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Moving beyond good and evil in the Middle East
By Paul R. Pillar, Non-Resident Fellow
The New Republic, 7/20/20
The chaotic and conflict-ridden Middle East is a scene of American failure. In recent decades, the United States has lavished more resources and attention there than on any other region. It has incurred more American military deaths in Iraq than in any other war since the Vietnam War. The current state of the region, and of U.S. influence in it, doesn’t come close to representing a worthwhile return on that huge investment.
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Vote in November to help the U.S. find its way in the world again
By Andrew Bacevich, President
Los Angeles Times, 7/20/20
When Americans elect a president, they choose a commander in chief. For that reason, as they consider who should lead the nation, issues of war and peace are often front and center. Not this time. As the 2020 election approaches, domestic concerns — the COVID-19 pandemic, acute economic distress and demands for reckoning with pervasive racism — are crowding out questions related to the nation’s global role.
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COVID-19 and the costs of military primacy
By Stephen Wertheim, Deputy Director for Research and Policy
RealClear Defense, 7/22/20
Before the pandemic, more and more Americans concluded that their country’s foreign policy was failing them. In return for lavishing taxpayer dollars on the world’s largest national security apparatus, the United States was growing ever more threatened and ever less safe — even according to the policymaking class responsible for the result.
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Tax burden from the Pentagon budget authorized by the NDAA wipes out COVID stimulus payments
By Eli Clifton, Investigative Journalist at Large
Responsible Statecraft, 7/24/20
Bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate this week approved a $740 billion national defense authorization bill (NDAA), setting up negotiations for a final version, which will almost certainly pose a major boon for defense contractors, passing along a tax bill that by comparison more than wipes out the average tax filer’s COVID-19 stimulus check.
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Congressman funded by arms manufacturers defends ‘robust’ Pentagon spending
By Eli Clifton, Investigative Journalist at-Large
Responsible Statecraft, 7/21/20
On Thursday, Politico magazine published op-eds from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) — “Defund the Pentagon: The Liberal Case” — and National Taxpayers Union policy and government affairs manager Andrew Lautz and R Street Institute director Jonathan Bydlak — “Defund the Pentagon: The Conservative Case” — arguing for reductions in Pentagon spending.
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A new vision for America’s role in the Middle East
By Khody Akhavi, Multimedia Producer
Quincy Institute, 7/20/20
For all the efforts the United States has made to shape the Middle East – why is the region still in chaos? Why are we constantly intervening and then finding ourselves in situations where we can do no good – and no good comes to us? Our desire to dominate the Middle East militarily and control its resources has destabilized the region and made Americans less safe. To end endless wars and bring home our troops, we have to begin by giving up on the illusion that military dominance can fix the region.
WATCH HERE
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- The U.S. is looking away from the Middle East, but it's keeping a wary eye on what China is doing there by Christopher Woody/Research Fellow for East Asia Rachel Esplin Odell, Business Insider, 7/24/20
- How our endless wars have pushed the US military to court young gamers by Kate Kohn, Responsible Statecraft, 7/24/20
- It is time for the U.S. to pursue a new path in the Middle East by QI Intern Sara Bakhtiar, Responsible Statecraft, 7/24/20
- In base visit, Esper avoids the White House radar by Jack Detsch, Robbie Gramer, & Dan Hagerty/ Quincy Institute cited, Foreign Policy Security Brief, 7/23/20
- A pragmatic partnership: Why China and Iran try to collaborate by Ellie Geranmayeh, Responsible Statecraft, 7/23/20
- Everything Pompeo touches turns to sh*t, Matt Duss interviewed/ Quincy Institute cited, Pod Save the World, 7/22/20
- How a hawkish Washington ‘think tank’ is promoting ethnic strife in Iran by Eldar Mamedov, Responsible Statecraft, 7/22/20
- How a working class soldier and platoon leader in Iraq turned against our “forever wars" by Steve Early and Suzanne Gordon/ Quoted: QI President Andrew Bacevich, Jacobin, 7/21/20
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