AIDemocracy.org

The Day Without Drones

May 13, 2013 by AIDemocracy Leave a Comment

By Quenique Newbill. A recent New York Times article highlighted the public policy debate on the use of drones strikes versus captures in high level terror suspects. This debate is not new. Since the advent of the "War on Terror", Human rights groups have expressed legal concerns with the detention or outright execution of individuals, "terror suspects" without a trial. The induction of drones into the US foreign policy has defined a new, but arguably more controversial era in US foreign policy and only served to broaden the debate on … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, Featured Less Tagged With: drones, war

Palestine and Israel in dialogue?

November 30, 2012 by Ana Ila Leave a Comment

On 30 November 2012, Palestine was awarded non–member United Nations (UN) observer status. The UN “by a vote of 138 to 9, with 41 abstentions … voted to upgrade the status of Palestine to nonmember state which altered Palestine's status at the UN from an ‘entity’ to a ‘nonmember observer state’” (Haney). Though many media houses around the world criticize such developments, others claim this conflict should have been left to the diplomats in the first place. Still, this development could lead to positive effects for both sides. Many … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, Security Tagged With: civilians, Israel, Palestine, Peace, UN, violence, war

Has The Fuse Been Set Against Israel?

November 20, 2012 by Haley Vogt Leave a Comment

The recent events between Israel and Hamas are building up into what could quite possibly lead to full out war. Israel has been experiencing attacks and airstrikes for the past several months. Last week marked the first time she retaliated. As airstrikes continued between the borders of both Israel and Gaza, each side is attempting to prove its strength to the other. Hamas is currently daring Israel to attempt invasion while Israel remains firmly perched, ready to attack. Although each conflict brings with it a new set of context and reasoning, there … [Read more...]

Filed Under: News 2012 Tagged With: Gaza Strip, Israel, Middle East, war

Biofuels: The Rowdy Fuel-source and Possible Solutions to the Clamor

March 27, 2012 by Leila Leave a Comment

Most people, throughout history, have been motivated by the simple idea of making resources affordable and hence accessible. Almost seven and half decades ago, Henry Ford envisaged cars powered by biofuels: “The fuel of the future is going to come from fruit like that sumac out by the roast, or from apples, weeds, sawdust – almost anything. There is fuel in every bit of vegetable matter that can be fermented. There’s enough alcohol in one year’s yield of an acre of potatoes to drive the machinery necessary to cultivate the fields for a hundred … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, Climate Change, Featured Less Tagged With: access to water, art, war

Upcoming Iranian Elections Pose New Questions about Country’s Press Freedoms Part 2: The Western Response

February 22, 2012 by Emily 1 Comment

The Supreme Leader, Grand Ayatollah Khamenei

Iranians may wonder about all the fuss of SOPA and PIPA if they accessed foreign news. Unfortunately, most foreign media is blocked in the country. Most domestic media is either blocked or propagandized. One of the worst instigators and promoters of state-run oppression is the government’s Fars news agency, which proliferates false information about the upcoming elections. According to Saeed Dehghan’s article in the Guardian on January 10, the Fars news agency reported that “more than 1200 reformists had put their names forward for the elections … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, Featured Less, Security Tagged With: blogger, Candidates, democracy, election, Government, human rights, internet, Iran, Islam, law, media, reform, sanctions, war

Small Yet Agile; The US Military in 2020

February 4, 2012 by Ana Ila 2 Comments

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta announced plans for changes that the US military will undergo due to the current budget cuts. According to Secretary Panetta, US forces will be more tech-centric and more rapidly deployable. As previously announced, the Pentagon will decrease spending by $487 billion over the next ten years. Savings would start in 2013, and defense budget would be cut every year, adding up to the $487 billion by the tenth year. The military will undergo several changes, the first being an increase in mobility. The US military … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, Featured Less, Security Tagged With: Aid Workers, economy, Europe, military, security, Somalia, terrorism, US military, war

Iraq War: A successful business trip

January 24, 2012 by Usman Shabbir 4 Comments

Sun Tzu said “all war is deception". The last convoy of US troops to leave Iraq has entered Kuwait, nearly nine years after the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, BBC reports. The aura of victory spread over the Pentagon and the White house as the last remaining war heroes returned. This was after paying an opportunity cost of 4,487 US and 97,461 Iraqi causalities and a net investment of $801.98 billion (cost of the Iraq war). President Obama claimed that the US military was the “finest fighting force” further extending the claim of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, Featured Less, Security Tagged With: BBC, Corruption, democracy, economy, Iran, Iraq, military, Obama, oil, President Bush, privatization, US military, war, war on terror

Re-evaluating US-Pakistan relations

January 5, 2012 by Emily Leave a Comment

While Islamabad and its Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) have historically served as American allies, Pakistan’s tense relations with the American government and military as well as with the Karzai regime have forced America to reevaluate U.S.-Pakistan relations. America’s approximately $20 billion in military and economic aid since 9/11 have served to support Pakistan’s weak government, incentivize Pakistan and its intelligence agency to combat terrorist organizations such as al Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban, deter nuclear war between India and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, Featured Less, Security Tagged With: 9/11, Afghanistan, aid, foreign aid, foreign policy, Government, India, military, NATO, nuclear, Pakistan, Taliban, terrorism, war

Get Used to the Orange Jumpsuit

December 27, 2011 by Patrick McDermott 2 Comments

The date is Tuesday, September 11th, 2012. I had just gotten back from seeing my family for the Christmas holiday. I’m sitting in the living room of my apartment, and I’m on my computer getting ready to write a critique of US foreign policy 11 years after 9/11. But just when I’m about to begin, there’s a knock on my door. I’m wasn't accustomed to getting knocks on my door, as I lived in an apartment complex and visitors were few and far between. In looking through the peephole, I realized there were two police officers standing outside my door. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, Featured Less, Security Tagged With: Afghanistan, aid, China, climate change, Congress, democracy, education, foreign policy, global warming, Iran, Iraq, law, Libya, military, nuclear weapons, Obama, poverty, Somalia, terrorism, war, Yemen

Many nukes treaties, too little action

December 21, 2011 by Ana Ila Leave a Comment

On December 6 Indonesia ratified the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). However, their ratification points to the fact that eight countries, some of which possess nuclear weapons, have not ratified it: the United States, China, India, Pakistan, Israel, Egypt, Iran, and North Korea. It is known that most of the countries on this list are in some kind of a dispute with their neighboring country and thus refuse to ratify the treaty. However, whereas the US action not to ratify the treaty is plausible due to the fact that such action would expose their … [Read more...]