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Tags: Military

Israel’s Military Industrial Complex

As a child, I remember the Commander of Palmahim Air Force Base inviting the people of Israel, through festive radio jingles, to participate in one of the key events of our independence day: the magnificent exhibition of Israel’s weaponry, culminating in an air-show over the base’s sky, a demonstration of our impressive aircraft. One time my parents took us. I recall the feeling of enormous pride and admiration, combined with reverence, in view of the inspiring sight of the might of our army. The thought that death, pain and horror were involved, did not even pass through my mind.

Peacekeeping and Gendered Relations

Television pictures of peacekeepers holding babies, handing out sweets to children, and disarming militia combine to portray these individuals as saviours of the war torn citizenry. Peacekeeper’s involvement in the reconstruction of schools, roads and utilities add to the sense that wealthier, more powerful countries wish to assist through their agreement to contribute peacekeeping troops, who in turn, are noted to impact positively on the society in question. However, these representations jostle with others that may evoke a qualitatively different response……

Some Similarities Between the Armenian Genocide, 1915-1923, and the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda

The twentieth century witnessed systematic, state-sponsored killings of specific ethnic, nationalist, or religious groups across continents and cultures. Much can be learned from the individual ideologies of hate and insecurity that led to each genocide, but as Habyarimana argues, they also share significant similarities. Ultimately, genocide is not a problem that belongs to specific times and places, but a problem for all mankind. We all have a responsibility to understand what has happened, and build a future where such atrocities are an impossibility.

Military Escalation Will Harm Afghan People, US Interests

“I know that Obama’s election has brought great hopes to peace-loving people in the United States. But for Afghans, Obama’s military buildup will only bring more suffering and death to innocent civilians…”

— Afghan parliamentarian Malalai Joya

Politics of the Absurd: Sarah Palin and the mindset for war

Pandora Hopkins reflects on the adsurdity of the 2008 US elections, offering some insight into the archetypal “warrior” and “clanmom” figures of John McCain and Sarah Palin. Hopkins writes: “My hope is that, by using a folkloric perspective—by examining the tales told by and about Sarah Palin and John McCain (stock figures in this drama)–we can begin to find ways to promote the hope that Obama has inspired—and the satirical energy that Sarah Palin
engendered.”

Rods from who?

A recent U.S. Air Force proposal suggests militarizing space. But why even consider opening up this can of giant, planet-orbiting, laser-firing worms?

Mother of a Soldier

This is the first publication of a series. The Monitor, in the coming issues, will be publishing personal accounts from areas of conflicts.

The letter below is from a mother of a soldier to the Office of Public Affairs, a department in the Israeli government responsible for facets of military proceedings. Her discontent is articulated in response to a perceived neglect of Israeli soldiers.

The Rise of Private Military Companies and the Legal Vacuum of Regulation

This paper discusses the rise of the private military industry as a challenge to contemporary international law. In recent times, the privatization of activities preserved by governments have been proposed and implemented;, such as communication facilities, garbage collection, electricity supply, immigration services and much more. Military operations have not been left out. The increasing privatization of military activities is proving to be a major challenge to international law. The literature on Private Military Companies (PMCs) is mind-boggling, but neither extensive nor exhaustive. As a new phenomenon, it receives situational attention. For example, when the operations of Executive Outcomes and Sandline International were unearthed by the press in the 90s,’ numerous scholarly material was written, but with distinct themes like the efficiency of the corporations and the human rights violations carried out, as well as the legal vacuum created by ex-professional soldiers banding up to create and legally incorporate a mercenary outfit. The issue of PMCs being present in weak states and ravaged war-torn zones is an understatement, yet these corporations are registered mostly in the U.S., U.K. and South Africa. The articles on this issue are usually highly polarized; opponents verses proponents of these corporations, as the activities of these outfits do not fit within any conventional classification as actors of war in the law of war.
This paper describes the history and definition of PMCs and analyses how the operations of these corporations affect human rights, sovereignty and states´ monopoly of violence. The paper also focuses on the legality of PMCs and proceeds to discuss how to regulate the industry. The paper concludes in favor of tougher regulatory controls through new international legal framework and national legislation to deal with mercenaries as decisively as with other non-state actors who wield violence.

Towards a Legally Binding Arms Trade Treaty

Just ahead of the UN Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty scheduled for July 2012, UPEACE graduate student Gerardo Alberto Arce dissects the objectives, obstacles and limitations of the process currently underway towards the establishment of a legally binding international Arms Trade Treaty.