Conn Hallinan, Author at Toward Freedom

The Big Chill: Political Tensions in the Arctic as the Ice Melts

Conn Hallinan November 13, 2014 Conn Hallinan

As the climate warms and the ice melts, the Arctic could become the next great theater of global cooperation—or a battlefield.

The U.S. and Africa: The Next Four Years

Conn Hallinan November 28, 2012 Conn Hallinan

While the world concerns itself with the Syrian civil war and the dangers it poses for the Middle East, little notice is taken of the war in the Congo, a tragedy that has taken five million lives and next to which the crisis in Syria pales.

The Slide Toward War

Conn Hallinan March 9, 2012 Conn Hallinan

Source: Foreign Policy in Focus

Wars are fought because some people decide it is in their interests to fight them. World War I was not started over the Archduke Ferdinand’s assassination, nor was it triggered by the alliance system. An “incident” may set the stage for war, but no one keeps shooting unless they think it’s a good idea. The Great War started because the countries involved decided they would profit by it, delusional as that conclusion was.

It is useful to keep this idea in mind when trying to figure out whether the United States or Israel will go to war with Iran. In short, what are the interests of the protagonists, and are they important enough for those nations to take the fateful step into the chaos of battle? read more

Cyber War: Reality or Hype?

Conn Hallinan January 12, 2012 Conn Hallinan

Source: Foreign Policy in Focus

During his confirmation hearings this past June, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned the Senate, “The next Pearl Harbor we confront could very well be a cyber attack that cripples our grid, our security systems, our financial systems, our governmental systems.” The use of Pearl Harbor provided powerful imagery: a mighty fleet reduced to smoking ruin, an expansionist Asian power at the nation’s doorstep.

But is “cyber war” really a threat? Can cyber war actually “cripple” the United States? Or is the language just sturm und drang spun up by a coalition of major arms manufacturers, the Pentagon, and Internet security firms allied with China bashers aimed at launching a new Cold War in Asia? read more

Honduran Coup: The U.S. Connection

Conn Hallinan August 12, 2009 Conn Hallinan

Manuel Zelaya

While the Obama administration was careful to distance itself from the recent coup in Honduras - condemning the expulsion of President Manuel Zelaya to Costa Rica, revoking Honduran officials' visas, and shutting off aid - that doesn't mean influential Americans aren't involved, and that both sides of the aisle don't have some explaining to do.

Georgia On My Mind: From West Point to the Caucasus

Conn Hallinan August 18, 2008 Conn Hallinan

Georgians Flee Russia

One of the major causes of the recent war in Georgia has nothing to do with the historic tensions that make the Caucasus such a flashpoint between east and west. Certainly the long-stranding ethnic enmity between Ossetians and Georgians played a role, as did the almost visceral dislike between Moscow and Tbilisi. But the origins of the short, brutal war go back six years to a June afternoon at West Point.