Articles by Richard Falk

We found 841 results.


A Holiday Message: Thanksgiving Day 2024
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 2 Dec 2024

28 Nov 2024 – This year Thanksgiving Day assumes an especially problematic character, not because of the past but because of the present. For me it is better observed in the spirit of A DAY OF REMEMBRANCE AND REMORSE.

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The ICC Issues Arrest Warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant: Winning the Legitimacy War
Prof. Richard Falk – TRANSCEND Media Service, 25 Nov 2024

The ICC delayed the issuance of ‘arrest warrants’ for Israeli leaders directing the genocide in Gaza for six months although it responded to a request involving Putin’s criminality in Ukraine in less than a month. Double standards to be sure…

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My 94th Birthday amid Rubble and Precious Life
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 18 Nov 2024

My poem on navigating the narrowing channel between personal happiness and public gloom. November 13, 2024.

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The Gaza Tribunal: Law, Conscience, and Compassion
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 11 Nov 2024

5 Nov 2024 – The Gaza Tribunal, of which I am president, had a successful launch meeting with many members of its Advisory Policy Council. As the article below  in the Palestine Chronicle notes, the aim of the Tribunal is to legitimize and encourage civil society solidarity initiatives around the world such as BDS.

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How the UN Can Be Liberated from Geopolitics
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 11 Nov 2024

8 Nov 2024 – Interview conducted in October by Daniel Falcone with Hans von Sponeck and myself on our collaborative book, Liberating the UN: Realism with Hope. Since then Donald Trump has been elected President of the US, which would augur bad news for the UN.

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What Drives Israel
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 4 Nov 2024

29 Oct 2024- The dehistoricizing and decontextualization of the Hamas attack of Oct 7 was spread around the world by the most influential global media platforms and political leaders, and led to widespread sympathy for Israel and tolerance of their response despite its legally and ethically unacceptable character.

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Empowering the UN, Disempowering Militarist Geopolitics
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century - TRANSCEND Media Service, 28 Oct 2024

22 Oct 2024 – A review of the recently published ‘Liberating the United Nations: Realism with Hope’ appearing in Foreign Affairs, the most influential journal for mainstream foreign policy analysis. The book was written by Hans von Sponeck, former Assistant Secretary General of the UN, and myself.

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What Can Iran & Palestine Expect from the US Presidential Elections?
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 28 Oct 2024

23 Oct 2024 – Interview by Kayhan News Agency from Iran on how the forthcoming US elections are likely to affect Iran, and the policies toward the current  combat zone involving Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon. X/0

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What Is Israel Doing in Lebanon? War with Iran? Expansionism? Deterrence by State Terror? Netanyahu’s CV
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 21 Oct 2024

16 Oct 2024 – The regional spillover of violence linked to the Gaza Genocide and arousing concerns of starvation and disease. Major states in Europe are threatening Israel with an arms embargo if it does not accept a ceasefire.

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October 7: A Grim Anniversary
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 14 Oct 2024

6 Oct 2024 – Israel has been renowned for its ability to shape public discourse pertaining to its behavior toward the Palestinians. Its greatest triumph is the manner with which it managed the media treatment of its response to October 7 in North America and Europe.

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Militarism and Genocide in Gaza: The Bloody Signature of Western Decline
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 14 Oct 2024

9 Oct 2024 – The Palestinian ordeal is not a consequence of the inadequacy of legal norms or mechanisms. The primary obstacle is one of political will, especially of the Global West, and of leading Arab neighbors, i.e. Saudi Arabia, Egypt.

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Israel’s Bloody Endgame
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Oct 2024

4 Oct 2024 – The assassination of Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut, a widening onslaught against Hezbollah as tensions mount with Iran. Such developments have affected the US relation to the conflict.

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Reflections on October 7
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 7 Oct 2024

For the several months after 7 Oct 2023, Israel’s public discourse allowed it to carry out the genocidal assault on Gaza with little diplomatic friction in the West but growing discontent among progressive sectors of civil society.

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Richard Falk Discusses ICJ Ruling and Implications for Israel
Prof. Richard Falk | Middle East Eye - TRANSCEND Media Service, 9 Sep 2024

Richard Falk, a professor of international law emeritus at Princeton University, speaks about the significance of the International Court of Justice’s decision. “Israel will pay a high price whether or not they comply.”

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Israel Exposes Its Political Agenda: ‘Land’ not ‘Security’–Gaza as Prelude, West Bank as Prize
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 2 Sep 2024

31 Aug 2024 – The concerted Israeli military operation extending the tactics and devastation of its attack on the Gaza Strip to the occupied West Bank. Again, Washington’s silence is almost as dismaying as Israel blatant disregard of law and standards of decency.

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The Responsibility of Western ‘Liberal Democracies’ for Gaza Catastrophe
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 19 Aug 2024

13 Aug 2024 – This is certainly either gross incompetence on Israel’s part or a deliberate effort to provoke a wider war. And a shady effort by Israel to compel the engagement of the US in its multiple struggles in the region.

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The Criminal Assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Iran
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 12 Aug 2024

9 Aug 2024 – None of the countries involved in the conflict with Israel–-Lebanon, Iran, Syria, Yemen–-seek a wider war. Only Israel approaches this prospect favorably. This cycle of provocative acts and retaliations initiated by Israel have their own escalating momentum that is difficult to control.

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Interrogating the Venezuelan Victory of Nicolás Maduro
Murat Sofuoglu | Richard Falk/Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 12 Aug 2024

6 Aug 2024 – “If Maduro manages to hold on, and especially if he gains support from Brazil and other moderate governments, it will be interpreted as a setback for ideologically motivated US coercive diplomacy, including an effort to exert political influence by imposing sanctions unilaterally,” Richard Falk said. 

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(Italiano) La sentenza della Corte Internazionale di Giustizia sull’occupazione israeliana della Palestina è importante
Richard Falk | Centro Studi Sereno Regis – TRANSCEND Media Service, 5 Aug 2024

29 Luglio 2024 – Questo livello di consenso giudiziario, in un’atmosfera così politicamente polarizzata, depone a favore della considerazione della sentenza della Corte internazionale di giustizia come autorevole quando si tratta di valutare il comportamento di Israele come potenza occupante in relazione al diritto internazionale umanitario.

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An Open Letter to Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 29 Jul 2024

26 Jul 2024 – Glad that Joe Biden finally acted responsibly by withdrawing his candidacy. To consider this overdue act ‘brave’ and ‘courageous’ is to rob those precious words of their proper meaning. Harris seems to have handled the political [Netanyahu] situation in an encouragingly skillful manner.  

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Will the ICC Act? The Netanyahu/Gallant Arrest Warrants are a Truth or Dare Moment?
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 22 Jul 2024

17 Jul 2024 – The ICC would be widely viewed as a weak institution by not obtaining participation or cooperation of states such as USA, Russia, China, Israel. It was most unfavorably compared to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to which all members of the UN were automatically parties.

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Biden’s Escapist Vision & Democratic Party’s Evasive Electoral Campaign
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 15 Jul 2024

10 Jul 2024 – My dissatisfaction with Biden’s stubborn resolve to challenge Trump despite his impaired capabilities, his woeful foreign policy toward Ukraine and Gaza, and wooly-headed optimism about the future of the US and his ability to lead the world.

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Assessing the Punitive ‘Release’ of Julian Assange
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 15 Jul 2024

1- What do you make of the plea deal between the US and Assange?
His release was long overdue, although it would have been more widely welcomed at this time if it had not been achieved within the framework of a plea bargain.

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‘Occupied’ Palestine: Jerusalem Annexed, Gaza Genocide, West Bank Apartheid
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Jun 2024

20 Jun 2024 – The UN has lacked the ability or political will to implement its own recommendations in compliance with international humanitarian law. That which is humanly necessary seems politically impossible; the result is a moral scandal of global significance and a human tragedy by unspeakable and persistent criminality.

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(Italiano) ICJ, ICC, Società Civile (Tribunali Popolari): chiarificazione di un tessuto giudiziario
Richard Falk | Centro Studi Sereno Regis – TRANSCEND Media Service, 3 Jun 2024

31 Maggio 2024 – Un curioso spettacolo collaterale durante i sette mesi di selvaggia violenza genocida contro la popolazione palestinese intrappolata [a Gaza] di 2,3 milioni stimati è stata l’attenzione prestata al diritto internazionale e alle relative procedure disponibili per la sua interpretazione ed applicazione.

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Israel Stands Increasingly Isolated
Richard Falk, Chandra Muzaffar and Joseph Camilleri | SHAPE - TRANSCEND Media Service, 27 May 2024

21 May 2024 – Its Genocidal Actions Must Be Stopped and Brought to Account – The widespread activism in solidarity with Gaza in so many institutions of higher learning in the US, Europe and beyond is a source of inspiration. Such nonviolent activism has become a moral imperative.

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Why the ICC’s Prosecutor’s Recommendation to Arrest Israeli and Hamas Leaders May Be Historic
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 27 May 2024

23 May 2024 – Ironically, the misplaced rhetoric of outrage from Israel and its allies has endowed the ICC’s pronouncements with an importance that the institution never before possessed.

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(Italiano) Arresto di leader israeliani e di Hamas: decisione storica della Corte Penale Internazionale
Richard Falk | Centro Studi Sereno Regis – TRANSCEND Media Service, 27 May 2024

23 Maggio 2024 – Ironia della sorte, la retorica fuori luogo dell’indignazione di Israele e dei suoi alleati ha conferito ai pronunciamenti della Corte penale internazionale sull’arresto di leader israeliani e di Hamas un’importanza che l’istituzione non aveva mai avuto prima.

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Clarifying a Judicial Web: ICJ, ICC, Civil Society (Peoples Tribunals)
Richard Falk – TRANSCEND Media Service, 27 May 2024

A curious sideshow during the seven months of savage genocidal violence against the entrapped Palestinian population of an estimated 2.3 million has been the attention given to international law and the international procedures available for its interpretation and enforcement.

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Greater Israel, the Maximal Zionist Imaginary, and Gaza Genocide
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 20 May 2024

19 May 2024 – Israel Continues Unfettered Colonization of the West Bank amid Genocide in Gaza – The WB has posed the biggest challenge to the Zionist settler movement’s pursuit of a “Greater Israel.”

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Can the ICC Finally Gain Credibility?
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 13 May 2024

13 May 2024 – I want to call more explicit attention to the crude efforts by Netanyahu to call openly for the exertion of pressure on the ICC by the USA and other ‘democracies,’ seeking to induce the ICC rejection of this Global South attempt to criminalize Israel’s use of a genocidal force.

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Palestine, Iran, and Populist Resistance: The Limits of Law, Morality, and the UN
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 6 May 2024

3 May 2024 – The Palestinian struggle, connected with wider regional and global conflict patterns, is giving rise to worldwide student protests against genocide and complicity with genocide, as well as a tidal wave of global consciousness sweeping away the cobwebs of political and moral complacency.

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Governing Gaza after Genocide
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 6 May 2024

Q: Israeli officials are weighing sharing power with Arab states in postwar Gaza. How do you see that?
A: Such a format seems like nothing more than a cover for continued Israeli governance of Gaza. The governments of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE are more opposed to Hamas (and Iran) than to Israel, fearful of their own stability.

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Netanyahu Failed in Gaza, Tries to Widen War
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 29 Apr 2024

20 Apr 2024 – It now seems either that the US reaction to the Damascus attack or the concerns of the Netanyahu war cabinet rejected the temptations of a wider war. Iran as well seemed to accept an outcome of its retaliation directed at Israel, resulting in neither death nor damage, was nevertheless sufficient for its purposes.

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Israel/Iran Tensions: Provocation, Retaliations, Wider War Option/Fears
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 29 Apr 2024

25 Apr 2024 – The focus is on the Israeli April 1st attack on Iran’s Damascus consulate, and the international law implications of Iran’s retaliation against Israeli targets on April 13, followed a week later by Israel’s second drone attack on a military base not far from Isfahan, which both countries somewhat downplayed. Israel seemed to have given up the wider war option at least for the present in response to diplomatic pressures from allies to deescalate regional tensions.

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Trials and Tribulations of Palestinian Refugees in Syria & Palestine/Iran/Israel
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 22 Apr 2024

15 Apr 2024 – What will happen with this Israeli effort to get the US involved in a wider war directed at achieving regime-change in Iran remains uncertain, but it raises doubts about the war-prevention capabilities, and even motivations, of the US and to a lesser extent, China and Russia.

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Pivot to Iran? Decoding April 1st
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 22 Apr 2024

18 Apr 2024 – April 1st Pivot from Gaza: Damascus Massacre, Al Shifa Hospital, World Central Kitchen Attack, the Biden/Netanyahu Diplomatic Dance, and Iran’s Retaliation – Developments arising from these convergent incidents on 1 Apr continue to reverberate, making updating a high priority.

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Gaza Ceasefire Petition by International Lawyers
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 22 Apr 2024

This petition offers international lawyers to show solidarity with the grave plight of the Palestinian civilian population of Gaza that is continuing to endure daily onslaught by Israel that causes widespread suffering so far supported to varying degrees by the leading liberal democracies of the West.

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Regressive Populism and the Resilience Imperative: Evading Global Challenges
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 15 Apr 2024

This is the foreword I wrote to a recent book on the rise of ultra-nationalist populism around the world by the distinguished British author and historian, Deepak Tripathi. What is depicted in the book is emblematic of the populist and inter-governmental myopia that has become a menacing characteristic of the global setting.

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Dahiya Doctrine: Justifying Disproportionate Warfare—A Prelude to Genocide
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 8 Apr 2024

1 Apr 2024 – This essay originated from my responses to questions from a journalist preparing an article on the Dahiya Doctrine. It led me to consider the relevance of the doctrine and link it to the events in Gaza, the Hannibal Directive, antisemitism, and genocide.

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Biden’s Warning to Netanyahu: Political Maneuver, Not Policy Shift
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 8 Apr 2024

6 Apr 2024 – Critique of Biden’s ‘muscular approach’ to foreign policy, specifically in relation to China, Russia and Israel, at the expense of the peoples of the world, including of the North Americans. Biden is guilty of war-mongering, reluctance to engage in peace diplomacy, and complicity crimes of support given to Israel on its genocide against the civilian population of Gaza.

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Pursuing Justice through Law: Edward Said, the Gaza ‘War,’ and Advocacy Jurisprudence
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 18 Mar 2024

9 Mar 2024 – This paper is devoted to several of my recent central concerns. Comments and conversation warmly invited. Adapted from annual Edward W Said Memorial Lecture, the American University in Cairo, 4 Nov 2023.

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The Legacies of David Krieger and Robert Oppenheimer: Iconic Signatures of the Nuclear Age
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 18 Mar 2024

I stress the comparison between Oppenheimer, the film, and Krieger, the civil society star anti-nuclear activist as well as the personae of these two extraordinary individuals.

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Scientists form a Global Anti-War, Anti-Genocide Network: From Hiroshima to Gaza
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 11 Mar 2024

7 Mar 2024 – This is a slightly edited text of a keynote address to an organizational meeting for establishing a worldwide network of Scientists against War and the Destructive Use of Science as stimulated by the Israeli genocide against the civilian population of Gaza.

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Gaza: The Wider Context
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 4 Mar 2024

In Gaza, the West Is Enabling the Most Transparent Genocide in Human History

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Suzanne Hammad on Embedded Palestinian Resistance in Bil’in in West Bank: Rooted in Land and Home
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 12 Feb 2024

6 Feb 2024 – I wanted to share a foreword that I wrote to an exceptional ethnographic study of everyday resistance by residents of the Palestinian village of Bil’in, quite near Ramallah, based on the Suzanne Hammad three years of residence and informed observation.

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Emergency London Conference to Stop Genocide in Gaza
Richard Falk | Middle East Eye - TRANSCEND Media Service, 5 Feb 2024

27 Jan 2024 – Prof. Richard Falk Discusses ICJ Ruling and Implications for Israel

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Why International Law Matters even if Israel Refuses to Comply with ICJ Provisional Measures Ruling
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century - TRANSCEND Media Service, 29 Jan 2024

17 Jan 2024 – How should we interpret the South Africa allegation that Israel’s military operations in Gaza violate the country’s obligations under the United Nations Genocide Convention and that its actions constitute genocide?

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In Gaza, the West Is Enabling the Most Transparent Genocide in Human History
Richard Falk | Common Dreams – TRANSCEND Media Service, 29 Jan 2024

17 Jan 2024 – This is extraordinary because the states supporting Israel, above all the United States, have claimed the high moral and legal ground and lectured the states of the Global South about the importance of the rule of law.

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The Barbaric Conduct of the Israeli State Must Be Stopped
Richard Falk, Chandra Muzaffar, Joseph Camilleri | SHAPE – TRANSCEND Media Service, 22 Jan 2024

14 Jan 2024 – The genocidal violence unleashed by Israel in Occupied Palestine has produced unspeakable tragedy and suffering for the Palestinian people. Such barbaric behaviour places the State of Israel outside the bounds of a civilized world. Israel has become a pariah state and must be treated as such by the international community.

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Gaza Webinar: Is Israel Cornered?
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 8 Jan 2024

Wed, 10 Jan, 7 PM Eastern: The Gaza War, Short & Long-Term Diplomatic Imperatives and Implications for the Middle East and Geopolitics, with panelists Richard Falk, Irene Gendzier, and Assaf Kfoury

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Declaration of Conscience and Concern of Global Intellectuals on Gaza Genocide
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 25 Dec 2023

20 Dec 2023 – This Declaration calls not only for the denunciation of Israel’s genocidal assault but also for taking effective action to permanently prevent its repetition. The urgency of the moment obliges global intellectuals to stand against the ongoing horrific ordeal of the Palestinian people and, most of all, to implore action by those who have the power, and hence the responsibility, to do so.

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David Krieger (27 Mar 1942 – 7 Dec 2023): A Life of Dedication to the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 25 Dec 2023

Although David Krieger devoted his professional life to anti-nuclear scholarship and activism, his underlying motivations were for a world anchored in dignity for all, respect for international law, and a robust UN. Remembering my long, close, cherished friendship reinforces my sense of loss resulting from David’s death. RIP

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Israel’s Genocide: Hate Speech or Truth-Telling?
Richard Falk – TRANSCEND Media Service, 11 Dec 2023

The violence unleashed since 8 Oct is only partially directed at Hamas although for credibility reasons this is what Israeli spokespersons emphasize and receives most of the attention… We are left with the imperative of protecting free speech, especially in calling genocide genocide, and with a challenge to take all responsible action to end this scourge.

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Gaza: After Genocide What Future?
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 4 Dec 2023

29 Nov 2023 – My responses waver between fears of a resumed Israeli military operation and hopes of confronting day-after issues of post-genocidal economic reconstruction and scenarios of political transformation.

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The Enduring Legacies of Edward Said
Richard Falk | AUC, School of Humanities and Social Sciences – TRANSCEND Media Service, 4 Dec 2023

21 Nov 2023 – The Department of English and Comparative Literature hosted the Edward Said Memorial Lecture given by Dr. Richard Falk, public intellectual and professor of international law.

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Justifying Genocide, a Shameful Transparent Spectacle
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 27 Nov 2023

Revised version of an interview by Mohaddeseh Pakravan of Mehr News Agency published in the Tehran Times on 16 Nov 2023.

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Interrupting Genocide: Humanity Challenged as Never Before
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 27 Nov 2023

25 Nov 2023 – The ‘pause’ or ‘truce’ as it frequently called in Western media, is detached from the genocide that preceded and closely linked to the Hamas Attack of 7 Oct, which is characterized as ‘terrorism’ whereas Israeli genocidal violence is treated as Israel defending itself on target inflicting massive casualties on Palestinian civilians.

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What Israel Wants? Why Genocide?
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 20 Nov 2023

16 Nov 2023 – As the genocidal assault on Gaza continues, Israel remains defiant and the US stands firm in support of its supposed goal of destroying Hamas as a presence in Gaza, but also intent on mounting an ethnic cleansing crusade with a West Bank focus but a Gaza subtext.

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Can Crimes of Resistance Ever Justify Genocide? The Tragic Reality of Gaza
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 13 Nov 2023

3 Nov 2023 – Israel has seized this opportunity to fulfill Zionist territorial ambitions amid “the fog of war” by inducing one last surge of Palestinian catastrophic dispossession. Whether it is called “ethnic cleansing” or “genocide” is of secondary importance; it qualifies as the predominant humanitarian catastrophe of the 21stcentury. 

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Slaughter in Gaza: The Failures of International Law and Responsible Statecraft
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 6 Nov 2023

2 Nov 2023 – Israel’s bloodlust shows international law is ‘a manipulated series of norms.’ International Law Professor Richard Falk says Western leadership becomes “self-righteous” to enforce international law “when it’s in their interest” while in other cases, they remain silent.

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Gaza in Real Time: Geopolitics vs Genocide
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 6 Nov 2023

31 Oct 2023 – Israel has long been a master of what is called in Hebrew hasbara–the spinning, manipulating and distorting of public discourse so that it either justifies what Israel is doing or diverts attention from the message of critics and skeptics to the supposedly questionable credibility of the messenger. ‘The weaponizing of antisemitism’ is a cynical example of the deployment of hasbara.

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Operation Al-Aqsa: Middle East Scholars Weigh in on Gaza–Israel Conflict
Daniel Falcone interviews Richard Falk and Stephen Zunes | CounterPunch - TRANSCEND Media Service, 23 Oct 2023

13 Oct 2023 – International relation scholars Richard Falk and Stephen Zunes comment on the politics of Hamas, the role of the press, how international law is applied in the region, human rights for civilians, the nature of terrorism, and the prospects of a Third Intifada.

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Ralph Schoenman: Unsung Hero of Progressive Thought and Action (RIP)
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 2 Oct 2023

30 Sep 2023 – Ralph Schoenman is a member of a trinity of forgotten heroes of US progressive politics, airbrushed from collective memory by mainstream media and even infrequently notice by online, independent publications. The other two are Tony Russo and David Ray Griffin.

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How to Think about the Ukraine War after 18 Months
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 25 Sep 2023

20 Sep 2023 -This text addresses various aspects of the global political setting that has crystallized since the Russian attack of 5 Feb 2022 on Ukraine. The repudiation of diplomacy as an alternative to war, despite the costs and dangers of continuing the Ukraine War, are quite striking.

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Empowering Populism Worldwide
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 25 Sep 2023

Modern Populism: Weaponizing for Power and Influence, by Deepak Tripathi (2023) – Foreword by Richard Falk

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G-7 and BRICS Visions of the Future: Coercive Geopolitics or Multilateral Cooperation?
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 18 Sep 2023

17 Sep 2023 – A modified version of this post was published in CounterPunch on 8 Sep 2023, which itself is a reconfigured version appearing earlier on TMS (Transcend Media Service) on 4 Sep. Neither version considers the relevance of the Delhi meeting of the G-20, which represents a weaker and somewhat overlapping grouping compared to either G-7 or BRICS.

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(Italiano) Niger: il calvario del colonialismo perenne
Richard Falk | Centro Studi Sereno Regis – TRANSCEND Media Service, 11 Sep 2023

Da allora sono successe molte cose che riguardano il Niger e il modo in cui intendiamo la sua relazione con quel Paese, con la regione del Sahel dell’Africa occidentale, con l’Africa in generale e con la guerra geopolitica di posizione che mette in primo piano la rivalità degli Stati Uniti con Russia e Cina.

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Niger’s Ordeal of Forever Colonialism
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 4 Sep 2023

27 Aug 2023 – A lot has happened since the coup, which affects Niger and how we understand its relation to that country, to the Sahel region, to Africa generally, and to the U.S. rivalry with Russia and China in the foreground. I have taken ‘liberties’ with my answers to address this awareness of the broader context.

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Roads Taken and Not Taken: Two Visions of the Future
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 4 Sep 2023

When the Cold War ended in 1991, the West, and particularly the United States, found itself at a fork in the road. One road led to peace, justice, cooperation, nuclear disarmament, a revitalized UN, inclusiveness, pluralism, human rights, multilateralism, fair trade, regulated markets, food security, sustainability, and humane governance. The other road led to militarism…

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(Italiano) Vietnam e Palestina/Israele: un confronto tra legge e guerra
Richard Falk | Centro Studi Sereno Regis – TRANSCEND Media Service, 4 Sep 2023

31 Agosto 2023 – Il testo che segue è la mia prefazione a un confronto di conflitti di eccezionale valore: Vietnam e Palestina/Israele. Queste due regioni mi hanno preoccupato per tutta la mia carriera professionale e nel corso della mia vita di cittadino attivista.

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Law & War: A Comparison of Vietnam and Palestine/Israel
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 28 Aug 2023

26 Aug 2023 – The text below is my foreword to an exceptionally valuable comparison of conflicts: Vietnam and Arab-Israeli.

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Quran Desecration and Freedom of Expression
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 21 Aug 2023

The harder efforts are made to stop this highly objectionable behavior by Islamophobic and right-wing extremists groups, the greater is their temptation to persist in such action. In the short-term what these groups seek is public recognition and media attention, not power or authority.

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Innovative Regional Dialogue: Iran, Iraq, and Six Gulf Countries
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 14 Aug 2023

7 Aug 2023 – The regional dialogue scheduled for Sep 2023 is a notable breakthrough, by diplomatic initiatives, to replace tensions with stability in the Middle East, and in the process gaining political independence from U.S./Israel hegemony. This development also reflects the increased involvement of China in the region.

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Why Is the West Bank Under Assault by Settlers and Netanyahu Government?
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 31 Jul 2023

24 Jul 2023 – While the media focus has been on ‘the judiciary overhaul’ confrontation between antagonistic Jewish factions as to the ‘democratic’ character of Israel, the unifying themes in apartheid Israel remain the further marginalization of the Palestinians in their own homeland.

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Asia-Pacific NATO: Fanning the Flames of War (SHAPE Webinar)
Richard Falk, Joseph Camilleri and Chandra Muzaffar | SHAPE - TRANSCEND Media Service, 3 Jul 2023

“I encourage attendance at this webinar on July 4 or 5, depending on time zone, devoted to encroachment of NATO on Asia-Pacific security, with excellent speakers.”
— Richard Falk

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Daniel Ellsberg: A U.S. Hero
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 26 Jun 2023

25 Jun 2023 – If democracy survives the digital age with its scary newly appreciated AI dimensions, it will be thanks to brave whistleblowers starting with Ellsberg and continuing with Edward Snowden, Julian Assange, and Jack Teixeira, individuals currently hounded as criminals by the U.S. government.

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(Italiano) Dar retta al ‘grido accorato’ di Cornel West
Richard Falk | Centro Studi Sereno Regis – TRANSCEND Media Service, 26 Jun 2023

La reazione di Biden all’attacco russo all’Ucraina non è stata di quelle che cercano quanto prima una tregua e un compromesso diplomatico. Ha optato piuttosto per armamento e assistenza tali da sostenere una guerra protratta in Ucraina come dimostrazione del la rinascita della NATO a guida USA, a quanto pare non tanto motivata per la difesa dell’Ucraina ma per un incontenibile interesse ad umiliare Putin e sconfiggere la Russia. E non solo.

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Heeding Cornel West’s ‘Cri de Coeur’
Richard Falk – TRANSCEND Media Service, 19 Jun 2023

Biden’s response to the Russian attack on Ukraine was not for a ceasefire and diplomatic compromise but for weaponry and assistance to sustain a prolonged war as a demonstration of US-led NATO resurgence; not motivated by the defense of Ukraine but by an overwhelming interest in humiliating Putin and defeating Russia. Not only this.

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Assessing Big History at a Time of Global Crisis
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 29 May 2023

27 May 2023 – To achieve positive forms of change at a time of multiple converging crises imperiling the human species and its natural habitat is the ‘crisis of crises’ facing humanity at this time.

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War Prevention Depends on Respecting Invisible Geopolitical Fault Lines
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 22 May 2023

18 May 2023 – ‘Rule-governed’ seems to be a synonym to international law. But Blinken makes no such claim to rationalize U.S. international behavior as ‘law-governed,’ but rather believe, following Thucydides, ‘that strong do as they will, while the weak do as they must.’

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Ambiguous Geopolitical Fault Lines Endanger World Peace
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 17 Apr 2023

The idea of ‘geopolitical fault lines’ is not well established in the practice or theory of international relations, but their existence is profoundly relevant to the maintenance of peace and security because of the failure of international law to set consistently respected limits on the behavior of political actors, granting them impunity for acting beyond the limits of the law.

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Democracy at Risk for Jews in Israel, Bare Survival for Palestinians
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 10 Apr 2023

7 Apr 2023 – Israeli police violence at the Al-Aqsa Mosque directed at Palestinian worshipers in the midst of Ramadan on the nights of April 5 and 6 is a serious violation of international arrangements in Jerusalem to protect Muslim holy sites, none more sacred than Al-Aqsa.

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In Homage to David Ray Griffin: Indispensable Public Intellectual
Richard Falk – TRANSCEND Media Service, 27 Feb 2023

I think it was the successful branding of the 9/11 skeptics as ‘wacky’ that proved more useful in squelching their influence than by labeling them as ‘dangerous,’ ‘subversive,’ and ‘radical’ or ‘socialist.’ It might be understood as the advent of a more advanced, more sophisticated version of McCarthyism, a discrediting ploy that George Orwell would have immediately understood.

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Saint Valentine
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 20 Feb 2023

14 Feb 2023 – A whimsical poem to celebrate the love legacy of Saint Valentine, written by Marianne Moore 63 years ago, published in The New Yorker on 13 Feb 1960, dedicated by me to all of us who love poetry and dare to love love on Valentine’s Day 2023.

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Biden’s Misplaced Optimism: 2023 State of the Union Address
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 20 Feb 2023

18 Feb 2023 – The national situation is far too deeply challenged for us to be content with presidential bromides. What is most needed are policies and practices that embody compassion, and are dedicated with the fullness of being to responding to the imperatives of human security at all levels of social interaction.

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Ukraine, Rethinking Global Security—Webinar
Richard Falk, Chandra Muzaffar, et al. | SHAPE – TRANSCEND Media Service, 20 Feb 2023

Our second webinar on 23 Feb 2023 draws lessons from the Ukraine war and sets new pathways to global security. An initiative to address the multiple crises that brought us to the brink of the precipice. Doomsday Clock: 90 seconds to midnight.

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Antony Blinken Plays the ‘Two Sides Game’: Getting Netanyahu/Israel off the Hook
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 6 Feb 2023

31 Jan 2023 – Antony Blinken is the most lightweight Secretary of State, a fitting complement to the overweight Mike Pompeo. Together they could do a late night TV comedy routine on the ‘arrogance of decline’ when it comes to US foreign policy in the Trump/Biden years.

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Ukraine: Rethinking Global Security–Saving Humanity and Planet Earth
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century - TRANSCEND Media Service, 6 Feb 2023

Saving Humanity and Planet Earth (SHAPE) is an initiative to address the multiple crises that have brought us to the brink of the precipice. This, our second webinar to be held on 22/23 February 2023, draws lessons from the Ukraine war and sets new pathways to global security.

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Lifting the Curtain: Barbara Walters
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 23 Jan 2023

21 Jan 2023 – This post is a departure from my usual focus on current political concerns. It attempts a mini-exploration of the public/private interface of a news and entertainment celebrity, especially known for her ability to go ‘persona,’ and even enter intimate terrain with some of the most famous political leaders of our time.

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Israeli Settler Colonialism and Apartheid: Poised for Victory or Defeat?
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 16 Jan 2023

13 Jan 2023 – Anyone with but half eye open during the last several decades should by now be aware of the existence of an undisclosed Zionist Long Game that preceded the establishment of Israel in 1948,  and remains currently very much alive. It aims at extending Israeli sovereignty over the whole of Occupied Palestine.

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Harvard University Succumbs
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 9 Jan 2023

7 Jan 2023 – Harvard University Withdraws a Fellowship from Kenneth Roth & Human Rights Watch

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Toward Justice for Kashmir
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 2 Jan 2023

18 Dec 2022 – Among the self-determination struggles of our time, Kashmir is at risk of being forgotten by most of the world (except for Pakistan), while its people continue to endure the harsh crimes of India’s intensifying military occupation that has already lasted 75 years.

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(Italiano) Elezioni israeliane 2022: una vittoria per i “coloni” colonialisti o per la lotta di Liberazione Palestinese?
Richard Falk | Centro Studi Sereno Regis – TRANSCEND Media Service, 21 Nov 2022

Non c’è dubbio che le elezioni israeliane 2022 del 1°novembre [U.S..] saranno d’importanza durevole. I mesi e gli anni a venire riveleranno se Israele consolida il suo status di stato coloniale di coloni o se la lotta palestinese aumenta la sua resistenza al dominio israeliano rafforzata da un crescente movimento di solidarietà globale.

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What to Expect from Netanyahu & Religious Zionism
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 14 Nov 2022

A Preliminary Appraisal

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2022 Israeli Elections: A Victory for Settler Colonialists or for the Palestinian Liberation Struggle?
Richard Falk – TRANSCEND Media Service, 14 Nov 2022

There is no doubt that the November 1st Israeli elections will be of lasting significance. The months and years ahead will reveal whether Israel consolidates its status as a settler colonial state or the Palestinian struggle increases its resistance to Israeli rule reinforced by an intensifying global solidarity movement.

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Call on the Future of Humanity
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Oct 2022

A webinar to build a global community of endorsers to work for a better future for this lonely endangered planet.

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(Italiano) Guerra in Ucraina: la scalata verso l’oblio
Richard Falk | Centro Studi Sereno Regis – TRANSCEND Media Service, 24 Oct 2022

Washington non solo ha mobilitato il mondo per denunciare l’aggressione della Russia, ma ha fornito armi avanzate in grandi quantità agli ucraini per resistere all’attacco russo, e ha fatto tutto il possibile all’ONU e altrove per costruire una coalizione punitiva ostile alla Russia, accompagnando il tutto con una serie di sanzioni e la demonizzazione di Putin. Questa prospettiva di propaganda di Stato è stata fedelmente veicolata da un filtro mediatico occidentale autocensurante.

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Ukraine War: Climbing the Escalation Ladder to Oblivion
Richard Falk – TRANSCEND Media Service, 17 Oct 2022

Not only did Washington mobilize the world to denounce Russia’s ‘aggression,’ but supplied advanced weaponry in great quantities to the Ukrainians doing all it could at the UN and elsewhere to build a punitive coalition hostile to Russia, coupled with a variety of sanctions and the demonization of Putin. This perspective of state propaganda was faithfully conveyed by a self-censoring Western media.

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Will Saudi Leadership of OPEC Clash with U.S. Strategic Partnership?
Richard Falk | Global Justice in the 21st Century – TRANSCEND Media Service, 17 Oct 2022

Reevaluating US Relations with Saudi Arabia after OPEC+ Oil Production Cut

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