5 Ways Trump’s Travel Ban Made America Less Safe

1. Create Chaos: Trump’s executive order implementing ‘extreme vetting’ for people traveling to the U.S. was not vetted by any U.S. government agency — not the Department of Homeland Security, the Justice Department, the State Department, or the Department of Defense, nor the National Security Council (NSC). The agencies responsible for carrying out Trump’s travel ban — Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services — were briefed on the order only as Trump was signing the final text.

So the public, U.S. government agencies, the media, and travelers from abroad were all shocked when the order was announced because it was effective immediately. Protests at airports erupted immediately as travelers with lawful permanent residence status (called green card holders) were and remain unlawfully detained by federal authorities.

5 Myths about Fighting ISIS

Originally published by Anonymous Mugwump.

To some extent, the following myths are all interlinked.

The typical anti-war activist believes that the current crisis is mainly political and financial and so military means are not addressing the primary cause of the rise of Islamic State (ISIS). The idea that we’re going to make it worse through military intervention isn’t just because its failing to address the key causes but because it reinforces what went wrong: Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki alienated Sunnis and bombs will alienate Sunnis. And somewhat linked but not entirely, they think because ISIS is a response to local conditions, ISIS is not concerned with attacking the West.

This post is addressed to these people — their premises are false and so their conclusions and prescriptions are also flawed. References for the academic studies cited are at the bottom and footnotes are elaborations. Apologies for the length of myths 1 and 2, myth 5 should make up for it.

Understanding Bernie Sanders’ Foreign Policy Approach

Running for president of the United State means taking on not only the country’s problems but the world’s problems. Whoever is sworn in as president in January 2017 will be forced to deal with crises around the globe the previous administration was either unable or unwilling to resolve:

• The so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/ISIS).
• Russian aggression in Ukraine and in the world of espionage.
• China’s imperialist expansion into the South China Sea.
• Policing the nuclear deal with Iran.
• Climate change driven by global warming.
• Israel/Palestine.

Beyond reiterating the undeniable truth that war is bad and peace is preferable, Democratic presidential candidate and Vermont independent Senator Bernie Sanders has said little about his foreign policy plans on the campaign trail. Foreign policy isn’t listed on the “Issues”* page of his campaign website and the foreign policy section of his Senate website is literally blank.

But make no mistake, Bernie Sanders has a foreign policy.