writes Horace Campbell.
Libya, Africa and the new world order: An open letter
To the peoples of Africa and the world from concerned Africans
2011-08-09, Issue 544
cc M PWe, the undersigned, are ordinary citizens of Africa who are immensely pained and angered that fellow Africans are and have been subjected to the fury of war by foreign powers which have clearly repudiated the noble and very relevant vision enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.
US debt ceiling debate and the alternatives
Horace Campbell
2011-08-04, Issue 543
cc P SIn the wake of the passing of the Budget Control Act to prevent the US defaulting on its debts, Horace Campbell stresses the need for progressive people to organise to oppose militarisation, defend livelihoods and social security protection, and chart the path towards alternatives.
Magnus Malan and crimes against humanity in Africa
Horace Campbell
2011-07-21, Issue 540
cc UN PhotoWith General Magnus Malan – the main architect of South Africa’s apartheid military – passing away on 18 July (Nelson Mandela's birthday, no less), Horace Campbell reflects on Malan’s central role in the systematised discrimination of apartheid and the system’s troubling legacy.
America's role in Somalia's humanitarian crisis
US sends in the 
marines and more drones

Glen Ford
2011-07-20, Issue 540
cc E IGlen Ford for Black Agenda Radio explains how US militarisation has contributed to the humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa.
NATO's debacle in Libya
Alexander Cockburn
2011-07-19, Issue 540
cc S AWith support unravelling from within NATO itself, the organisation’s intervention in Libya is looking increasingly humiliated, writes Alexander Cockburn.
The peace and justice movement and the NATO bombing of Libya
The need for clarity on the AU roadmap for peace
Horace Campbell
2011-07-07, Issue 538
cc D VThose within the peace and justice movement seeking an end to NATO’s illegal bombing of Libya must also be careful not to extend misplaced support for dictators, writes Horace Campbell.
Burkina Faso after the recent socio-political shocks
Paul Kéré
2011-07-07, Issue 538
cc E & MThe recent political upheaval in Burkina Faso demonstrates the fragility of peace, writes Paul Kéré, with the country facing numerous challenges around ensuring affordable staple foods, public health, its economy and the handover of power.
Egypt: The old repression resurfaces
Sokari Ekine
2011-06-23, Issue 536
cc H HThe situation in Egypt is increasingly complex writes Sokari Ekine, where power still lies with the remnants of the state and military, and the old mechanisms of repression are starting to reappear.
Imperial neurosis and the dangers of ‘humanitarian’ interventionism
Yash Tandon
2011-06-02, Issue 532
cc V 2Yash Tandon critiques the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) resolutions within the UN system to show how the forces of Empire have used 'humanitarian intervention' to advance their own interests. He also explains how the militaristic solutions advanced under R2P are part of a neurotic response to the various crises faced by the Empire.
Tshwane Declaration on Africa Liberation Day
Africa Institute of South Africa
2011-06-02, Issue 532
cc WikimediaWe the 100 plus delegates from various countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas, having met in Tshwane, South Africa, over three days to commemorate Africa Liberation Day and deliberate on African affairs and global issues hereby resolved the following Tshwane Declaration.
From Nobel to Nobel: A letter to Barack Obama
Adolfo Perez Esquivel
2011-05-19, Issue 530
cc TheStirrer‘How can you speak of human rights and the dignity of peoples when you perpetually violate them and block those who don’t share your ideology and must endure your abuses?’, asks 1980 Nobel Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel in an open letter to US President Barack Obama.
No democracy relies so much on the military
Joe Oloka-Onyango
2011-05-12, Issue 529
cc US ArmyMakerere University law professor Joe Oloka-Onyango made a presentation at the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda (IRCU) post-election 2011 conference in Kampala on 27 April 2011. President Museveni, who closed the conference, was very critical of Professor Oloka’s presentation, accusing him of poisoning the minds of ‘our children’. Uganda’s The Observer published a slightly edited version of the paper that got Museveni so worked up.
France must now leave Côte d’Ivoire
Herbert Ekwe-Ekwe
2011-05-03, Issue 527
cc WikipediaIn scenes redolent of the kidnapping of Patrice Lumumba and storming of Salvador Allende’s presidential palace, France’s recent activities in Côte d’Ivoire have been purely about establishing self-interested ‘regime change’, argues Herbert Ekwe-Ekwe.
Libya must not be partitioned
Horace Campbell
2011-04-14, Issue 525
cc BRQ NetworkThe debates raging at the highest levels of the US National Security establishment and NATO over the military ‘stalemate’ in Libya conceal an even more competitive effort on the ground in Libya, by petroleum interests keen to divide up the territory to ensure access to the country’s vast oil resources, writes Horace Campbell.
Africa: NATO seeks to recruit 50 new military partners
Rick Rozoff
2011-03-03, Issue 519
cc US ArmyWith sources indicating that NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) is preparing to sign a military partnership treaty with the African Union (AU), Rick Rozoff highlights what is at stake with the organisation’s expansion.
Is there a solution to the problems of Somalia?
Samir Amin
2011-02-17, Issue 517
cc GuledThe reconstruction of a viable Somali state depends largely on the rebirth of a united Ethiopia, writes Samir Amin.
Cote d’Ivoire: Laurent Gbagbo must respect voters’ wishes
Cameron Duodu
2010-12-09, Issue 509
cc WikimediaAs tensions persist in Cote d’Ivoire following the contested presidential election result of 28 November, Cameron Duodu calls on incumbent Laurent Gbagbo to accept defeat and respect the victory of opposition leader Alassane Ouattara.
Ethiopia's tangled web of lies
Alemayehu G. Mariam
2010-12-09, Issue 509
cc US ArmyWikiLeaks has helped to shine a light on the web of lies and deceit surrounding US complicity in the 2006 Ethiopian invasion of Somalia, writes Alemayehu G. Mariam.
America's permanent war for peace
Gerald Caplan
2010-12-01, Issue 508
cc R MGerald Caplan charts the bloodthirsty history of ‘the most awesome military power the world has ever known’. 'Look forward to a future of permanent war in the pursuit of peace,' he writes.
Which way Sudan?
A Pan-African reflection
Horace Campbell
2010-11-25, Issue 507
cc UN PhotoIs North and South Sudan’s recent agreement to establish a ‘soft border’ between the two areas ahead of a referendum on southern independence ‘another recipe for war’, asks Horace Campbell.
Insanity and robotisation: Militarisation and US society
Horace Campbell
2010-11-18, Issue 505
cc ghbrettOn the strength of the ‘psychological warfare and mind control’ inflicted on its citizens, US society’s increasing militarisation should be treated with acute concern, writes Horace Campbell.
Global: Is the G8 fit for purpose?
2009-07-17, Issue 442
Many commentators and development professionals echoed this refrain during the G8 2009 summit held in Italy from July 8 - 10. The UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon, added his voice to the veritable cascade of dissension by declaring that the G8 “will...
Obama in Ghana: The speech he might have made
Firoze Manji
2009-07-16, Issue 442
cc Bill BlissThe internet and wires have been burning with anger and disappointment at the speech made by Obama this week at the start of his visit to Ghana. With several articles commenting on the speech in this issue, Firoze Manji provides a perspective on what Obama might have, or should have, said during his second visit to the continent in the space of a few weeks.
Tragic end for Eritrean family's reunion attempt
Mihret Goitom
2009-07-16, Issue 442
cc C T SnowUK-based lawyer Mihret Goitom tells how his sister–in-law’s attempt to escape Eritrea and join her husband ended in tragedy, after she and her children were incarcerated in a refugee camp in Sudan en-route.
Acknowledge America's role in African affairs
Tendai Marima
2009-07-16, Issue 442
cc WikimediaDisappointed by Barack Obama's Ghana speech, Tendai Marima says the US president's failure to acknowledge the role America has played in African affairs reflects its 'political historical aphasia'. By glossing over 'how African wars and dictatorships are made', Obama reinforces the image of Africa as the 'black hole of war and corruption', Marima argues. The US media may have hailed the speech as a turning point in US–Africa relations, but says Marima, so far 'Obama's foreign policy has not reflected a politics of change but more of the same'.
Isaias Afewerki and Eritrea: A nation’s tragedy
Selam Kidane
2009-07-02, Issue 440
cc gordontourSince winning its de facto independence in May 1991, Eritrea has come to represent a tragedy, laments Selam Kidane. Having fought and suffered alongside one another during the country's liberation struggle, Eritreans have seen their country embroiled in conflicts with every one of its neighbours under the leadership of Isaias Afewerki. With President Isaias increasingly viewing power as 'a weapon of self-aggrandisement' and surrounding himself with a sycophantic clique of military associates, the hope of the post-independence years has tragically faded, Kidane concludes.
The Ogoni Nine–Shell settlement: Victory, but justice deferred?
Sokari Ekine and Firoze Manji
2009-06-11, Issue 437
With Shell having agreed an out-of-court settlement of $15.5 million with the families of the Ogoni Nine activists killed in 1995, Sokari Ekine and Firoze Manji argue that a victory should not be confused with justice. Though representative of an emerging movement in bringing a multinational to the brink of a trial, the questions over the Niger Delta region and Shell's atrocious environmental and human rights records remain, with the company admitting no liability for its actions. We must continue to support the numerous trials against Shell still carrying on, Ekine and Manji contend, and ensure that widespread discussion helps establish broader justice for the Ogoni people and all those suffering from multinational and governmental exploitation in Nigeria and beyond.
Obama in Cairo: Equivalences and silences
Paul T Zeleza
2009-06-11, Issue 437
cc Soldiers Media CenterPresident Obama’s speech to the Muslim world delivered on 4 June was ‘powerful’ and ‘smart’, but PT Zeleza finds himself most interested in its ‘equivalences and silences’. With reference to media reactions and commentary from different parts of the world, Zeleza looks at Obama’s framing of the relationship between the US and Islam, the parallels Obama draws between the civil rights movement in the United States and Palestinian resistance, and Obama’s failure to ‘fully address one of the fundamental reasons for the estrangement of the so-called Muslim world from the United States: The latter's support for authoritarian regimes’. The United States ‘would do itself a lot of good if it curtailed its propensities for destructive interventions around the world’, says Zeleza, while ‘the so-called Muslim world’ would benefit from building ‘truly democratic developmental states’.