Category: International

How Much for a Little Afghani Girl?

Rina Lokaj

Welcome to Afghanistan: home to some of the world’s most gorgeous mosques, breathtaking national parks, and booming markets for selling little girls. Every American is probably well aware of the war that we have been fighting in Afghanistan for the past 17 years, but there is a more sinister aspect of Afghanistan that we are not told about. Families have now found themselves in situations where they need to sell their daughters in order to provide for their other children. You might ask: how could a mother or father do…

The Hypocrisy Surrounding the Death of Jamal Khashoggi

Fiona Leary

“Democracy Dies in Darkness.” The Washington Post debuted its grim new slogan in early 2017, not a month after the inauguration of President Trump. T​he same constructive cynicism that generated the Washington Post’s mission statement is what motivated Jamal Khashoggi to flee his homeland of Saudi Arabia and begin writing for the Post in 2017​. Khashoggi was a staunch supporter of democratic values and transparency in his journalistic career, which he exemplified when he condemned human rights violations committed by the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the crown prince himself,…

The Heavy Responsibility of the Safety of Journalists

Samantha Butzen

On October 2nd, 2018, Saudi dissident and journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul.  He entered the building to obtain documents to aid in his upcoming marriage ceremony and never came out.  This matter has been fraught with global outcry and speculation in addition to formal investigations into the killing of Khashoggi.  18 Saudis have been arrested, including a team of 15 operatives, who Saudi officials claimed were sent by General Ahmad Asiri to detain Khashoggi and return him to Saudi Arabia.  The Saudi government changed…

Chasing the Communist Bait: How America Has Spread Itself Too Thin

Ryan Slattery

It was only a few months ago that the leaders of North and South Korea made a historic agreement to formally end the Korean War, thus ending the 65 year-long armistice, and one of the key conflicts within the Cold War. Yet, after all of this time, America’s military has continued to increase its global presence. We continue to send billions in foreign aid to other countries and participate in costly alliances like NATO. I’ve come to see the negative effects of our global presence: not only in our abandonment…

Oil Sanctions, Barter Systems, and the State of U.S.-Europe Relations

Austin Sacker

In May of this year, the Trump administration announced their intent to withdraw from the Obama-era Iran-P5+1 nuclear disarmament deal and plan to re-impose prior sanctions placed on Iran’s oil sector. Earlier this November, these new sanctions began taking effect. It is important to note that Iran, as far as the interested parties are concerned (including Iranian adversary Saudi Arabia), was abiding well within the parameters of the agreement; furthermore, the participation of the US is not essential to the continuation of the agreement. Although there is much speculation as to…

Khashoggi, Trump, and Threats to the Press

Sophia Singh

Few would call President Donald Trump a “friend of the press.” From the advent of the phrase “fake news” to yelling at reporters in press conferences, the president has fostered one of the tensest relationships with the media that America has ever seen. However, this painful association was taken to a new level in the past month with the disappearance and death of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. Khashoggi was a native Saudi, who left his country in 2017 to continue writing in DC and to avoid the suppression of…

#MeToo: Not Just A First-World Problem

MacKenzie Stuart

If you have a smartphone, laptop, television, or just a set of eyes and ears, then you haven’t been able to escape the dazzling onslaught of sex abuse scandals within the last few months. Dozens of women have come forward to confess that they have been preyed on by powerful and prominent men like Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, comedian Louis C.K., and politician Roy Moore, thus breaking the silence that usually protects men in these positions from facing consequences. Tens of thousands of women have been using the #MeToo movement…

Xi Jinping is Not Reading His History

Jacob Floam

Asia is in a state of flux. As many see the Western ideas of democracy and freedom retreating in the Orient, there is potential for history to repeat itself. This was most recently experienced in the 1930s, when the Japanese tried to reshape Asia in their image and millions died as a consequence. The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere was an effort by the statist Shōwa government to mask Japan’s belligerency to establish themselves as Asia’s hegemon. We all know what happened in the end. TASEANoday, Red China is working…