Medea Benjamin

Medea Benjamin is the co-founder of CODEPINK and author of Kingdom of the Unjust: Behind the US-Saudi Connection. Her new book is Inside Iran: The Real History and Politics of the Islamic Republic.

Biden Urged to Adopt a Good Neighbor Policy Toward Latin America

Over 100 organizations that work on issues related to Latin America and the Caribbean sent a letter calling for the next administration to adopt a new Good Neighbor Policy toward the region based on non-intervention, cooperation and mutual respect.

Leonardo Flores
Medea Benjamin
By Leonardo Flores
And Medea Benjamin
Joe Biden Latin America Feature photo

Election season is a difficult time to develop good policies towards Latin America, since both Democrats and Republicans cater to the small, but organized, conservative factions of the Latinx community in Florida, vying for their votes. But if Biden wins the White House, there is a chance to reverse the Trump administration policies that have been

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Don’t be Hoodwinked by Trump’s UAE-Israel “Peace Deal”

The normalization of relations between the UAE and Israel, facilitated by the U.S., serves to prop up three repressive leaders — Trump, Netanyahu, and bin Zayed — and will cause further harm to Palestinians. It is both a shame and a sham.

Medea Benjamin
Ariel Gold
By Medea Benjamin
And Ariel Gold
UAE Israel Peace Deal Feature photo

HUGE breakthrough today,” crowed Donald Trump on Twitter as he announced the new peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The deal makes the UAE the first Gulf Arab state and the third Arab nation, after Egypt and Jordan, to have diplomatic ties with Israel. But the new Israel-UAE partnership should fool no one. Though it will

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10 Reasons Why Defunding Police Should Lead to Defunding War

Much as unaccountable police in riot gear are a danger to our communities, so, too, an unaccountable military, armed to the teeth and functioning largely in secret, is a danger to the world. 

Medea Benjamin
Zoltán Grossman
By Medea Benjamin
And Zoltán Grossman
Minneapolis Riot Police

Since George Floyd was murdered, we have seen an increasing convergence of the “war at home” against Black and brown people with the “wars abroad” that the U.S. has waged against people in other countries. Army and National Guard troops have been deployed in U.S. cities, as militarized police treat our cities as occupied war zones. In response to

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Trump Hammers Cuba While Cuba Cures the Sick

Not content to sabotage Cuba’s domestic health sector, the Trump administration has been attacking Cuba’s international medical assistance, from the teams fighting coronavirus to those caring for underserved communities in 164 countries.

Medea Benjamin
Leonardo Flores
By Medea Benjamin
And Leonardo Flores
Cuba Sanctions

A team of 85 Cuban doctors and nurses arrived in Peru on June 3 to help the Andean nation tackle the coronavirus pandemic. That same day, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced another tightening of the sanctions screws. This time he targeted seven Cuban entities, including Fincimex, one of the principal financial institutions handling

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Black Lives Matter Everywhere: Its Time to Defund the US Military

The case for Black Lives Matter should be applied globally and the push to defund police should be extended to the US military.

Medea Benjamin
Nicolas Davies
By Medea Benjamin
And Nicolas Davies
Black Lives Matter Feature photo

On June 1, President Trump threatened to deploy active-duty U.S. military forces against peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters in cities across America. Trump and state governors eventually deployed at least 17,000 National Guard troops across the country. In the nation’s capital, Trump deployed nine Blackhawk assault helicopters, thousands of

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During Coronvrius: Cuba to the Rescue, But Don’t Tell the American people

Anti-Cuba zealots in the Trump administration have been enticing Cuban doctors working overseas to defect, paying journalists to write negative stories, slapping sanctions on Cubans in charge of the program, and strong-arming countries to expel Cuban doctors.

Medea Benjamin
By Medea Benjamin

While Bernie Sanders paid a political price for uttering something positive about Cuba’s literacy program, the current pandemic has shown the whole world the heroic side of Cuba’s health care system. I saw this heroism firsthand when I worked with Cuban doctors in poor, remote villages in Africa. It was the 1970s and I was a young woman employed

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To Help Stem Spread of Coronavirus, Trump Must Lift Sanctions on Iran

US Sanctions, according to Human Rights Watch, have not only been devastating to Iranian civilians, but they have also crippled the country’s ability to effectively deal with the coronavirus.

Ariel Gold
Medea Benjamin
By Ariel Gold
And Medea Benjamin
Coronavirus Iran Feature photo

The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic is far from the first proof of how intertwined we are as a global community. The climate crisis and the refugee crisis have long been glaring examples that the wars or CO2 emissions on one continent risk the lives and well-being of people on another continent. What coronavirus is providing, however, is a unique

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