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Little Sign of US Policy Changes for Iraq's Mayhem
Robert Matthews

As we approach the end of 2006, there is no end in sight for the catastrophically unnecessary war the US has unleashed in Iraq. For the past three years this nation of 28 million people has experienced a headlong descent into a state of chaos. Robert Matthhews examines the chaotic situation in the country --which could intensifies after Saddam's execution-- and analyses the posibilities for political change under the new Democrat-dominated Congress.


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Arming Big Brother: The EU's Security Research Program
Ben Hayes
Published by Statewatch and Transnational Institute, TNI Briefing Series 2006/1

The European Union is preparing to spend up to 1 billion euros per year on new 'research' into surveillance and control technologies, according to Arming Big Brother, a new report by the Transnational Institute (TNI) and Statewatch. Arming Big Brother lifts the lid on the secretive committees and arms industry lobbying that led to the creation of the European Security Research Programme (ESRP). The TNI-Statewatch report suggests that the EU 'security research' programme is - like the idea of 'dual-use' technologies - simply providing cover for military subsidies and lucrative government contracts.

The Peace Research Center makes this report availabe to those readers interested.

Executive Summary

Full report


EU's Security Research Program and the Military Complex
Interview with Ben Hayes
Elena Couceiro
May 2006
Interview with Ben Hayes, author of the report "Arming Big Brother: The EU's Security Research Program", published by Statewatch and Transnational Institute in April 2006.

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The 9-11 Factor and Failed States
Robert Matthews
Peace Research Center Document, April, 2006

The Working hypothesis presented by the author is that 9-11 has meant much more for geo-politics and much less for the "bio-politics" of fragile or failed states to which Mark Duffield refers. The linking of western/US security to state failure has not resulted in fewer states on this list or appreciably less incidence of governmental breakdown in the past four and a half years. In fact, it may be argued that the injection of external state security (as opposed to the internal security of the state in crisis) may have been counterproductive in distorting the problems and skewing solutions.


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CIP-FUHEM Presents New Reports on International Terrorism
Robert Matthews - Mabel González Bustelo - Laurence Thieux
CIP-FUHEM Reports, September-November 2005

CIP-FUHEM has commissioned three new reports on international terrorism. We offer our readers access to the reports in English:

- The US and its War Against Terrorism After Four Years. An Accounting, by Robert Matthews

- Terrorism and Democracy: Spain and the Terrorist Attacks of March 11, by Mabel González Bustelo

- International Terrorism: Causes and Strategic Implications (Executive Summary), by Laurence Thieux

For versions in Spanish, please visit www.cip.fuhem.es


Terrorism Then and Now
The U.S., Cuba and the Strange Case of Luis Posada Carriles
Robert Matthews
Papeles de Cuestiones Internacionales, no. 92, published by CIP-FUHEM, Winter, 2005-2006.

A reflection on the different attitudes of the US towards terrorism whether it is against their interests –as the September 11 attacks-- or promoted by Washington; such is the case of Cuban terrorist Luis Posada Carriles, who has been collaborating with the US since the 70’s.


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Women and Security: "You cannot dance if you cannot stand"
Elisabeth Porter
Open Democracy and InfoCIP e-bulletin no. 7 (Gender and International Justice), November 2005
Article published as part of the Open Democracy Online debate on Gender and Conflict to commemorate the fifth anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and European Parliament declaration on Women and Conflict.

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Peace and International Security
Manuela Mesa
Revista INETemas, nº 31, June 2005
The author examines several trends that negatively influence international security, from the worsening of global problems and the rise of inequalities to the weakening of the United Nations and international law. Manuela Mesa highlights the contradictions of the current security approach of the US based on the use of force without respecting international norms. Mesa presents some proposals aimed at promoting a new form of government based on international law and the strengthening of the multilateral system and cooperation.

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The United States and its Security Policy in the Middle East
Robert Matthews
CIP Yearbook 2005. Cartographies of Power. Hegemony and Responses, CIP-FUHEM, May 2005
US foreign policy during George W. Bush's second administration continues to be focused on the "global war against terrorism", now justified with the diffusion of democracy and freedom in the Middle East and throughout the entire planet. This policy of military might is having disastrous results because it does not understand the real nature of global terrorism. It has not managed to eliminate it, but rather it fuels it and reinforces authoritarian governments that use the same rhetoric to violate human rights and repress internal opposition. In practice, it means that it is trying to achieve order at the expense of the violation of laws and this is causing a backward movement in terms of the rights and freedoms of the entire world. Moreover, the policy towards the Middle East is ineffective and counterproductive, as the intensification of conditions in Iraq and the situation in Israel and Palestine demonstrate.

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Dossier. Combating Terrorism and Protecting Democracy
Conclusion of the International Seminar, May 19-20, 2005
CIP-FUHEM
CIP-FUHEM Dossier, May 2005
On May 19-20, 2005 the Peace Research Center organized a conference in Madrid, "Combating Terrorism and Protecting Democracy: The Role of the Civil Society", with the participation of prominent international specialists on terrorism and the Muslim world. After reviewing the concepts, causes and factors which promote extremist ideologies, the conference examined the possibilities and limits of democracy and protecting human rights in responding to terrorism. The conference paid special attention to the influence of terrorism in electoral processes and democracy. Several case studies were analyzed, among them the example of Spain after March 11. This document is a synthesis of the main ideas presented.

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Bibliography. International Terrorism
Susana Fernández Herrero
Papeles de Cuestiones Internacionales, no. 89, CIP-FUHEM, Spring 2005
This document gathers a complete list of resources on international terrorism organized in the following sections: books; articles; and web pages. Compiled by the head of the Library - Resources Departement at CIP-FUHEM.

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RESOURCES: Bibliography on International Terrorism
Susana Fernández Herrero
Papeles de Cuestiones Internacionales, nr. 89, CIP-FUHEM, Spring 2005
The document gathers resources on international terrorism organized in the sections: books; articles; and Internet resources.

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Dossier. Afghanistan: New Challenges and Perspectives of the Reconstruction
Conclusions on the Conference by Burnett Rubin, Madrid, April 27, 2005
CIP-FUHEM
Barnett R. Rubin, director of studies of the Center on International Cooperation, University of New York, reviewed the current situation in Afghanistan and analyzed future challenges and perspectives during a conference in Madrid in April 2005 organized by the Peace Research Center (Centro de Investigación para la Paz, CIP-FUHEM), along with the Foundation for International Relations and External Dialogue (Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior, FRIDE), the Toledo International Center for Peace (Centro Internacional de Toledo para la Paz), and with the support of the United States Embassy in Spain. Dr. Rubin highlighted four current challenges for Afghanistan: the legitimacy of the State, security issues, the fight against narcotraffic, and the reconstruction of infrastructure. Barnett Rubin pointed to the expansion of security as a key issue for strengthening peace."

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Some Random Reflections Regarding the Madrid Summit on Terrorism and Democracy
Robert Matthews
CIP-FUHEM website, March 2005
Robert Matthews highlights some of the aspects that were discussed at the International Summit on Democracy, Terrorism and Security, held in Madrid in March 2005, including such topics as the lack of definition of the term "terrorism", and how the experts and official representatives omitted the issue of preemptive war carried out by the United States.

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Dossier. Conference:New Challenges and Perspectives of Security in Latin America
Dossier, CIP
CIP-FUHEM
The end of most of the armed conflicts and the dictatorships in Latin America removed a series of security threats in the region. However, new issues pressing on security have developed in the last decade, such as an increase in violence, crime and the rise of non-State armed actors. Democracy arrived in most of the hemisphere in parallel to economic crisis. That meant a deepening in poverty and social exclusion. These factors represent serious challenges for democracy, which suffers a crisis of credibility and governability. Some of these questions were debated last 28th February 2005 at the conference "New Challenges and Perspectives of Security in Latin America", organized in Madrid, Spain, by the Peace Research Center (Centro de Investigación para la Paz (CIP-FUHEM) and Tribuna Americana. The conference was part of an initiative promoted by the Latin American Program of the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars.

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Bibliography. Security and Latin America
Susana Fernández Herrero
InfoCIP Bulletin no. 2, July 29, 2005
Bibliographic and electronic resources on Latin America and security issues, prepared by the head of the Library - Resources Department at CIP-FUHEM.

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Where is the US Heading?
Robert Matthews
Papeles de Cuestiones Internacionales, no. 87, CIP-FUHEM, Autumn 2004
In the November 2004 US presidential elections, George W. Bush won by 3.6 million votes, as compared to what took place in 2000 when he lost the popular vote by 500,000 votes. Bush was elected with the greatest number of votes ever received by any president in US history, however he also received the largest amount of votes against him than any other presidential candidate. This election ratifies his first-term government and means that the American people are responsible for having George Bush and his ultra-right agenda for the next four years. In this text, the author assesses the outcome of the elections and its possible impact on US foreign policy.

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Nuclear Games: Iran and North Korea
Robert Matthews
The author analyzes US National Security Strategy developed by Bush's administration after 9/11. Emblematic of Washington's unapologetic unilateralism is the pre-emptive war doctrine focused on three states: Iraq, Iran and North Korea (the so-called Axis of Evil). The intervention in Iraq and the ongoing failure of the military occupation there has made the crisis over the nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea more dangerous and its peaceful resolution more problematic and remote.

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Madrid through American Eyes
Robert Matthews
Open Democracy Online, April 30, 2005 (English) and Papeles de Cuestiones Internacionales, no.85, CIP-FUHEM, Spring 2004
March 11 2004 attacks in Madrid reminded those of 9/11 in New York in 2001. The author reflects on the different reactions facing the consequencies of international terrorism of the population in both countries. The article analyzes the debates in the US around the attacks perpetrated in Spain.


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