By Jan Oberg Proud to join “Middle East With Naskah Zada” at her program in New York and talking about the reasons that peace has become so ‘unpopular’. Touching also upon international law, the new Cold War and the increasing U.S. involvement in Syria. Continue reading Lost peace and fake news
Just a thought… Continue reading What foreign policy if the US had no weapons?
“The Debate” of April 16, 2017 on Iran’s PressTV between Richard Millett and myself is important to me. I think it will be for you too in the sense of clarifying two approaches and positions on Syria. Its focus is on the difference in media coverage of the terrible events in Khan Seykhoun and al-Rashideen but there is much more to it. I’ll keep on … Continue reading Syria – two perspectives illustrated
TFF LiveApril 12, 2017 The secretaries of state, Tillerson and Lavrov meet today. We seem to enter a stage of what must appropriately be perceived as a frosty new Cold War. In the worst of cases this can lead to a new Cuban Missile Crisis. God forbid! Continue reading The US/NATO confrontation with Russia is dangerous
Here my 6th photo series from Aleppo – hashtag #keepfocusonaleppo.
Lund, Sweden – March 24, 2017
Can the almost total destruction of Eastern Aleppo be used constructively?
Only if we are willing to ask and dialogue about this:
• Why does the world go on investing US$ 2000 billion annually in warfare and US$ 30 in all the UN does – only to create destruction of people, places, past and future?
• How absurd, how meaningless – indeed how far must it go to destroy the West itself – before we learn to conflict intelligently?
•
I’ve see much destruction during my work in conflict zones the last 25 years. But nothingcompares with Aleppo and the destruction of Syria and its people.
Continue reading “The Meaninglessness of War: Aleppo”A 30 min debate about NATO, Ukraine, Crimea, Yugoslavia, Syria the eternal enemy images and the – obsolete – philosophy on which NATO builds. Time for something new, I argue in the debate with former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defence under Reagon, Mr. Lawrence J. Korb who at the time was in command of 70% of Pentagon’s budget. Here in TFF PressInfo # 403 is … Continue reading Discussing NATO with a former U.S. Ass. Sec. of Defence
Human rights is not my field but we have to speak up against Trump’s personal endorsement of it. This is nothing new, the US has used it all the time. But isn’t it tragic that almost 70 years after torture was prohibited in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we see 141 countries still using torture – according to Amnesty International. Here my short comment … Continue reading On Trump endorsing torture
Fourth photo story from Aleppo: “Faces of Aleppo. Just out of 4,5 years of occupation hell” January 25, 2017 Unique photos from Eastern Aleppo in Syria when it was finally liberated on December 11-12, 2016. The people you see here have just come out to freedom from 4,5 years of the occupation by what can be called RIOTs – Rebels-Insurgents-Opposition-Terrorists – mostly the latter. And most … Continue reading Faces of Aleppo
Commenting with David Swanson, leading and sharp peace intellectual, on the inauguration of Trump – also about the legacy of Barrack Obama. For Iran’s international PressTV. Posted on TFF’s blog. Continue reading From Obama to Trump
Happy to speak positively about the EU foreign policy chief’s commitment to stand by the nuclear deal with Iran – a clear signal also to Trump. That’s good – the alternative could very well be war. Continue reading Good: EU will honour the deal with Iran
The third photo story from the days of the liberation of Aleppo in SyriaUnique photos with text from Aleppo’s Jibrin reception center for people finally liberated in Eastern Aleppo December 11-12, 2016.Documentation of the fact that it was the Syrian authorities, the Syrian Army, Russian doctors, the Syrian Red Crescent and volunteering Syrian youth who took care of these destitute internally displaced people.In short, the … Continue reading Aleppo’s evil humanitarians
New year’s night, January 1, 2017 This girl had come out of Eastern Aleppo after four dark years of occupation by Western-backed terrorists – too many to name. People who for no reason had destroyed her home, her part of that beautiful city. Perhaps half of her life living in fear, perhaps having lost family members. I do not know. I met her on December 14 … Continue reading The little girl from Eastern Aleppo
The old years went – in as little a time as it takes to turn around and see who is tapping you on your shoulder. And it is the new, the next year.
I hope it will pass too – in as little time as it takes for me to turn my head and look forward again – because the face of 2017 doesn’t look good or kind to me.
Neither do the next ten or so years.
Beyond that the world will become a better place. If, that is, if we survive and don’t destroy it all.
It is actually already becoming a better place!
The thing that has too pass – or pass away – is the United States Empire.
In a few years it will go the way Rome and all the rest plus the Ottoman, British and Soviet empires did. No empire lasts forever.
But before we go for it – a video from Beirut, December 2016:
Some indicators of Empire dissolution
The indicators, the cracks, in the Empire are there for all to see – the Americans and other Westernes will be the last and remain in denial for some time until the discrepancy between the self-image and the reality, the self-delusion, has grown too big. Like East Germany or Russia at in the early 1980s.
The rest of the world, the non-West sees some of these cracks quite clearly:
Continue reading “As we move into the new year – 2017”Have just published the second of a series of photo stories from Syria – “Humans in liberated Aleppo”. You can subscribe to this page for photo stories which ensures that you’ll get an email as soon as they are posted on my Exposure page. I’d be most grateful if you’d share this link too. And here is a little background to this photo story: Unique photos … Continue reading Humans in liberated Aleppo
During the last two weeks I have received almost 800 friend requests on Facebook and about 1000 new followers. It’s overwhelming and warms my heart beyond words.
Many many thanks for your trust and support – and for not only thinking it but taking time to tell it.
I can only assume that it is all because of my visit to Damascus and Aleppo. Literally thousands have thanked me for my short texts and photos from there – and for taking the risk going there.
Lots of people go to difficult places, be they humanitarian workers, journalists, photographers, UN people, other diplomats or civil society organisations. But – regrettably, I would say – it is not often I’ve met other researchers in war zones.
Those of us who go, go because we feel we have a duty, because we are curious and must see for ourselves and because a visit opens doors to people, to the suffering and to natural human solidarity.
Media focus on all those with weapons in their hands – the warlords. I’ve always felt enriched and grateful to all the others one can meet, wonderful people who stand up and stand together, struggle, help their neighbours – and survive the other main type of people present, the murderers who get all the fame.
I’m no hero. Just that you know. Many (more) could do what I do.
But back to the social media boom, I’ve just experienced.
Continue reading “Thanks for the friends’ and followers’ boom”It’s destructive for all! It’s difficult to see this as rational policy-making. It’s more of an indication of the grumpy super-power feeling that it’s losing influence and credibility. In addition, if this goes through it will only strengthen the hardliners in Iran and weaken the reformist circles. Continue reading Why on earth renew old sanctions on Iran?
Here a few comments on Erdogan’s recent attack on the West for supplying arms to the Kurds. Funny that Turkey’s president should accuse someone else for weaponizing a conflict. At the same time as Turkey does it and is also involved in two wars outside itself – Iraq and Syria – and one inside against the Kurds. In this short interview I seek to raise … Continue reading Imagine a Middle East with no weapons!
I’ve felt deeply touched by Johan Grimonprez’ brilliant and frightening documentary “Shadow World” which is based on Andrew Feinstein’s book with the same name. I want to share it with my readers and here is all about the book and the movie. It was shown in November 2016 by Swedish Television with Swedish text but is due to be taken down a couple of month later. It will … Continue reading “Shadow World” – on your tax money
October 26, 2016 Yet another example of how tension build up in this New Cold War situation – instead of doing what we did during the first Cold War: trying confidence-building measures. Today too BBC announced that the US will deploy – permanently – 300 US soldiers to norther Norway, a break with Norway’s policies since it became a NATO member. And Reuters brought the … Continue reading NATO-Russia games
Last night I had the opportunity to discuss nuclear weapons with an experienced, high-ranking security analyst who has been both a military, a scholar, an assistant secretary of defence, presidential adviser, a corporate man and now a think tank member, Lawrence J. Korb. We were discussing the issues touched upon in this and this article. I would assume that the debate – facilitated by Iran’s PressTV in … Continue reading U.S. nuclear policies – two world views
Arbejderen er Danmarks eneste avis, der giver udenrigs- og globalpolitik en rimelig stor dækning i forhold til andre stofområder og samtidig forholder sig kritisk til de dele af dansk udenrigspolitik, der går voldens vej. Derfor har jeg det fint med at være columnist på Arbejderen. Og den seneste klumme skrev jeg på min rundrejse i Iran og den handler om min vision af Iran og hvorfor billedet af Iran … Continue reading Klummer i “Arbejderen”
Hillary Rodham Clinton was nominated last night by the Democratic Party as its candidate for the U.S. Presidency. She may well win on November 8.
What a tragedy for Western democracy that the leader of what is still called the free, democratic world cannot produce better candidates than Trump and Clinton through a disgustingly commercialized and corrupt political process where candidates like Jill Stein – did you ever hear of that candidate? – doesn’t have a chance because she cannot mobilize the funds.
As a European intellectual with a life-long commitment to peace and democracy, I find little reason to celebrate.
And why the total focus on a few individuals at the top but not the structures that will run them both, such as the Military-Industrial-Media-Academic Complex (MIMAC); the cancer in many societies, including Russia, that President Eisenhower warned the world about in his farewell speech already in 1961?
How short the media memory! Hillary Clinton’s nomination celebrated all over the mainstream press as a victory for the party – preventing it from splitting – and for all women.
But how can people – women in particular – really believe in such genderism: that she will be a better president for the US and the world because she’s a woman? Hasn’t the world learnt anything from the inverse racism:that Obama would be a great presidentbecause he is black?
How blind the media to militarism, war and other violence: Not one media focuses on the Clinton’s well-documented fascination with violence and war.
It’s time to refresh the memory of the Clintons:
Bill Clinton’s record
From 1994 BC broke all promises made by his predecessors and other Western politician to Gorbachev about “not expanding NATO an inch”. He started out in Tblisi, Georgia. I happened to be there, spoke with the U.S. representative to the country and got a sense what was coming. Later too in Yugoslavia.
There is a straight line from that fatal arrogance to today’s Second Cold War in Europe, Ukraine having – predictably – to be the this-far-and-no-longer country of that mindless and reckless expansion that should never have happened.
Continue reading “The Clintons celebrated – but likely disastrous for the world”Here is my take on the July 15 coup in Turkey – why it happened the way it did and what is the least unlikely hypothesis – followed by some examples of regional and international consequences this coup is bound to have. And it ends: NATO comes across as a very tired alliance that should have been closed down or re-invented itself 25 years ago … Continue reading Turkey’s coup – Another example of the West’s disintegration
Jan Oberg comments on Iranian PressTV (July 19, 2016) some 11 minutes into this program. “The War On Terror is history’s most stupid and counterproductive. If the terrorism problem has increased about 80 times since 2001 we should be intellectual and decent enough to ask ourselves: What are we doing wrong? Nobody asks this question and it will end us up in hell.” Continue reading The horror in Nice and elsewhere
Comment on Russia Today, July 16, 2016 Continue reading Turkey coup as one more problem for NATO
See this 24 min documentary on Al-Jazeera. Here is an example of what it tells you: “Like 10,500 other French Muslims, Halim has a “Fiche S”, or S-Card, attached to his police record. This designates him as a person “representing a threat to the security of the state”. I wonder what long-term consequences this sort of thing will have? Hardly any good … Continue reading The French eye-for-an-eye policy
In an open letter – hardly mentioned by the Western mainstream press, a group of high-level and rather “Realpolitik” US diplomats, scholars, military and politicians urge President Obama to take concrete steps to intensify the co-operation with Iran. There are obviously concerned that the U.S. shall be perceived as an obstacles for the implementation of the JCPOA, or the Iran Nuclear Deal that, on Thursday the 14th, … Continue reading Obama is urged to make closer ties with Iran
Published on July 8, 2016, the day of the NATO Summit in Warsaw. It’s the 5th in the TFF Series “The New Cold War” Russia and NATO have offensive capacities and MIMACs (Military-Industrial-Media-Academic Complex) but NATO’s is a much larger potential threat to Russia than the other way around Why does an alliance with such an overwhelming superiority shout and scream and see ghosts on … Continue reading Fearology and militarism – But the real enemy is us
By Jan Oberg
The third article in the TFF series on The New Cold War
We are witnessing a remarkable increase in tension between the US/NATO and Russia these years – and it can not only be explained by whatever we choose to think happened in Ukraine and Crimea. We find a totally new effort on both sides to use social and other media to tell how dangerous “they” are to “us”. There is a clear tendency to “fearology” – to instill fear in the citizens on both sides about the capabilities and intentions of the other side.
We find deeply concerned articles about the possibility of war between the two parties – a quarter of a century after the Berlin Wall tumbled.
Why is the new tension rising in Europe between US/NATO and Russia so manifestly dangerous and – with the exception of the Cuban Missile Crisis worse than during the First Cold War?
On a series of indicators, the political Western world – US/NATO/EU and Christian (Orthodox, Protestant, Catholic with sects) – is becoming weak relative to other players in the global society.
The West has engaged in a series of wars that turned into very costly fiascos – from what followed from Sykes-Picot which turned 100 in May 2016 over Vietnam to the destruction of Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria.
The West is still the largest economic bloc and the 28 NATO members cover about 70% of the world’s mind-boggling US $ 1700 billion military expenditures. Africa as a continent, BRICS countries – China in particular – are making progress, also in fields where the West has failed; for instance, China has lifted 400 million Chinese out of poverty in a couple of decades. The wealthy West has done nothing of the sort over centuries but produced a grotesquely, perversely unequal income distribution.
Very proud to be featured on the front page of Inter-Press Service, IPS, today – the world’s most important alternative media agency with a global focus. And together with brilliant IPS founder Robert Savio and Johan Galtung. No Western mainstram media took my Brexit analysis but IPS and a series of other alternatives did. Great! Thank you, IPS ! Continue reading Brexit analysis on IPS
The West leaves, a multi-polar world comes Jan Øberg – Video lecture – Part 1/3 Continue reading “Peace, Conflict, Democracy”
On June 15, 2016 I participated in a discussion with Mike O’Hanlon from the Brookings Institution on CCTV America – China’s international TV station in the U.S. with up to 75 million viewers. The discussion was lead by Anand Naidoo.You can watch it here. Continue reading NATO’s confrontational policy
TFF PressInfo # 373: What Obama should do in Hiroshima tomorrowArticles by Jonathan Power & Richard Falkhttp://bit.ly/1U8PEq3 With an intro by Jan Oberg. Continue reading On Obama’s visit to Hiroshima – TFF PressInfo # 373
The World Humanitarian Summit held in Istanbul, May 23-24, 2016 failed to achieve its fund-raising goals. No one from the richest countries – except Angela Merkel – or of the UN Security Council attended – writes eminent observer Baher Kamal for InterPress Service, IPS. The richest and most powerful, the most militarized and the most greedy on earth of course stayed away. In addition, they … Continue reading The Western moral decay
Hvad får vi egentlig at vide om det nordiske topmøde i Washington?
Svar: Andedamsjournalistik om middagen, salen, musikken, underholdningen og Lars Løkke Rasmussens morsomme (?) tale. Det er politik som et show – eller dække. Benovelsen over at blive modtaget med pomp og pragt i Washington er til at tage og føle på. Og sådan er det hele vejen på tværs af dansk medier inklusive Ritzaus Bureau.
Hvad savner vi i alle ledende medier – også Public Service-DR?
En analyse af (og lænke til) det omfattende, detaljerede og exceptionelt lange fællesdokument, der viljesløst binder landene til USAs udenrigs- og militærpolitik og gør dette møde til alt andet end en festlig begivenhed for Danmark og de andre nordiske lande.
Der er faktisk tale om totalt knæfald for imperiets præmisser – langt hen ad vejen i strid med hensynet til de nordiske landes egne sikkerhedsinteresser. Og de nordisk ledere gør det med smil, stolthed og intetanende hvad dette kan indebære ad åre – men da vil de selv være borte.
Er en skeptisk vinkel på dette overhovedet tilladt i det stadigt mere homogeniserede og research-frie mediebillede?
Tilsyneladende ikke – altså må andre gøre opmærksom på den større sammenhæng og udføre public service og folkeoplysning.
I en tid hvor spændingen øger mellem Rusland og NATO er der brug for alt andet end den ganging-up, militær ekspansion, konfrontation og polarisering mod Rusland – og hårdt pres på f.eks. Sverige og Finland for at blive ikke bare de facto men også de jure medlemmer af NATO – som USA/NATO kører på i disse år med henvisning til Ruslands aggressive politik og annekteringen af Krim.
Ruslands militære udgifter er 11% af USAs og 8% af NATO ifølge SIPRIs statistik. Der findes ikke én NATO general, der hellere ville være ansat i det russiske forsvar.
Continue reading “Nordiske ledere i Det Hvide Hus og dansk uvidenhedsjournalistik”For instance EU and other Western mainstream media. But we are getting out! The European Union is about to sign an agreement with non-EU Turkey to get rid of a large part of its refugees – by paying around € 6 bn to Turkey. Amnesty International and many others have pointed out – in strong words – that this agreement violates basic provisions of international … Continue reading If the EU becomes a criminal Union some don’t want you to know
Commenting on NATO S-G Jens Stoltenberg’s wish for dialogue with Russia – a bit odd after all the other provocative initiatives he has spearheaded the last good year or so. I felt like saying something more general about this outdated paradigm – and why it is dangerous for us all – referring also to the Russell-Einstein Manifesto of 1955. You may also see it as … Continue reading NATO outdated – Abolish war
It was a few days ago when Swedish Army chief, Major-General Anders Brännström stated in a (leaked) internal document that ‘Sweden could be at war within a few years.’ This is, of course, nothing but ‘fearology’ and very bad judgement. He may be a great soldier but a victim of his own system’s bizarre threat perceptions – always pointing as they do to the Russians. … Continue reading Sweden soon at war? Yes, perhaps, if in NATO
Here media hysteria goes again. This is BBC. It is very difficult to know what has happened. The media and many governments around the world immediately condemn this test. The EU says it is against UN Security Council resolutions – a council consisting exclusively of much stronger, nuclear powers. Before we get carried away, it should be pointed out that North Korea’s military expenditures (US$ 7-10 … Continue reading North Korea’s bomb test hysteria
Min klumme i ‘Arbejderen’ den 26. august 2015. At definere ”vores forsvar” som kun et spørgsmål om våben er og har altid været en grundsten i militarismen, oprustningen og den voldelige konfliktløsning. Tidligere udenrigsminister Martin Lidegaard (R) skriver på TV2 om hvorfor Danmark skal have ny krigsfly. Under overskriften ”Hvad vil vi egentlig med vores forsvar?” indleder han med, at “Vi bakker op om kampfly”, … Continue reading Nye krigsfly? Boykot dem eller brug folkefinanciering
Don’t underestimate him, count him out or think he is crazy.
NBC’s “Meet the Press” half-hour interview with Donald Trump is interesting. He has passion and a very fast mind, he seems to have integrity in the sense that he cannot be bought for money by others and he doesn’t mind having standpoints that conservative republicans find odd or surprising.
He is clearly eclectic and pragmatic rather than a theoretician, ideology-bent politician – and seems to build a lot on his entrepreneur experience and sense of reading people.
His vision – “making America great again!” – may be frightening and wrong and it is based on strength, on military but even more on economic strength.
The interesting thing is that he is much more realistic about the internal and external weaknesses of today’s U.S. than the rest of the political elites and decision-makers in Washington who seem all to be in denial of the empire’s relative decline.
Continue reading “Don’t underestimate Donald Trump”The Transnational Foundation for Peace & Future Research turns 30 on September 12, 2015.Here a good two minutes with my dear wife, Christina, and myself on that decision in 1985. Continue reading TFF turns 30 – Part 1 “How it all began – and why?”
Udenrigs- og sikkerhedspolitik burde være en del af valgkampen.* I en globaliseret verden bestemmes mere og mere af Danmarks fremtid af hvordan verden omkring Danmark udvikler sig. Det er dér rammebetingelserne skabes for dansk politik. Udenrigspolitik handler om at påvirke verden på en for os selv og verden god måde.
I globaliseringens tid er der to grupper, der har forstået at fremtiden er regional og global og at nationalstaten er på vej ned; det er erhvervslivet og militæret, der begge ser verden som ét system. Derimod hænger den politiske sfære uhjælpeligt fast i en forældet opfattelse af at nationalstaten og national demokrati er altafgørende. Faktisk bliver det mindre og mindre betydningsfuldt hvad vi stemmer på til Folketinget fordi de vigtige rammebetingelser afstikkes i Bruxelles, New York, Moskva, Beijing, i BRICS-landene (Brasilien, Rusland, Indien, Kina og Sydafrika), i Valutafonden, NATO etc.
Den politiske sfære halter altså efter den økonomiske og militære. Vi kan stadigvæk ikke stemme om hvilke danskere, der skal repræsentere os i f.eks. FN og NATO og andre inter-nationale fora. Endnu mindre har vi globale styremekanismer – ingen høringer eller folkeforsamling i FN, ingen folkeforsamling tilknyttet de store organisationer. Og hvor fremragende og uundværligt FN end er sidder 5 stater, der idag på ingen måde er repræsentative for verden – men tegner sig for 85% af verdens våbenhandel – som en anakronisme og forsøger at bestemme verdens gang.
Continue reading “Ny dansk udenrigs- og sikkerhedspolitik – til valget og Folkemødet”My comment to Assistant Secretary of State, Victoria “Fuck the EU” Nuland’s visit to Kiev Continue reading Is the US suddenly slightly more reconciliatory in tone?