Foreign Policy In Focus

June 4, 2013

Dear Friend, As Syria's civil war lurches into bloodier territory, armed groups on both sides of the conflict have embraced ever more extreme tactics and rhetoric, deepening the fissures in Syrian society and complicating prospects for any political resolution in the near term. Below, FPIF senior analyst Stephen Zunes and IPS senior fellow Saul Landau argue that these fissures make any foreign intervention—"humanitarian" or otherwise—likely to exacerbate Syria's divisions and bloodshed. Also, with so much talk of "red lines" afoot, be sure to read Stephen's excellent backgrounder on Washington's complex relationship with chemical weapons in the Middle East. Meanwhile, old wars continue to cast long shadows all over the world. When Osaka, Japan's right-wing mayor defended the country's use of "comfort women"—or women forced into prostitution—during World War II, he touched off a firestorm of controversy and provoked a debate about the lingering connections between militarism and misogyny in the region. Markus Bell and FPIF columnist Walden Bello each have must-read pieces on the links between empire and gender violence below. In a related piece, Markus Bell and Geoffrey Fattig propose an innovative next step in Washington's standoff with North Korea, one centered around promoting political change by making safe havens for North Korean refugees in China and South Korea. In Latin America, Washington is having a hard time relinquishing its Cold War politics. Below, Arturo Lopez-Levy calls out Washington's insanely anachronistic insistence that Cuba is a "state sponsor of terrorism," while FPIF columnist Laura Carlsen observes that Washington's reluctance to endorse the electoral victory of Hugo Chavez's successor Nicolas Maduro is entirely political. In another important piece, Patricia Davis details the ups and downs of the genocide trial of Guatemala's U.S.-backed former dictator, Jose Efrain Rios Montt, and argues that whatever happens to the former general, he can never be "unconvicted" for his role in slaughtering hundreds of thousands of indigenous Guatemalans. Finally, two FPIF contributors take on the short-sighted diplomacy underway in the United States' longest war. FPIF columnist Conn Hallinan takes the Obama administration to task for prolonging the armed conflict in Afghanistan even as it neglects necessary peace talks, while accountability expert Inge Fryklund argues that endless foreign aid has actually undermined Afghanistan's democracy. You'll find all this and much more below. Thanks as always for reading! Peter Certo Acting Editor, Foreign Policy In Focus

Making Sense of Syria Take Syria Seriously--And Stay Out Saul Landau Why start another body count in a Middle East conflict with no direct relationship to U.S. security? Despite Horrific Repression, the U.S. Should Stay Out of Syria Stephen Zunes What can we do in Syria? Unfortunately, not much. The U.S. and Chemical Weapons: No Leg to Stand On Stephen Zunes The United States is in no position to take leadership in response to any use of such weaponry by Syria. Militarism and Misogyny Empire, Capitalism, and Human Trafficking in Northeast Asia Markus Bell The crisis of people-trafficking and sexual exploitation in Northeast Asia is not a nationalist issue; it is a gender issue. The Hashimoto Controversy and Japan's Failure to Come to Terms with its Past Walden Bello The rise of Japan's reactionary right suggests that the country has yet to come to terms with its actions in World War II. Make Migrants, Not War in North Korea Markus Bell and Geoffrey Fattig North Korea policymakers must look beyond the nuclear issue to consider the human rights of the population. Cold War Chills The Jig Is Up in Guatemala Patricia Davis Despite the legal ups and downs of the case, Guatemala's genocide trial has lifted the curtain on the country's bloody past—and on Washington's complicity in it. It's Time to Delist Cuba Arturo Lopez-Levy A man convicted of bombing a civilian airliner in Cuba lives freely in Miami, but the U.S. State Department calls Cuba the "state sponsor of terror." What's wrong with this picture? U.S. Efforts to Block Democracy in Venezuela Harm Hemispheric Relations Laura Carlsen The U.S. government stands alone among major world governments in refusing to recognize the results of the recent Venezuelan presidential election. Longest War, Shortest Sight Foreign Aid Is Afghanistan's Resource Curse Inge Fryklund With endless foreign aid, the US has undercut mechanisms of democratic accountability in Afghanistan and should not be surprised at the results. Afghanistan: Is It Really the End Game? Conn Hallinan There is no reason to continue the bloodshed in Afghanistan, which all parties recognize will not alter the final outcome a whit.

Our Features Five Ways the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) Advances Arms ControlBryan CenkoFor the first time in history, the $70-billion global arms trade will be regulated by international law. Let the People of Diego Garcia Return to their Homeland David Vine Forty years ago, the United States and the United Kingdom expelled an entire race of islanders from their home in the Indian Ocean to build a military base. It's long past time to let them come home. The City and the City John FefferCentral Europe has become an apartheid region where Roma and non-Roma inhabit increasingly separate and decidedly unequal worlds. In Bahrain, An Uprising Unabated Husain Abdulla The United States needs to halt its assistance to Bahrain until the country implements promised democratic reforms. Purifying America's Textbooks of Ethnic Studies Dan Vera If right-wingers are going to purge "ethnic studies" from America's textbooks, then they'll have to purge history too. Trouble on the Other Side of the Euphrates Daniel DePetris Iraqi demonstrators are now taking matters into their own hands. In Tehran, All Eyes on North Korea Giorgio Cafiero and Shawn VL Developments on the Korean peninsula will almost certainly influence calculations made in Washington and Tehran. Infantilizing North Korea John Feffer It's time for us to grow up in our assessments of North Korea. Turkey Brings Refugees Out of the Shadows Zaid Hydari Turkey is in the process of normalizing its asylum procedures and providing legal assistance for refugees seeking safety within its borders.

On the Blog Syrian Rebels Doing Best They Can to Alienate Supporters Russ WellenWere the Syrian rebels to win, how different would their rule be from Assad's? Six Reasons to Oppose John Kerry's $4 Billion Plan for the Palestinians Lyndi BorneOn Washington's charade of "generous offers" to the Palestinians. Restoring Slovenia's Erased John FefferA year ago, the European Court of Human Rights mandated that Slovenia pay compensation to the 25,000 people stripped of residency in the wake of the country's independence. The Dying Sahara: Jeremy Keenan's Latest Book Reviewed Rob Prince To beef up the U.S. military presence in Africa to provide security for oil and natural-gas sources, the U.S. needed to either amplify the terrorist threat to the region or fabricate one. Is the Drone Program Contracting -- or Expanding? Russ WellenTo President Obama, drones are the answer to his foreign-policy prayers. Yugoslavia: When a Country Actually Is Wiped Off the Map John FefferFor many, the decomposition of Yugoslavia into its constituent republics in the early 1990s was anything but smooth. Will the Jordanian Parliament Expel the Israeli Ambassador from Amman? Ali Younes A resolution to that end may be just sound and fury. "Useful Enemies": U.S. Admitted Not Just Nazis After WWII, But Their Sadistic Collaborators Russ Wellen Why did the United States feel the need to admit Baltic and Eastern Europeans who at times exceeded the Nazis in brutality? TRIPping Up Least Developed Countries on Medicines, Green Tech, and Textbooks? Matthew Kavanagh The World Trade Organization struggles for relevance in a world that embraces diversity. Right-Wing Think Tank: Hispanics are Welfare Queens Javier Rojo A study by the Heritage Foundation maintained that Hispanic immigrants are deficient in I.Q. and thus disposed to rely on "government handouts." President Obama Tries to Pass Guantanamo Closure Buck to Congress Michael Figura As the Guantanamo hunger strike widens, the president deflects blame.