Press Room

Rapid Reactions

  • Europe Rejects Austerity Policies

    Response by Harry Blaney

    05-07-12

    The French presidential election between François Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy had dramatic results, which returned the socialists to power. The people of France rejected the failed policies of blind austerity; they said enough is enough! Europe may, at last, be rethinking its options and seeing a failed economic policy for what it is – an effort by the rich to thrive at the expense of the 99%. The question now is how long it will take Americans to come to the same conclusion with the Republicans in Congress forcing austerity blindly upon a hurting average citizen.

  • The End of the Putin Era?

    Response by Harry Blaney

    03-08-12

    No surprise…Putin did win and on the first ballot. Already commentators are talking about “the end of the Putin Era”….but the situation is not as simple as that. Putin is not by instinct a liberal reformer. He is nostalgic for the old Soviet Union and its KGB traditions. Bloody killings of civic activists, dissenters, and reporters took place under his rule and no one was ever brought to justice. The rule of law does not exist in Russia today and it is a long way from doing so as long as Putin and his clique see their power as the only goal.

  • New Low in GOP Debate

    Response by Stephen Miles

    02-24-12

    Earlier this week, the GOP Presidential candidates held their 20th debate of the election so far. With roughly 90,000 troops in combat fighting what has become the longest war in American history, the debate reached a new low. While in the previous 19 debates, the candidates devoted less than 1% of their time to the war, this time the war was barely even mentioned, let alone debated. If those aspiring to be Commander in Chief cannot even find 5 minutes in a 2 hour debate to discuss the war in Afghanistan, it is time we stopped asking our brave men and women to die fighting it.

  • Rethinking Iran and the Bomb

    Response by Harry Blaney

    02-08-12

    We are getting again into the silly season of politics trumping good sense and reality on security policy. The Iran issue has many levels of complexity, uncertainty, and contingencies, as well as clear dangers and a number of options or approaches. The main problem is the desire of some to drive the debate and work towards a single thrusting action of preemptive war. The time has come to stand back a bit and give thought to not only the options “on the table,” as President Obama said, but also about what can accomplish our goals with the least cost to human lives and the fewest serious unintended consequences.

  • Pentagon Budget: Managerial Shifts, Not Major Changes

    Response by William Hartung

    01-26-12

    Although it will no doubt draw howls of anguish from the arms lobby on Capitol Hill, the Pentagon's five year plan as outlined today represents a modest and long overdue course correction. A budget that grows 7% in nominal terms and falls by only 1.6% in real terms over the next five years is not only manageable, it is far too timid to adequately address the twin goals of strategic reform and deficit reduction.

  • State of the Union Address

    Response by Stephen Miles

    01-25-12

    Last night the President reminded the nation of the interconnectedness of our national security with countless domestic concerns. As the President said, for the first time in 9 years, there are no American troops fighting in Iraq, freeing up billions of dollars for nation building here at home and paying down our debt. But we can do even better. In the days ahead, as we hear about how we can’t afford key domestic programs, remember that we are tragically still wasting $2 billion every week in Afghanistan.

  • Cuba in the Republican Debate

    Response by Wayne Smith

    01-24-12

    At the GOP primary debate in Tampa, Florida on January 23, moderator Brain Williams asked the four Republican candidates what they would do if informed that Fidel Castro had just died. Ron Paul was the only one with a sensible comment, but the hostile comments of hte other three were not surprising--especially in view of the fact that the Republican primaries are to be held in Florida at the end of this month. Romney, Gingrich and Santorum could be expected to play to what they expect to be a hard-line Cuban-American vote. The majority of Cuban-Americans strongly favor Obama's open travel policy that gives them the freedom to visit their families on the island whenever they would like, and are even more in favor of the unlimited remittances they can send to those families. It will be interesting to see if this alters the voting patterns of the past.

  • Sen. Merkley's Bipartisan Amendment - An Opportunity

    Response by Stephen Miles

    11-18-11

    Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) recently introduced a bipartisan amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act calling for an accelerated drawdown of U.S. troops in Afghanistan. While the President's plan to draw down 33,000 troops by next Fall is a welcome start, tens of thousands of soldiers will remain in Afghanistan fighting a war that even their commanders admit has only a political solution. By supporting Sen. Merkley's bipartisan amendment, the Senate has a tremendous opportunity to stand with the majority of Americans who want to bring our troops home now.

  • Growing Popular Confidence in Cuban Economic Reforms

    Response by Wayne Smith

    11-14-11

    During a visit in Havana last week, I found what seems to be a new sense of confidence among the Cuban people that the government is serious about its economic reforms and that they may indeed lead to a new and more productive system. This seems to be inspired in part by the new laws that permit the sale of real estate (truly a major step) and cars. And then there seems to be a growing realization that dropping people off the government payroll and encouraging them to find employment (or create it) in the private sector could have dramatic consequences – especially as the newly-permitted unlimited remittances from relatives in the United States could fund new enterprises. New shops and services are already appearing. As one Cuban put it, “we Cubans are natural entrepreneurs. With funds provided by our relatives in the U.S., we could build a new and prosperous private sector.”

  • Obama Administration Relying On Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

    Response by Tom Barry

    11-01-11

    Both at home and abroad the Obama administration is recklessly relying on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones to pursue its war and security policies. Despite their high cost and the lack of proven effectiveness, the Department of Homeland Security has steadily expanded its UAV fleet since 2003– adding three more Predator B drones the last week of October in response to lobbying by congressional UAV advocates and bipartisan demands for more border security. A cost-benefit evaluation of the DHS drone program, which has cost $240 million since 2005 but whose security impact remains undocumented, is needed. See Tom Barry's IPR "Fallacies of High-Tech Fixes for Border Security" for more information.

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