PRESS ROOM
CIP Experts provide unique and informed analysis of key events and issues around the world at a time when progressive foreign policy alternatives are urgently needed.
Please direct all media inquiries to our Experts directly .
Institutionalized Racism in U.S. Foreign Policy
William Hartung quoted
Sept-23-2020
Arms & Security Program
William Hartung, the director of the arms and security project at the Center for International Policy, explains that this spike in African terrorism incidents shows that the U.S. militarization response toward Africa was wholly unsuccessful in quelling violence in Africa as it was intended to do. He adds that fighting violence with violence may be aggravating the issue, instead of helping.
A $13 Billion Contract for ICBMs: What’s the Rush?
by William Hartung
Sept-23-2020
Arms & Security Program
The recent announcement by the U.S. Air Force that it will award Northrop Grumman $13.3 billion to develop a new intercontinental ballistic missile raises more questions than it answers. First and foremost: what’s the rush? The move greatly complicates the ability of the next administration – whoever wins the election in November – to rethink the Pentagon’s $2 trillion nuclear modernization plan in light of other demands both within and outside of the department’s budget.
Arming the Planet: the USA as the World’s Leading Weapons Dealer
by Melvin Goodman
Sept-23-2020
Senior Fellows
For the past several decades, the United States has been the world’s leading producer of major weapons systems and the leader in global arms sales. More of these sales have taken place in the globe’s most volatile region, the Middle East, than in any other region of the world. There has never been a more important time to debate President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s warning about the insidious economic, political, and even spiritual effects of what he called the “military-industrial-congressional complex.”
Al Jazeera Builds Case Against Order to Register as Foreign Agent
Ben Freeman quoted
Sept-22-2020
Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative
Lobbyists for Al Jazeera are laying the groundwork for a potential challenge to the Donald Trump administration’s demand that its AJ+ online news channel register as a foreign agent. “My thought is that this reeks of [the Foreign Agents Registration Act] being used as a political weapon and a bargaining chip in an international negotiation,” said Ben Freeman, the director of the Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative at the Center for International Policy.
The Tortured Legacy of the Mexican-American War, Part 4
by Danny Sjursen
Sept-22-2020
Senior Fellows
The American Army’s invasion of Mexico was justified by a lie, overtly aggressive, and unnecessary. In that sense it bore striking resemblance to the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. Yet, even more so than the Iraq occupation that followed, the conduct of large segments of the U.S. Army in Mexico was exceptionally ruthless throughout the two-year campaign.
The Syria Boondoggle: Who’s Ready to Die in Vain?
by Danny Sjursen
Sept-22-2020
Senior Fellows
Mark my words: an American soldier will soon die for next to nothing in Syria. Here’s a mission that takes all the absurdity of America’s post-9/11 wars of choice to their logical conclusion...amidst a whole range of post-Russiagate alarmism, an Afghan "bounty" scandal that wasn’t, and in response to the (gasp!) Russian “ramming” of an American party three weeks ago, Washington is sending in reinforcements to buck up that US military non-mission in Syria.
Palestinians Cornered, But What Arabs Getting?
William Hartung quoted
Sept-20-2020
Arms & Security Program
William Hartung, director of the Arms and Security Program at the DC-based Center for International Policy, told Al Jazeera arms sales were an "important factor" in the agreements.
The UAE has long wanted F-35 fighter jets, Hartung said, and larger drones, which the US was unable to sell because of its commitment to Israel's military advantage.
2020 Election Could Decide Whether US Pursues Nuclear Escalation or Arms Control
William Hartung quoted
Sept-19-2020
Arms & Security Program
William Hartung, director of the Arms and Security Program at the Center for International Policy, says that while Trump and Biden’s approach to arms control is like “night and day,” the differences in actual defense spending are less clear. Biden himself has indicated he isn’t planning major military spending cuts.
Presidential Candidate Joe Biden Announced That No Major Defense Cuts to the US Budget are Expected
Danny Sjursen interviewed
Sept-17-2020
Senior Fellows
For our last segment, Retired Major Danny Sjursen joins us to argue that the election season timing of the latest Mideast peace deals is hardly coincidental and that the road show is less about scoring regional "peace" than partisan points.
World’s Most Powerful Islamic Country: Is The UAE Headed To Replace Turkey?
William Hartung quoted
Sept-17-2020
Arms & Security Program
According to William Hartung, Director of the Arms and Security Program at the Centre for International Policy (CIP) in Washington DC, the sale of arms has been an “important factor” in the historical accord.
Defense Contractors Don’t Need Another Covid Bailout
William Hartung quoted
Sept-16-2020
Arms & Security Program
In rebuilding the economy, however, count on one thing: Defense contractors will put every last lobbying dollar into an attempt to convince the public, Congress, and whatever administration is in power that their sector is the country’s major engine for creating jobs. As Bill Hartung has shown, however, a close examination of such job-creation claims rarely stands up to serious scrutiny.
Washington lobbyists continue to cash in on dispute between Qatar and UAE
Ben Freeman quoted
Sept-16-2020
Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative
"It's certainly one of the biggest fights that I'm aware of, at least in recent memory," Ben Freeman, the director of the Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative at the nonprofit Center for International Policy, told Middle East Eye.
"I can't think of a bigger tiff that was more lucrative to [lobbyists] than this battle."
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