How the New US-Afghanistan Peace Deal Rekindled a “Business Friendly Taliban”

America’s relationship with the Taliban has always been determined by how useful they are at advancing US interests in the region and the Trump administration’s recent efforts to make “peace” with the group are no exception.

Whitney Webb
By Whitney Webb
US Taliban Peace Deal Feature photo

President Trump, who is up for re-election this year, has added another “peace” deal to his credentials, a deal that the president, his re-election campaign and his supporters have promoted as proof that Trump is willing and able to resist the U.S. foreign policy establishment and its ceaseless push to keep the U.S. embroiled in “forever

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The Global Left and the Danger of a Dirty War in Venezuela

The fact of the matter is that Nicolás Maduro was re-elected in an internationally monitored election with 6.2 million votes, equivalent to 31 percent of the voting eligible population.

Lucas Koerner
By Lucas Koerner
An anti-government protester holds a shield brandished with photos of President Nicolas Maduro, government officials and a gun sight, during clashes with security forces in Caracas, Venezuela, July 22, 2017. Fernando Llano | AP

Opinion -- In a recent piece for Jacobin, Gabriel Hetland mapped out what he believes should be the “left” position vis-à-vis the ongoing US-led coup effort in Venezuela. Hetland correctly observes that there is “absolutely no justification for U.S. sanctions or military intervention” in Venezuela, which must be opposed by leftists and

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From Mexico To Africa: Israel’s Dark History Of Training Gangs and War Criminals

In 1989 for example, Israel was accused of training paramilitary forces belonging to Colombia’s deadly Medellin drug cartel, a group responsible for the deaths of numerous government officials, police and civilians.

Kit O'Connell
By Kit O'Connell
South Sudan Child Soldiers

Despite its apartheid policies toward Palestinians and other minorities, Israel is often cited as the Middle East’s only democracy and a preserver of human rights within the region. Not only does this public image sharply contrast with the reality of Israel’s brutal treatment of occupied Palestine and the country’s institutional racism, but its

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School Of The Americas: Training Torturers and Secret Police For US-Backed Dictators Since 1946

Over 64,000 soldiers have been trained to oppress, smash dissent, and maintain American imperial order since the “school” first opened.

Kit O'Connell
By Kit O'Connell
A guest instructor debriefs students from the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation and Naval Small Craft Instruction and Technical Training School after a field training exercise. (U.S. Navy photo)

FORT BENNING, Georgia --- For the past 69 years, many of the most notorious U.S.-backed South American dictators, along with their secret police and torturers, have learned their dark arts from a secretive American training facility. Located in Fort Benning, Georgia, the facility changed its name from “School of the Americas” to “Western

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The School Of The Americas Is Still Exporting Death Squads

South American militaries have been sending soldiers to the U.S. for “ethics” and “human rights” training for years, but history shows that many of these alumni go on to become notorious torturers and murderers, not defenders of peace.

Ramona Wadi
By Ramona Wadi
Students from the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation and students from the Naval Small Craft Instruction and Technical Training School conduct a joint assault on a simulated narcotics camp during a field training exercise. (Photo: U.S. Navy)

Students from the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (formerly School of the Americas) and students from the Naval Small Craft Instruction and Technical Training School conduct a joint assault on a simulated narcotics camp during a field training exercise. (Photo: U.S. Navy) RABAT, Malta --- In 2009, just a year before

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