Congress Must Debate the Libya War

by: Robert Naiman, t r u t h o u t | News Analysis

The U.S. Navy destroyer Barry in the Mediterranean fired Tomahawk missiles towards Libya on Saturday, March 19, 2011, in a photo
The US Navy destroyer Barry in the Mediterranean fired Tomahawk missiles toward Libya on Saturday, March 19, 2011. (Photo: Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jonathan Sunderman / United States Navy via the New York Times)

The US is now at war in a third Muslim country, according to the "official tally" (that is, counting Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, but not Pakistan or Yemen, for example.) But Congress has never authorized or debated the US military intervention in Libya. (A sharply disputed claim holds that the Pakistan and Yemen actions are covered by the 2001 authorization of military force, but no one has dared to argue that the 2001 authorization to use military force covers Libya.) Some will no doubt claim that the president is acting in Libya within his authority as commander in chief. But this is an extremely dangerous claim. »

The empty streets of Minamisoma, a city near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station that many residents have fled, in the M

In This Nuclear World, What Is the Meaning of "Safe"?

by: Barbara Rose Johnson, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists | Report

In a nuclear crisis, life becomes a nightmare for those people trying to make sense of the uncertainties. Imaginably, the questions are endless.

Radiation is invisible, how do you know when you are in danger? How long will this danger persist? How can you reduce the hazard to yourself and family? What level of exposure is safe? How do you get access to vital information in time to prevent or minimize exposure? »

Egyptians cast their votes at a polling center inside a school in Cairo, March 19, 2011.

The Butterfly and the Boiling Point

by: Rebecca Solnit, TomDispatch | News Analysis

Charting the wild winds of change in 2011.

Revolution is as unpredictable as an earthquake and as beautiful as spring. Its coming is always a surprise, but its nature should not be.

Revolution is a phase, a mood, like spring, and just as spring has its buds and showers, so revolution has its ebullience, its bravery, its hope, and its solidarity. Some of these things pass. »

Conservative Jones and the Mystery of Operation Odyssey Dawn

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