Jeffrey Cavanaugh

Jeffrey Cavanaugh is a former MintPress political analyst and columnist specializing in international relations and US policy. He holds a Ph.D. in International Relations, specializing in International Security and Conflict. He has worked as a political science and public administration lecturer at Mississippi State University.

Saudi Arabia: Between Iraq And A Hard Place

An inflexible, oil-rich state run by an elderly, out-of-touch elite in cahoots with kleptocratic, self-dealing vested interests, how long does Saudi Arabia have to wait for a true reformer? And what’s going to happen in the meantime?

Jeffrey Cavanaugh
By Jeffrey Cavanaugh
Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, 2nd right first row, poses with Shura members at consultative Shura Council in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia's new monarch isn't wasting time. Since assuming the throne Jan. 23, King Salman has elevated some of his closest relatives and sidelined previous power-brokers, tightened

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“American Sniper”: Clint Eastwood’s American Horror Story

In Clint Eastwood’s latest war flick, Chris Kyle, the deadliest sniper in U.S. military history, is told by his father that there are three kinds of people: wolves, sheep, and sheepdogs. Yet whether Kyle is a wolf or a sheepdog depends on the viewer.

Jeffrey Cavanaugh
By Jeffrey Cavanaugh
Chris Kyle Ventura

Unless you’ve had your head in the sand for the last couple of weeks you’ve no doubt heard about the box office success of “American Sniper,” Clint Eastwood’s latest directorial effort, based on the biography of the late Navy Seal Chris Kyle. At last count, the war flick raked in $107 million over the four-day Martin Luther King Jr. weekend,

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A Huckabee Presidential Bid? Stay Tuned

The unchurched, agnostics and atheists now outnumber Bible thumpers like Mike Huckabee and the voters who support him. With this trend set to continue well into the future, it’s no wonder the Fox huckster is rushing to explore the campaign trail.

Jeffrey Cavanaugh
By Jeffrey Cavanaugh
Mike Huckabee

Mike Huckabee speaks at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference in National Harbor, Md., March, 2014. Photo: Susan Walsh/AP As the year turned a member of Fox News’ stable of in-house former conservative politicians tendered his resignation in preparation for a presidential run in 2016. Like another former governor of

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Erik Prince: America’s Harbinger Of Death, And Democracy?

The Blackwater founder’s movements can be read like tea leaves: Wherever he goes, tragedy and death surely follow, trailed by tens of millions of dollars.

Jeffrey Cavanaugh
By Jeffrey Cavanaugh
Blackwater CEO and founder Erik Prince (AP/Sara D. Davis)

Humanity has long shown its knack for developing belief in the validity of certain signs and portents as conveying a reliable prediction of the future. A comet, for instance, has often been interpreted as a signal that famine or war might soon make an appearance. Likewise, association of such things as the entry of one or more planets into a house

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The Southern Democrat Will Rise Again

The South today is not what it was, and the South of tomorrow will not be what it is today, so don’t count the Southern Democrat out just yet.

Jeffrey Cavanaugh
By Jeffrey Cavanaugh
Jason Carter

Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jason Carter speaks during a campaign stop in Columbus, Ga. Many Democrats say the way to recover lost ground in the conservative South is to reclaim the partyís lost identity as a champion of the middle class. (David Goldman/AP) In the wake of Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu’s defeat in a runoff with her

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Like Eric Garner, We Are All Caught In A System Designed To Fail Us

Like the cop who choked out Eric Garner, our corrupt, unjust and unbalanced system is crushing the life out of the economy for everyday working people, who are increasingly falling behind and becoming ever more insecure as time goes on.

Jeffrey Cavanaugh
By Jeffrey Cavanaugh
Arrest Struggle Death

A mourner places a candle at a memorial for Eric Garner, a Staten Island man who died while being arrested by New York City police, Tuesday, July 22, 2014, in New York. Demonstrators gathered at a park Tuesday, near where police attempted to arrest Garner, 43, on suspicion of selling untaxed cigarettes. The final words the late Eric Garner

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Tracing America’s Legacy Of War From Atlanta To Aleppo

Union Army Maj. Gen. Sherman understood the full extent of the cruelty, atrocities and death that are required to “win.” Looking now toward the Middle East, it’s important to consider to what extent we’re willing to take our actions to succeed.

Jeffrey Cavanaugh
By Jeffrey Cavanaugh
Thick smoke from an airstrike by the US-led coalition rise in Kobani, Syria

Unless you are a U.S. history buff you probably missed a remarkable date last week:  the 150th anniversary of the burning of Atlanta during the Civil War. Although the destruction of the city was neither as organized, nor extensive, as myth has made it out to be, the atrocity became an important part of our history by becoming the opening act in

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