In 2009, countries have reached perilous new levels of conflict, tension and military spending characterised by nuclear proliferation, ideological warfare and pre-emptive invasions of sovereign nations. As news reports highlight an intensifying competition over natural resources, the international community is faced with a stark choice - to share resources and cooperate, or to continue on the path to further warfare.
The recent upheavals in the Caucasus do not represent a new Cold War, but a far more significant geopolitical struggle between Moscow and Washington over the energy riches of the Caspian Sea basin, writes Michael T. Klare.
The events in South Ossetia show the need to create a
sub-regional system of security and cooperation that would make any
provocation, and the very possibility of crises such as this one,
impossible, writes Mikhail Gorbachev.
As a member of NATO, a young and nationalistic state like Georgia
could have drawn the entire alliance into a direct military
confrontation with Russia, says Zoltán Dujisin.
The "war on terror" and the "long war" are
losing their potency as shorthand guides to the global conflict. But
the United States remains trapped by a military logic that guarantees
an endless and unwinnable campaign, says Paul Rogers.
Although the term military-industrial complex
is well-known, a discussion of its origins, implications, and Eisenhower's warning against its "unwarranted influence"
has largely been ignored, says Chalmers Johnson.
A report by the Commonwealth Institute lays out a comprehensive plan
for withdrawing U.S. forces from Iraq, focusing on the need for
reconciliation, regional dialogue, humanitarian aid, and a central peacekeeping role
for the United Nations.
The United States can lead the world in combating the greatest threats
facing the planet, writes David Korten - and the only way to do it is
through renouncing war as an instrument of national policy.