Russian Attacks Change Europe’s Security Landscape – Oh, really, General Dempsey?

☮ ☮ The highest military commander in the US, Dempsey: Russian Attacks Change Europe’s Security Landscape  –  My comment today to Iran’s PressTV. This is alarming in the sense that Dempsey’s statements are extremely bellicose. His arguments are thin and imprecise. But it seems that the U.S. has now recognised that it won’t get Ukraine into NATO that easily and, so, instead must find pretexts … Continue reading Russian Attacks Change Europe’s Security Landscape – Oh, really, General Dempsey?

☮ ☮ Ukraine’s President Poroshenko: The world must choose sides

☮ ☮ Ukraine’s President Poroshenko: The world must choose sides – CNNPetro Poroshenko emphasizes it’s a terrorist act beyond Ukraine, part of world terrorism (he uses the word 10 times); this is what he called it also just hours after it happened. He implicitly excludes accident or that a terrorist act was in the making but took down the wrong plane. He sees “no difference” … Continue reading ☮ ☮ Ukraine’s President Poroshenko: The world must choose sides

☮ ☮ And President Obama wants peace!

☮ ☮ And President Obama wants peace? – See him in this video and read the facts from CNN. In terms of total money received, Israel is the largest cumulative recipient of military assistance from the US since World War II. Between 2002 and 2011 Israel got $30 billion of US foreign aid of which nearly 75% was used to purchase U.S. defense equipment from American … Continue reading ☮ ☮ And President Obama wants peace!

Use Malaysia’s MH17 to make peace instead

TFF PressInfo, July 21, 2014

By Jan Oberg, TFF director

Tragic misuse of a tragedy

The government of Ukraine as well as the separatists, NATO/U.S. and very many leading Western mainstream media seem all to know who has caused the tragedy. Putin believes it was caused indirectly by the West.

Given the fact that very few, if any, people or institutions canknow who did it with enough details, data and precision to accuse anyone, the MH17 tragedy has been misused to an extent that can itself only be termed tragic.

The misuse is tragic because it is a catastrophe for close to 300 people, their relatives and friends. Silence – of both verbal and military weapons – and empathy would have been appropriate.

Anyone pointing fingers and calling it a terrorist act at this point is irresponsibly or should present convincing evidence.

Secondly, the blame game makes the necessary road to peace and security even more difficult.

An All Party Peace Process should come out of MH17 and the civil war

It would have been so much more civilised to use the MH 17 tragedy to say:

Continue reading “Use Malaysia’s MH17 to make peace instead”

New blog about peace researcher Håkan Wiberg (1942-2010)

Håkan Wiberg was one of my mentors in peace studies and a friend over almost 40 years – and dearly missed today. He was an Associate of TFF from 1985 to his death in 2010. A few of the many to whom Håkan meant a lot have decided to create a blog to preserve the memory of this giant – in more than one sense – who was … Continue reading New blog about peace researcher Håkan Wiberg (1942-2010)

Interview on RT in early June

In early June I was asked by Russia Today – RT – to do a half-hour conversation about militarism and peace. The only questions that were planned in advance were about the changes in Sweden’s foreign and security policy over the years which I had writen about in TFF PressInfo – here in English and here in Swedish. So it was a free discussion, unedited and … Continue reading Interview on RT in early June

US ambassador to Sweden: Join NATO

This is how pressure is put on other countries and a rare glimpse by media into processes presumably meant to be semi-official and basically hidden to the public. And of course, it is up to sovereign Sweden to decide what to do – but, however, not joining NATO will have a price. See below the ambassador’s formulation and hint at Ukraine’s situation. The truth is … Continue reading US ambassador to Sweden: Join NATO

Om Rusland: Vesten har valgt ekspansion og konfrontation

Ræson har bedt mig svare på syv spørgsmål vedrørende Ukraine og det ny modsætningsforhold mellem Vesten/NATO og Rusland. Læse de korte svar hér. Continue reading Om Rusland: Vesten har valgt ekspansion og konfrontation

Syrien – hvad kunne være gjort og hvad kan stadig gøres?

Gad vide hvor mange mislykkede krige vi endnu skal igennem før især politikere og medier opdager det indlysende faktum, at der findes et temmeligt bredt spektrum af handlingsmuligheder mellem at gøre ingenting og at smadre et land når konflikter dukker op?

Det spektrum hedder konflikthåndtering og tilhører et fagområde, der undervises i rundt om på verdens universiteter. Det kræver at FNs medlemsstater etablerer ”styrker” af uddannede konfliktanalytikere, facilitatorer, mæglere, områdeeksperter, forhandlere og forsoningsterapeuter, der kan rykke ud endnu hurtigere end de kan sende krydsermissiler og F-16 fly.

For at dette spektrum kan blive inddraget forudsættes endvidere at regeringer ikke direkte ønsker krig under foregivende af at have gode og ofte humanitære motiver hvor de i virkeligheden har rå interesser.

Med andre ord, man kan gøre noget ved den manifeste konfliktanalfabetisme, der først søger militære løsninger og – som en række danske politikere – hurtigt tilsidesætter folkeretten og FNs fornemste norm, nemlig den at fred skal skabes med fredelige midler og først når de alle har været prøvet og vist sig uden effekt kan man gribe til militære midler, vel at mærke i FN-regi.

Eller anderledes udtrykt: fred kan læres. Når nu de fleste mennesker i verden – også 98% af de civile i konfliktzoner der ikke griber til vold men er dens ofre – ønsker fred skulle man kunne tage demokratiet alvorligt og gøre en kraftanstrengelse for at mindske (ikke afskaffe) militæret, der globalt koster 1700 milliarder dollar eller 30 gange mere end alt FN gør – og i stedet øge konflikthåndteringen.

Eksemplet Syrien – gal diagnose og prognose

Verden har brug for konflikt-lægevidenskab: diagnose, prognose og behandling.

Diagnosen turde være nok så klar: Det handler om endog meget komplekse indre konflikter, den arabiske vår (oprindeligt) men det handler også om hele Mellemøsten og især hér om Vestens ønske om at holde Iran nede og Israel oppe. Continue reading “Syrien – hvad kunne være gjort og hvad kan stadig gøres?”