What Will Trump Do to the World to Win Re-Election? (FPIF)

Heightened tensions in the South China Sea, an outbreak of hostilities along the India-China border, mysterious "accidents" at Iran's nuclear facilities: the major powers are still dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, but they apparently still have time to devote to military conflict.

For Donald Trump, stoking tensions with China and Iran have the additional "benefit" of distracting attention from his woeful record of dealing with COVID-19 and the collapse of the U.S. economy. Indeed, as I write in my World Beat column this week, provoking a crisis with either China or Iran might be just the October surprise the president is planning as a last-ditch effort to gain re-election.

Also this week at Foreign Policy In Focus, columnist Conn Hallinan digs deeper into the India-China tensions to discover the root conflicts over energy and water. Meanwhile, Medea Benjamin and Nicolas Davies explore the self-defeating Cold War that the United States is pursuing with China.

My colleague Olivia Alperstein, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, urges the U.S. government to apologize for the act and work to rid the world of these terrible weapons. And my colleague Khury Petersen-Smith discusses how widely the abusive agencies of "homeland security" have misinterpreted their responsibilities and jurisdiction -- and it's not just about Portland.

Finally, Elizabeth Schmidt investigates the huge toll that COVID-19 is taking in Africa. And I look at the death cult of individualism that is attracting more and more followers in the United States in this pandemic era.

John Feffer
Director, FPIF







World Beat

What Will Trump Do to the World to Win Re-Election?

John Feffer

Trump shrugged at 150,000 U.S. COVID-19 deaths. Who’s to say he’s above starting a fight with China or Iran?

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Our Features




The U.S. Should Apologize for the Atomic Bombings — And Denuclearize
Olivia Alperstein
Seventy-five years after the atomic bombings, we’re still engaging in a false narrative to justify the unjustifiable.




The Backstory to Portland? Two Decades of ‘Homeland Security’
Khury Petersen-Smith
The repression we saw in Portland wasn’t new — only the targets were.




Trump’s Cold War China Policy Will Isolate the U.S., Not China
Medea Benjamin, Nicolas J.S. Davies
The United States must stop pursuing its counterproductive effort to undermine China and instead work with all our neighbors on this small planet.




COVID-19 Is a Huge Threat to Stability in Africa
Elizabeth Schmidt
Ongoing conflicts combined with escalating poverty and repression could amplify the pandemic’s social cost.




America’s Multiple Infections
John Feffer
Too many Americans belong to the cult of selfish individualism. In the COVID era, this has become a death cult.




India and China: Behind the Conflict
Conn Hallinan
The two most populous countries in the world are battling over a border, but it’s really about energy and water.