Foreign Policy Category Archive

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Rule Through Law: Nationalist Politicians Are Being Imprisoned for Their Beliefs Across Europe

Eric Striker • October 14, 2020

• 900 Words • 146 Comments • Reply

Multiple European Union states are breaking with post-war liberal conventions and openly imprisoning prominent political opponents and intellectuals for ideological crimes. The tactic being used by these governments is "rule through law," as opposed to rule of law. The strategy is commonly deployed in nations like Saudi Arabia against journalists, intellectuals and opposition figures who... Read More

Greek Government Convicts Nationalist Party's Elected Officials of Being a Criminal Organization Over 2013 "Antifa" Member's Death

Eric Striker • October 7, 2020

• 700 Words • 93 Comments • Reply

Thousands of communists, anarchists, and international NGOs have descended on Athens to celebrate a Greek court's decision to declare nationalist opposition party, Golden Dawn, a criminal organization. The ruling is a historic departure for post-war liberalism, which traditionally frowns upon putting members of parliament in prison for their beliefs. All 18 elected MPs, including Golden... Read More

Genocide of the Greek Nation

Paul Craig Roberts • August 21, 2018

• 900 Words

The political and media coverup of the genocide of the Greek Nation began yesterday (August 20) with European Union and other political statements announcing that the Greek Crisis is over. What they mean is that Greece is over, dead, and done with. It has been exploited to the limit, and the carcas has been thrown... Read More

The Financial Invasion of Greece

IMF's concern about Greek debt is bogus, this is full scale financial war, forcing Greece give up ports, pensions,...

Michael Hudson • May 22, 2016

• 1,600 Words • 94 Comments • Reply

SHARMINI PERIES, TRNN: It's the Real News Network, I'm Sharmini Peries coming to you from Baltimore. Greece's economic crisis has perhaps been eclipsed by Europe's refugee crisis, terrorist attacks, and by the forthcoming Brexit referendum. But it has not gone away. Greece's Syriza coalition faced violence on the streets and a 3 day general strike... Read More

Greek Elections: January and September 2015

From Hope to Fear and Despair

James Petras • August 26, 2015

• 1,300 Words • 1 Comment • Reply

Introduction: Eight months will have passed since the election of Syriza on January 25 up to the snap elections in September. During that time Syriza’s leaders play-acted their ‘opposition to austerity’ and then knelt down in submission to the ‘Troika’. The contrast between January and now is dramatic: Syriza’s leader, Prime Minister Alexi Tsipras, aroused... Read More

EU’s Greek Debt Austerity Plan Rejected By the IMF

Paul Craig Roberts • July 30, 2015

• 200 Words • 4 Comments

I have maintained since the so-called Greek Debt “crisis” began back in 2010, I believe it was, that the imposition of austerity on Greece could not possibly work and that the only solution was to write down the debt to a level that Greece could service and introduce reforms that loosen the hold the oligarchs... Read More

Greece and the European Union

First as Tragedy, Second as Farce, Thirdly as Vassal State

James Petras • July 26, 2015

• 3,100 Words • 5 Comments • Reply

Introduction: The Greek people’s efforts to end the economic depression, recover their sovereignty and reverse the regressive socio-economic policies, which have drastically reduced living standards, have been thrice denied. First, the denial came as tragedy: When the Greek majority elected Syriza to government and their debts increased, the economy plunged further into depression and unemployment... Read More

The Greek Debt Crisis Threatens 70 Years of Peace

We forget that wars in Europe were the norm before the EU

Patrick Cockburn • July 25, 2015

• 1,200 Words • 1 Comment • Reply

Political crises in the Middle East and North Africa since 2011 have either produced extreme violence or caused countries to dissolve into civil war. The territorial settlement that followed the defeat of the Ottomans in 1918 is collapsing, but there is no clear sign of what will replace it, other than conflicts which nobody knows... Read More

Greece’s Lesson for Russia

Paul Craig Roberts • July 17, 2015

• 1,600 Words • 2 Comments

Greece’s lesson for Russia, and for China and Iran, is to avoid all financial relationships with the West. The West simply cannot be trusted. Washington is committed to economic and political hegemony over every other country and uses the Western financial system for asset freezes, confiscations, and sanctions. Countries that have independent foreign policies and... Read More

Is the Iran Nukes Deal Aimed at Crushing Putin?

Mike Whitney • July 17, 2015

• 2,000 Words • 42 Comments • Reply

The Iran nuclear agreement has less to do with proliferation than it does with geopolitics. The reason Obama wants to ease sanctions on Iran is because he wants to push down oil prices while creating an alternate source of natural gas for Europe. In other words, the real objective here is to hurt Russia which... Read More

Greece: Sound and Fury Signifying Much

Paul Craig Roberts • July 15, 2015

• 1,000 Words • 9 Comments

All of Europe, and insouciant Americans and Canadians as well, are put on notice by Syriza’s surrender to the agents of the One Percent. The message from the collapse of Syriza is that the social welfare system throughout the West will be dismantled. The Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras has agreed to the One Percent’s... Read More

Greece Today, America Tomorrow?

Ron Paul • July 12, 2015

• 600 Words • 2 Comments • Reply

The drama over Greece’s financial crisis continues to dominate the headlines. As this column is being written, a deal may have been reached providing Greece with yet another bailout if the Greek government adopts new “austerity” measures. The deal will allow all sides to brag about how they came together to save the Greek economy... Read More

Why Greece’s Debt Is Illegal

Michael Hudson • July 11, 2015

• 3,100 Words • 21 Comments • Reply

The Financial Attack on Greece

Where Do We Go From Here?

Michael Hudson • July 7, 2015

• 2,500 Words • 29 Comments • Reply

The major financial problem tearing economies apart over the past century has lain more with official inter-governmental debt than with private-sector debt. That is why the global economy today faces a similar breakdown to 1929-31, when it became apparent that the volume of official inter-government debts could not be paid. The Versailles Treaty had imposed... Read More

Greece: the Pearl Cast Before Swine

Israel Shamir • July 7, 2015

• 1,500 Words • 59 Comments • Reply

Greece is the pearl of Mediterranean, the place generations of foreigners from Lord Byron to Graves to Fowles have fallen in love with. From philosophy to feta, from history to yoghurt, from poetry to honey they provided the example to follow. Their priests preserve the pristine faith; their fighters defeated Mussolini; their Helen is the... Read More

Greece and the EU Situation

Paul Craig Roberts • July 7, 2015

• 1,000 Words • 3 Comments

I doubt that there will be a Greek exit. The Greek referendum, in which the Greek government’s position easily prevailed, tells the troika (EU Commission, European Central Bank, IMF, with of course Washington as the puppet master) that the Greek people support their government’s position that the years of austerity to which Greece has been... Read More

Greece: Why No Means Yes

Greece Rejects the Troika. Where Do We Go From Here?

Michael Hudson • July 6, 2015

• 1,400 Words • 23 Comments • Reply

Just after 7 PM Greek time on Sunday, I was told that the “No” vote (Gk. Oxi) was winning approximately 60/40. The “opinion polls” showing a dead heat evidently were wrong. Bookies across Europe are reported to be losing their shirts for betting that the financial right wing could fool most Greeks into voting against... Read More

Greeks Vote NO to EU-Imposed Austerity

Paul Craig Roberts • July 5, 2015

• 500 Words • 2 Comments

With 90% of the votes counted, the Greek people have voted 61% to 39% against accepting the latest round of austerity that the EU is trying to impose on the Greek people for the benefit of the One Percent. What is amazing is that 39% voted for the One Percent against their own interests. This... Read More

The Grim Reaper Knocks on Greece's Door

Eric Margolis • July 4, 2015

• 900 Words • 11 Comments • Reply

PARIS – As the squalid drama of Greece’s bankruptcy unfolds, many alarmists claim the European Union is about to disintegrate. British and Americans are cheering the ills of the EU. On top of all this, it’s a blazing 39.8 C here in the City of Light. In spite of all the bad news from Greece,... Read More

Greece and Other Musings On July 4th

Paul Craig Roberts • July 3, 2015

• 1,500 Words • 3 Comments

If you become stuck in a boring July 4 hot air speech, distract yourself with this question: Are the values that Western civilization allegedly represents still extant? You don’t need to get heavy into philosophy. See if you can find any of the professed values reflected in current events. For example, Julian Assange, the founder... Read More

Europe's Real Existential Crisis

Pat Buchanan • July 3, 2015

• 800 Words • 10 Comments • Reply

However the Greek crisis ends, whether with Athens leaving the eurozone, or submitting and accepting austerity at the dictates of its creditors, the European Union appears headed for an existential crisis. Greece borrowed and spent beyond its means, like New York City in the '70s, and Detroit, Illinois, and Puerto Rico today. But the crisis... Read More

Sunday’s Vote Will Determine Liberty or Serfdom

Paul Craig Roberts • July 2, 2015

• 300 Words

According to history books, democracy originated in Greece. Of course, historians could be mistaken, but this is the prevailing view among Western populations with enough awareness to be interested to know. What we are witnessing today, July 2, 2015, is that after 2,500 years in the Western World only the current Greek government is interested... Read More

Greece Again Can Save the West

Paul Craig Roberts • July 1, 2015

• 1,000 Words • 10 Comments

Like Marathon, Thermopylae, Plateau and Mycale roughly 2,500 years ago, Western freedom again depends on Greece. Today Washington and its empire of European vassal states are playing the part of the Persian Empire, and belatedly the Greeks have formed a government, Syriza, that refuses to submit to the Washington Empire. Few people understand that the... Read More

Greece: On Behalf of Europe

Michael Hudson • June 30, 2015

• 2,900 Words • 20 Comments • Reply

Resisting Financial Conquest

Michael Hudson • June 30, 2015

• 1,500 Words • 4 Comments • Reply

Back in January upon coming into office, Syriza probably could not have won a referendum on whether to pay or not to pay. It didn’t have a full parliamentary majority, and had to rely on a nationalist party for Tsipras to become prime minister. (That party balked at cutting back Greek military spending, which was... Read More

Greek Democracy Is Failing

Paul Craig Roberts • June 24, 2015

• 500 Words

The Greek debt is unpayable. It is simply too large to be repaid. The austerity that the EU and IMF have imposed on Greece has worsened the problem by driving down the Greek economy, thus making the burden of the debt even heavier. Despite the obvious fact that the EU’s austerity policy is a failure... Read More

Address to the International Conference on the European/Russian Crisis Created by Washington

Paul Craig Roberts • June 19, 2015

• 3,300 Words • 82 Comments

Paul Craig Roberts’ address to the Conference on the European/Russian Crisis, Delphi, Greece, June 20-21, 2015  Paul Craig Roberts, formerly Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury for Economic Policy, Associate Editor, Wall Street Journal, Senior Research Fellow, Stanford University, William E. Simon Chair in Political Economy, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Georgetown University, Washington,... Read More

Starvation Is the Price Greeks Will Pay for Remaining In the EU

Paul Craig Roberts • June 15, 2015

• 500 Words • 9 Comments

Syriza, the new Greek government that intended to rescue Greece from austerity, has come a cropper. The government relied on the good will of its EU “partners,” only to find that its “partners” had no good will. The Greek government did not understand that the only concern was the bottom line, or profits, of those... Read More

Syriza: Plunder, Pillage and Prostration

How the ‘Hard Left’ embraces the policies of the Hard Right

James Petras • June 15, 2015

• 1,800 Words • 43 Comments • Reply

Introduction: Greece has been in the headlines of the world’s financial press for the past five months, as a newly elected leftist party, ‘Syriza’, which ostensibly opposes so-called ‘austerity measures’, faces off against the “Troika” (International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and European Central Bank). Early on, the Syriza leadership, headed by Alexis Tsipras, adopted... Read More

Global Financialization 2015 – the State of Play

The Saker Interviews Michael Hudson

Michael Hudson • June 12, 2015

• 4,800 Words • 25 Comments • Reply

Cross-posted from The Saker The Saker: We hear that the Ukraine will have to declare a default, but that it will probably be a “technical” default as opposed to an official one. Some say that the decision of the Rada to allow Iatseniuk to chose whom to pay is already such a “technical default”. Is... Read More

Hope on the Horizon and It Comes from Greece

Paul Craig Roberts • April 12, 2015

• 400 Words • 2 Comments

Washington in its arrogance, seeing itself as “indispensable,” poses a continuing threat to the lives of hundreds of millions of people. The extraordinary number of dead that Washington has murdered in the 21st century–”The American Century”–is dismissed as “collateral damage” in the “war on terror.” The war on terror is a hoax. It is a... Read More

Germany to Decide Where the EU Goes Next on Russia, Greece

The Moscow-Berlin deal in Minsk shows the way forward for Germany and the EU – gain greater public appeal and...

Pepe Escobar • February 20, 2015

• 1,600 Words • Leave a Comment

Germany holds the key to where Europe goes next. A fragile deal may have been reached on Ukraine, but there’s still no deal with Greece. In both cases, there’s much more than meets the eye. Let’s start with the grueling Eurogroup negotiation in Brussels over the Greek debt. Greek officials swear they never received a... Read More

The Assassination of Greece

James Petras • February 20, 2015

• 4,000 Words • Leave a Comment

Introduction: The Greek government is currently locked in a life and death struggle with the elite which dominate the banks and political decision-making centers of the European Union. What are at stake are the livelihoods of 11 million Greek workers, employees and small business people and the viability of the European Union. If the ruling... Read More

Ironman Varoufakis’s Revolutionary Plan for Europe

Don't Tell Anyone in Berlin

Mike Whitney • February 19, 2015

• 2,200 Words • 4 Comments • Reply

If you haven’t been following developments in the Greek-EU standoff, you’re really missing out. This might be the best story of the year. And what makes it so riveting, is that no one thought that little Greece could face off with the powerful leaders of the EU and make them blink. But that’s exactly what’s... Read More

Greece and the Eurozone

Monday's Deadline

Mike Whitney • February 16, 2015

• 1,000 Words • 5 Comments • Reply

Monday is a crucial deadline in Greece’s struggle against Brussels-imposed austerity. Eurozone finance ministers are set to meet in the morning to decide whether Greece has made sufficient progress on previous agreements to justify further support. The new leftist government of Greece, Syzira, has rejected provisions in the so-called bailout, saying that the loans have... Read More

Greece Under Attack — Pray for Yanis Varoufakis

Paul Craig Roberts • February 1, 2015

• 300 Words • 11 Comments

Greece’s new Finance Minister is a highly intelligent person. His likes are not to be found in any Western government. As he stands in the way of those who are determined to complete their looting of Greece, the Western looters are out to get him. The BBC, as the interview in the link below demonstrates,... Read More

As in 1942, Germany Must Show Restraint Over Greece

Mussolini tried to warn his ally of the danger of bringing the country to its knees. So should we

Patrick Cockburn • February 1, 2015

• 1,200 Words • 12 Comments • Reply

Here are some quotes from the diaries of Count Ciano (Mussolini’s foreign minister and son-in-law), referring to Greece a year and a half after it was invaded and occupied by Germany. 6 October 1942: “Clodius [the Third Reich’s economics minister] is in Rome to discuss the Greek financial question, which is very bad. If it... Read More

The Spartan Resurrection in Greece

Paul Craig Roberts • January 30, 2015

• 400 Words • 4 Comments

Having just written that Greece needs Spartans in order to prevail over its creditors and the EU, the new Greek government is showing signs of being Spartans. Listen to these words from Greece’s new Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras: “We should not accept or recognize the government of neo-Nazis in Ukraine.” “The EU lacks democracy, and... Read More

Is Democracy Dead In the West?

Paul Craig Roberts • January 29, 2015

• 1,400 Words • 5 Comments

We will find out the answer to the question posed in the title in the outcome of the contest between the new Greek government, formed by the political party Syriza, and the ECB and the private banks, with whose interests the EU and Washington align against Greece. The Spartans, whose red cloaks and military prowess... Read More

Greece Elections: In Times Like These, the EU Has Far More Dangerous Adversaries Than Syriza

Compared to the crises revolving around Isis and Ukraine, the Greek situation is 'wholly soluble'

Patrick Cockburn • January 27, 2015

• 1,000 Words • 7 Comments • Reply

In ancient Greece, city states often rebelled against their overlords, who then besieged them to punish those responsible and re-impose outside control. Modern Greeks have likewise rebelled against EU authority by choosing a government led by the anti-austerity Syriza party and now face an economic siege aimed at forcing them to abide by past agreements... Read More

Greece Elections: Greek PM Alexis Tsipras Takes Aim at 'Neo-Liberal' Europe

Country gears up for prolonged austerity battle

Patrick Cockburn • January 26, 2015

• 1,000 Words • Leave a Comment

The radical left leader Alexis Tsipras was sworn in as Prime Minister of Greece today after the decisive victory of his Syriza party over establishment parties supporting the European Union programme that has impoverished so many Greeks. Mr Tsipras was swiftly able to form a government by reaching an agreement with the Independent Greeks, a... Read More

Greece Elections: Syriza and EU on Collision Course After Election Win for Left-Wing Party

Success for Syriza party may provoke economic siege by European Union

Patrick Cockburn • January 25, 2015

• 1,300 Words • 13 Comments • Reply

Greek voters have rebelled against the austerity programme imposed by Brussels and Berlin in return for loans to fund Greece’s massive debt. The radical left Syriza party, which promises better terms for Greece, won a decisive victory in the general election today and is close to winning an absolute majority in parliament. Syriza, led by... Read More

Greece Elections: Voters Will Choose the Syriza Party – and Send a Defiant Message to the EU

Patrick Cockburn • January 25, 2015

• 1,400 Words • Leave a Comment

It was raining yesterday in central Athens, which creates a problem for those feeding the homeless. “Normally, people living on the streets stay at a single spot where they can get heat from an air vent from underground, so they’re easy to find,” says Yanis, a diver and engineer in the navy who runs a... Read More

Greece: the Dilemmas of Democratic Socialism

James Petras • June 17, 2014

• 1,900 Words • Leave a Comment

Introduction: Greece is experiencing a triple crisis which has a profound impact on the economy, society and political system. The economy has experienced a deep, prolonged depression lasting six years and continuing. Workers and employees have suffered a 40% loss in income and a commensurate decline in medical, pension, educational and welfare benefits. The political... Read More

Caution Wins the Day in Greece

The Old Regime Pulls One Out

Patrick Cockburn • June 18, 2012

• 1,000 Words • Leave a Comment

The Greek election produced a knife-edge result yesterday, with the establishment parties snatching victory in a narrow race. “The Greek people voted today to stay on the European course and remain in the eurozone ... there will be no more adventures, Greece's place in Europe will not be put in doubt,” said the leader of... Read More

Left Threat Terrifies Bankers: Out of the Eurozone, Into Bankruptcy?

Greeks Face Momentous Elections

Patrick Cockburn • June 15, 2012

• 1,100 Words • Leave a Comment

Athens As Greeks prepare to vote in the most important election in their history on Sunday, people in Athens fear they are facing a future full of uncertainty, poverty and violence. Well-publicized crimes help create an atmosphere of violence as the wealthy and vulnerable immigrants alike come under attack. In one incident this week two... Read More

The Future of Greece May Not be as Bad as It Looks

Times are very tough, but…

Patrick Cockburn • February 24, 2012

• 1,700 Words • Leave a Comment

Maria Svoronou has three jobs and was finishing a twelve hour day as euro zone leaders were finalizing Greece’s rescue package in Brussels. For all her hard work, she earns only Eur 870 a month and says that “if the situation gets any worse, I won’t be able to survive.” Ms Svoronou, aged 33 and... Read More

Germans, French Were Keen to Sell Arms to Greece

Sell Them Tanks, Then Call Them Profligate

Patrick Cockburn • February 21, 2012

• 500 Words • Leave a Comment

Athens As Greeks waited for a second eurozone rescue package to finally be agreed in Brussels today, many were blaming Germany and France for encouraging and benefiting from some of the much-criticized profligate spending that reduced Greece to near bankruptcy. About 1000 protesters gathered in front of the Greek Parliament in central Athens yesterday, while... Read More

Greece Throws in the Towel, Bows to German Jackboot

"We had to choose between the certainty of disaster and the doubt of salvation. You can't be independent when you have...

Patrick Cockburn • February 20, 2012

• 1,100 Words • Leave a Comment

Greeks expect to agree a deal with the Eurozone leaders today, Monday, that will cede much of their country's independence. Greece will become an economic – and to a large extent a political – colony of Germany and its allies. Berlin will have a say in everything from the choice of prime minister to the... Read More

Ireland and Greece: Blackjacked by the Banks

“Give the spivs your taxpayers’ money or we’ll bring down your banking system.”

Patrick Cockburn • November 14, 2011

• 1,200 Words • 1 Comment • Reply

An American took his phlegmatic English friend to see the Niagara Falls. “Isn’t that amazing?” said the enthusiastic American. “Look at that vast mass of water dashing over that enormous cliff!” “But what,” replied the unimpressed Englishman, after viewing the sight for some moments, “is to stop it?” I owe the story to my father,... Read More

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Category Classics

American Pravda: Our Coronavirus Catastrophe as Biowarfare Blowback?

Ron Unz

• 1,638 Comments • Reply

9/11 Was an Israeli Job

How America was neoconned into World War IV

Laurent Guyénot

• 444 Comments • Reply

John McCain and the POW Cover-Up

The “war hero” candidate buried information about POWs left behind in Vietnam.