Medea Benjamin

In this new edition of their bestselling book, Medea Benjamin and Nicolas Davies bring their account of the war in Ukraine up-to-date, to try and answer burning questions about how and why the conflict still rages on after two years of carnage, and who and what stand in the way of a stable and lasting peace. They examine the claims and counter-claims around the stalemate on the battlefield, the continuing expansion of NATO with the addition of Finland and Sweden, and contradictions in US and NATO policy as the war drags on. They also examine the divisions among U.S. progressives that hindered the emergence of a strong anti-war movement and abandoned the anti-war position in Congress to the extreme right. The authors describe Russia’s February 2022 invasion as a tragic and indefensible crime. However, they insist that Western government and media circles’ presentation of the conflict as a simple dichotomy between an evil empire and an innocent victim is a distortion of a more complicated chain of events. The West's reneging on promises not to expand NATO in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union revived Cold War tensions. The violent overthrow of Ukraine’s elected government in 2014 caused the disintegration of the country, and its failure to implement the Minsk peace agreement led to an escalating conflict that the world has so far failed to resolve, one that could conceivably end in all-out war between the United States and Russia-the world's two leading nuclear-armed powers. Skillfully bringing together the historical record and current analysis, War in Ukraine looks at the events leading up to the conflict, surveys the different parties involved, and weighs the risks of escalation and opportunities for peace. For anyone who wants to get beneath the heavily propagandized media coverage to an understanding of a war with consequences that could prove cataclysmic, this widely acclaimed book will prove invaluable.

Trots att Nato är världens mäktigaste militär­allians är dess historia och nutida inriktning ­för­vånansvärt lite känd bland en allmänhet. Få känner till att Nato har deltagit i illegala angreppskrig i en rad länder, alltifrån Jugoslavien och Afghanistan till Irak och Libyen, att Nato är ett verktyg för den ledan­de Natomakten USA att utöva kontroll över och politiskt inflytande i Europa, att Nato har underblåst kriget i Ukraina och förhindrat att en förhandlingslösning kommit till stånd, att Nato bidrar till att öka medlemslän­dernas mili­ta­ri­se­ring på ­bekostnad av andra samhällsbehov, att Nato expanderar till andra världsdelar och nya verksamhetsfält. I Vad alla behöver veta om Nato men få känner till beskriver Medea ­Benjamin och Dawid Swanson hur den nordatlantiska försvars­organisation som bildades för 75 år ­sedan har förvandlats till en allians som skapar och främjar krig och konflikter i hela världen. Därför menar de behövs det en global gräsrots­rörelse för att säga nej till Nato och nej till krig.JEFFREY SACHS OM BOKEN:»Den här boken är ett oumbärligt pionjärverk. Den kan rädda ditt liv kanske till och med allas våra liv. Nato är ett tydligt och högst närvarande hot mot världsfreden, en krigsmaskin som löpt amok och som opererar i det fördolda, bortom ­med­borgarnas ­demokratiska kontroll.Krigsmaskinen fyller fickorna hos de vapenhandlare som ­håller liv i Natos kärnverksamhet. På så sätt drar Nato in det ena landet efter det andra i en veritabel malström av krig, instabilitet, massmigration och fattigdom. Under de senaste 30 åren har Nato lagt grunden till en enorm våldsstruktur som sträcker sig från Libyen till Afghanistan, och som har skördat oräkneligt många offer.Nato driver oss också allt närmare ett kärnvapen-harma- ­­ge­don. Kriget i Ukraina blossade upp på grund av USA:s ­be- satthet av att utvidga Nato till Ukraina och Georgien.Det finns ett akut behov av den här boken, eftersom ­Nato opererar med stöd av propagandistiska och vilseledande budskap. Våra regeringar påstår att Nato är freds­älskande trots att organisationen provocerar fram det ena kriget efter det andra. Våra regeringar påstår att Nato är en försvarsorganisation trots att den med våld störtar andra statsledningar.« Medea Benjamin är fredsaktivist och grundare av fredsgruppen CODEPINK och människorättsorganisationen Global Exchange. Tidigare har hon utgivit böcker som Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control (2013, med Barbara Ehrenreich), Inside Iran: The Real History and Politics of the Islamic Republic of Iran (2018) och War in Ukraine: Making Sense of a Senseless War (2022, med Nicolas J.S. ­Davies). Hon har tilldelats US Peace Prize och Gandhi Peace Award. David Swanson är författare och fredsaktivist. Han är chef för ickevåldsrörelsen WorldBeyondWar. Tidigare har han utgivit böcker som War Is Never Just (2016), Leaving World War II Behind (2020) och The Monroe Doctrine at 200 (2023). Han är nominerad till Nobels fredspris och har tilldelats US Peace Prize. Omslagets framsida Libyen, mars 2011. Få känner till att Nato genom massiva illegala bomb­angrepp hjälpte de islamistiska upprorsmännen, också kallade »Natos rebeller«, att störta landets regering. Sverige deltog med bl.a. åtta JAS ­Gripenplan och två under­stödsflygplan. Foto: ­Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images

What is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)? What role is played by its members and partners? Does the largest military alliance ever to exist serve the cause of peace or the causes of weapons sales and war mongering? Published to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the alliance, this sharp, concise account examines NATO's origins, structure, and its goals at a time of mounting global tension.NATO has remade itself repeatedly, as its past purposes have disappeared. In the last 35 years it has been part of wars in Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya. It has played a major role in Ukraine, and supported warmaking by Israel. NATO is now expanding rapidly, both in geography and in scope, adding partners from Colombia to Mongolia to Australia, and claiming a role in policing, immigration, economics, public budgeting, scientific research, and environmental protection.With pointed investigations of how NATO's decisions are made, the widely misunderstood question of the way it is funded, its relationship to international law, and the available alternatives to it, NATO: What You Need to Know is an indispensable primer on an organization that not only confronts expanding military conflict but, the authors contend, plays an active part in its escalation.

Russia’s brutal February 2022 invasion of Ukraine has attracted widespread condemnation across the West. Government and media circles present the conflict as a simple dichotomy between an evil empire and an innocent victim. In this concise, accessible and highly informative primer, Medea Benjamin and Nicolas Davies insist the picture is more complicated. Yes, Russia’s aggression was reckless and, ultimately, indefensible. But the West’s reneging on promises to halt eastward expansion of NATO in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union played a major part in prompting Putin to act. So did the U.S. involvement in the 2014 Ukraine coup and Ukraine's failure to implement the Minsk peace agreements. The result is a conflict that is increasingly difficult to resolve, one that could conceivably escalate into all-out war between the United States and Russia—the world’s two leading nuclear powers. Skillfully bringing together the historical record and current analysis, War In Ukraine looks at the events leading up to the conflict, surveys the different parties involved, and weighs the risks of escalation and opportunities for peace. For anyone who wants to get beneath the heavily propagandized media coverage to an understanding of a war with consequences that could prove cataclysmic, reading this timely book will be an urgent necessity.

U.S. relations with Iran have been fraught for decades, but under the Trump Administration tensions are rising to startling levels. Medea Benjamin, one of the best-known 21st century activists, offers the incredible history of how a probable alliance became a bitter antagonism in this accessible and fascinating story. In 1979, the Iranian Revolution brought a full-scale theocracy to the 80 million inhabitants of the Middle East's second largest country, with. The rule of the ayatollahs opened the door to Islamic fundamentalism. In the decades since, bitter relations have persisted between the U.S. and Iran. Yet how is it that Iran has become the primary target of American antagonism over nations like Saudi Arabia, whose appalling human rights violations fail to depose it as one of America's closest allies in the Middle East? In the first general-audience book on the subject, Medea Benjamin elucidates the mystery behind this complex relationship, recounting the country's history from the pre-colonial period to its emergence as the one nation Democrats and Republicans alike can unite in denouncing. Benjamin has traveled several times to Iran, and uses her firsthand experiences with politicians, activists, and everyday citizens to provide a deeper understanding of the complexities of Iranian society. Tackling common misconceptions about Iran's system of government, its religiosity, and its citizens' way of life, Benjamin makes short work of the inflammatory rhetoric surrounding U.S.-Iranian relations, and presents a realistic and hopeful case for the two nations' future.

Each year, Green Festivals across the nation draw over 100,000 people to theirparty with a purpose. The Green Festival Reader: Fresh Ideas from Agents of Change presents the addresses of the foremost thinkers and activists at these popular events. From a green New Deal to healthy homes and community empowerment, The Green Festival Reader covers the most urgent and inspiring topics in today‘s environmental movement.

The diminutive co-founder of Code Pink has become famous for fearlessly tackling head-on subjects the left and right studiously avoid. Sometimes, she does so in person--as at President Obama's speech at the National Defense College, or in Egypt, where she was assaulted by police. Here, she's researching the sinister nature of the relationship between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. In seven succinct chapters followed by a meditation on prospects for change, Benjamin--cited by the L.A. Times as "one of the high profile members of the peace movement"--shines a light on one of the weirder, and most important, elements of our foreign policy. What is the origin of this strange alliance between two countries that have very little in common? Why does it persist, and what are its consequences? Why, over a period of decades and across various presidential administrations, has the United States consistently supported a regime shown time and again to be one of the most powerful forces working against American interests? Saudi Arabia is perhaps the single most important source of funds for terrorists worldwide, promoting an extreme interpretation of Islam along with anti-Western sentiment, while brutally repressing non-violent dissidents at home.

Drone Warfare is the first comprehensive analysis of one of the fastest growing-and most secretive-fronts in global conflict: the rise of robot warfare. In 2000, the Pentagon had fewer than fifty aerial drones; ten years later, it had a fleet of nearly 7,500, and the US Air Force now trains more drone "pilots" than bomber and fighter pilots combined. Drones are already a $5 billion business in the US alone. The human cost? Drone strikes have killed more than 200 children alone in Pakistan and Yemen.CODEPINK and Global Exchange cofounder Medea Benjamin provides the first extensive analysis of who is producing the drones, where they are being used, who controls these unmanned planes, and what are the legal and moral implications of their use. In vivid, readable style, this book also looks at what activists, lawyers, and scientists across the globe are doing to ground these weapons. Benjamin argues that the assassinations we are carrying out from the air will come back to haunt us when others start doing the same thing-to us.

Each year, Green Festivals across the nation draw over 100,000 people to their "party with a purpose." The Green Festival Reader: Fresh Ideas from Agents of Change presents the addresses of the foremost thinkers and activists at these popular events. From a green New Deal to healthy homes and community empowerment, The Green Festival Reader covers the most urgent and inspiring topics in today's environmental movement.

"Here is a voice seldom heard, the voice of Latin America's majority, those who bear the burdens of society. If we are to understand Honduras, Central America, or, for that matter, Latin America, we must listen attentively to this voice. It has much to teach us. It commands the future." --E. Bradford Burns, Professor of History, UCLADon't be Afraid, Gringo is the award-winning oral history of Elvia Alvarado, a courageous campesina peasant] activist in Honduras, the poorest country in Central America. Trained by the Catholic Church to organize women's groups to combat malnutrition, Alvarado began to question why campesinos were malnourished to begin with. Her growing political awareness, her travels by foot, over the back roads of Honduras, and her conversations with people from all over the country have given her insights into the internal workings of her society that far surpass those of the majority of campesinos who have never ventured from their villages. Working as a campesino organizer, Alvarado has led dangerous land recovery actions in an effort to enforce the national land reform laws. As a result of these actions, she has been harassed, jailed, and tortured at the hands of the Honduran military. Skillfully translated and edited by Medea Benjamin, an expert on Central America, Don't Be Afraid, Gringo takes us into the heart of campesino struggle and political conflict in Honduras today.