Israeli forces operating around Beaufort Castle in Lebanon on May 31 -- IDF Spokesperson's Unit By Vijay Prashad There are moments in history when words lose their meaning. Not because dictionaries are rewritten, nor because language itself changes, but because political power empties words of the realities they once described. The word ceasefire has increasingly acquired this desolate quality when used by Israeli and US officials. What was once understood to mean the suspens

Trump and Xi Jinping on May 15 -- public domain image By Vijay Prashad The scenes unfolding in Beijing were carefully choreographed, yet politics can never be reduced to mere spectacle. When US President Donald Trump traveled to China for his summit meeting with Xi Jinping, Western media, as it often does, fixated on spectacle: lavish banquets, honor guards, theatrical gestures that were designed to flatter the US president. Yet beneath all this ritual lay another reality, ha

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi campaigning in Kerala, March 11, 2026 -- Prime Minister's Office (GODL-India), GODL-India, via Wikimedia Commons By Vijay Prashad In India, over 123 million people voted in the four states of Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal (home to 290 million people) for their state assemblies. These are influential states: two in the south, one in the east, and one in the northeast. The next national parliamentary election is not scheduled unt

George W. Bush shakes hands with President John Agyekum Kufuor of Ghana Sept. 15, 2008 at the White House -- public domain image By Vijay Prashad En febrero de 2008, bajo el implacable sol de la tarde de Accra, el presidente de los Estados Unidos, George W. Bush, se presentó ante un pequeño grupo de periodistas y desestimó los rumores que circulaban con una risita. Los Estados Unidos, afirmó, no tenían intención alguna de construir bases militares en África. “Eso es una tonte

US President George W. Bush speaks with Ghana President John Agyekum Kufuor during their meeting at Osu Castle, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2008 in Accra, Ghana By Vijay Prashad In February 2008, beneath the harsh afternoon sun of Accra, US President George W. Bush stood before a small gathering of journalists and dismissed swirling rumors with a chuckle. The United States, he claimed, had no intention of building military bases in Africa. “That’s baloney,” he said. The casual, dismi

Palestine Action Protest, London, Saturday 6th September, 2025 -- indigonolan, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Various Sources More than 130 prominent scholars, writers, and public figures signed an open letter dated April 24, 2026 addressed to the UK Court of Appeal in support of individuals associated with Palestine Action, a group that -- in a profoundly anti-democratic move -- has been proscribed as a terrorist organization in the UK. The letter simply reads: “We oppose

A scene from Beirut after Israeli bombing, April 8, 2026 -- Megaphone, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Vijay Prashad Mientras los Estados Unidos abandona de manera ridícula las negociaciones con Irán en Pakistán, siempre fue motivo de preocupación si Israel acataría cualquier acuerdo de este tipo. Este fue particularmente el caso del Líbano y los territorios palestinos, donde Israel parecía absolutamente empeñado en crear nuevos “hechos sobre el terreno”, incluyendo la

A man walks amidst the rubble in the wake of an Israeli airstrike on the Beirut neighbourhood of Bachoura on 18 March 2026 -- Megaphone, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Vijay Prashad As the United States farcically walks away from the negotiations with Iran in Pakistan, it was always a matter of concern whether Israel would abide by any such agreement. This was particularly the case with Lebanon and with the Palestinian territories, where Israel seemed absolutely hell ben

Trump with Pete Hegseth on March 23 -- public domain image By Vijay Prashad US President Donald Trump has increasingly become unhinged as the war on Iran has not gone as he imagined. Both the United States and Israel felt that a series of domination strikes against Iran would decapitate the leadership of the country and force the remaining mid-level leaders into surrender. The miscalculation of the Trump-Netanyahu agenda has been total: a depth of wartime leadership has emerg

Battle of Cuito Cuanavale Memorial in Angola By Vijay Prashad In ‘Freedom Park’ (S’kumbuto) outside Pretoria (South Africa), there is a Wall of Names that honors the men and women who died in the fight to liberate South Africa from apartheid. Amongst these are the names of two thousand and seventy Cuban soldiers who died in Angola between 1975 and 1988 for the liberation of southern Africa. It is said, however, that two thousand two hundred and eighty-nine Cubans died in that

Trump and Vance at a ceremony for the return of the remains of six U.S. soldiers killed in an Iranian drone strike in Kuwait, Saturday, March 7, 2026 -- public domain image By Vijay Prashad El pasado mes de julio, los Estados Unidos e Israel bombardearon las instalaciones de energía nuclear e investigación nuclear de Irán durante doce días. Tras unos días, las dos potencias beligerantes – que no contaban con la autorización de las Naciones Unidas para esta guerra de agresión

Trump and Vance at a ceremony for the return of the remains of six U.S. soldiers killed in an Iranian drone strike in Kuwait, Saturday, March 7, 2026 -- public domain image By Vijay Prashad Last year, in July, the United States and Israel bombarded Iran’s nuclear energy and nuclear research facilities over twelve days. After a few days, the two belligerent powers—who had no United Nations authorisation for this war of aggression—opened the door for a ceasefire . At that time,

Flag at a ceremony on Wednesday March 18, 2026 -- Tasnim News Agency, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Vijay Prashad Wars are rarely decided on the battlefield alone. Military campaigns can destroy cities and kill large numbers of people, but political outcomes are defined by endurance, legitimacy, and the historical currents that flow beneath the immediate violence. While the war that US President Donald Trump imposed on the people of Iran may produce tactical victories f

Image via Granma By Vijay Prashad Para Paki Wieland (1944-2026), quien luchó contra la crueldad del imperialismo estadounidense durante toda su vida adulta. La mañana de mi partida desde el Aeropuerto José Martí, que lleva el nombre del padre de la nación, abracé a todo el mundo: a la mujer que me facturó, al hombre que selló mi pasaporte, al personal de tierra. El día anterior había abrazado con fuerza a todos mis amigos, mientras mis lágrimas luchaban por derramarse por mi

Image via Granma By Vijay Prashad For Paki Wieland (1944-2026), who fought the cruelty of US imperialism all her adult life. The morning of my departure from José Martí Airport, named after the father of the nation, I hugged everybody: the woman who checked me in, the man who stamped my passport, the ground staff. I had hugged all my friends tightly the previous day, my tears fighting for the right to stream down my face. It felt as though, through these hugs, I wanted to som

The US-Israeli strikes against Iran are part of a decades-long war against the Islamic Republic which has refused to bow to US demands that it surrender its sovereignty. Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance fires a Tomahawk Land Attack Missile at Iran, February 28 -- public domain image By Vijay Prashad Having just formed the Board of Peace, the United States and Israel have begun the board’s first war, this time on Iran. The US-Israel attack launched ear

By Vijay Prashad En enero de 2026, el presidente de los Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, declaró que Cuba era una “amenaza inusual y extraordinaria” para la seguridad de los Estados Unidos, una designación que permite al Gobierno de ese país aplicar restricciones económicas radicales que tradicionalmente se reservan para los adversarios de la seguridad nacional. El bloqueo de los Estados Unidos contra Cuba comenzó en la década de 1960, justo después de la Revolución Cubana de 19

Tarique Rahman on the campaign trail -- image via X video screenshot By Vijay Prashad and Atul Chandra El Partido Nacionalista de Bangladesh (BNP) obtuvo una victoria aplastante en las elecciones del 12 de febrero de 2026, asegurándose 212 de los 300 escaños parlamentarios. Esta victoria no representa simplemente un cambio de gobierno. Es la culminación de un proceso político que no comenzó con la ira espontánea de los estudiantes en las calles de Daca en 2024, sino mucho ant

BNP leader Tarique Rahman -- Image cropped via X By Vijay Prashad and Atul Chandra The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) won a sweeping victory in the 12 February 2026 elections, securing 212 of 300 parliamentary seats. This victory represents not merely a change of government. It is the culmination of a political process that began not with the spontaneous anger of students on the streets of Dhaka in 2024, but much earlier, in the strategic calculations of sections of the B

Flag of Rojava By Vijay Prashad The agreement that terminated the Syrian Kurdish enclave was presented by its signatories as a pragmatic settlement. But, in fact, the deal is a major political defeat for the Syrian Kurdish political formations. Certainly, the rapid advance of the Syrian armed groups loyal to President Ahmad al-Sharaa broke the resistance of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the largely Kurdish group, but this advance can only be understood by the total back