https://znetwork.org/author/medeabenjamin/ Independent Left News, Analysis, Vision and Strategy Mon, 11 May 2026 22:18:51 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://znetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/cropped-Z_logo_512-32x32.png https://znetwork.org/author/medeabenjamin/ 32 32 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/could-trumps-iran-fiasco-be-americas-suez-crisis/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/could-trumps-iran-fiasco-be-americas-suez-crisis/#respond Mon, 11 May 2026 22:18:06 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1298020 Empires rise and fall. They do not last forever. Imperial declines follow a gradual shifting of the economic tides, but are also punctuated and defined by critical tipping points. There are many differences between the Suez Crisis in 1956 and the US war on Iran today, but similarities in the larger context suggest that the United States [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/could-trumps-iran-fiasco-be-americas-suez-crisis/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/how-many-people-have-the-us-and-israel-killed-in-iran/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/how-many-people-have-the-us-and-israel-killed-in-iran/#respond Mon, 13 Apr 2026 16:56:31 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1296816 After the breakdown of talks in Pakistan, the ceasefire between the US and Iran is more fragile than ever, and now seems likely to give way to a new phase of the war. The ceasefire and talks have failed to end Israel’s devastating attacks on Lebanon or to negotiate international access to the Strait of [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/how-many-people-have-the-us-and-israel-killed-in-iran/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/how-the-us-became-an-international-serial-killer/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/how-the-us-became-an-international-serial-killer/#comments Thu, 26 Mar 2026 15:52:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1296151 For decades, the United States moved from covert assassination plots to openly embracing assassination or “targeted killing” as policy. Now, in its war with Iran, that evolution is reaching its most dangerous phase.  On March 17th and 18th, the United States and Israel assassinated three senior Iranian government officials in targeted air strikes: Ali Larijani, the secretary [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/how-the-us-became-an-international-serial-killer/feed/ 2 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-war-on-iran-and-washingtons-missing-exit-strategy/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-war-on-iran-and-washingtons-missing-exit-strategy/#comments Sun, 08 Mar 2026 15:59:52 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1295571 The United States has once again launched a war in the Middle East based on false claims about weapons of mass destruction. Like the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the U.S. assault on Iran rests on allegations that international inspectors have already debunked. But beyond the false pretext lies an even more pressing question that [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-war-on-iran-and-washingtons-missing-exit-strategy/feed/ 1 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/venezuela-after-january-3-a-nation-standing-in-the-storm/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/venezuela-after-january-3-a-nation-standing-in-the-storm/#respond Fri, 06 Mar 2026 15:30:51 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1295509 On our recent delegation to Venezuela, one quote echoed again and again — a warning written nearly two centuries ago by Simón Bolívar in 1829: “The United States appears destined by Providence to plague America with misery in the name of liberty.” For many Venezuelans, that line no longer feels like history. It feels like [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/venezuela-after-january-3-a-nation-standing-in-the-storm/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/a-first-lady-in-a-new-york-cell/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/a-first-lady-in-a-new-york-cell/#comments Thu, 05 Mar 2026 01:08:59 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1295424 On International Working Women’s Day in 2025, Cilia Flores, the wife of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, read a poem she wrote highlighting the historic role played by Latin American women in the fight against imperialism.  We’re not flowers the wind can pluck,we’re roots of rebel and loyal land,we’re grandmothers, mothers, daughters, granddaughters;we are woman. Our blood [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/a-first-lady-in-a-new-york-cell/feed/ 1 https://znetwork.org/zvideo/cuba-kills-4-exiles-trying-to-infiltrate-island-by-boat-as-u-s-medieval-siege-of-cuba-continues/ https://znetwork.org/zvideo/cuba-kills-4-exiles-trying-to-infiltrate-island-by-boat-as-u-s-medieval-siege-of-cuba-continues/#respond Fri, 27 Feb 2026 16:54:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=video&p=1295217 Cuban exiles on a U.S.-registered speedboat attempted to enter Cuba undetected, but were confronted by border patrol in Cuban waters on Wednesday. According to the Cuban Interior Ministry, the Cuban nationals on the speedboat fired on the border agents who then returned fire — killing four and injuring six of the men. This comes as [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/zvideo/cuba-kills-4-exiles-trying-to-infiltrate-island-by-boat-as-u-s-medieval-siege-of-cuba-continues/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/suffocating-an-island-what-the-u-s-blockade-is-doing-to-cuba/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/suffocating-an-island-what-the-u-s-blockade-is-doing-to-cuba/#respond Wed, 11 Feb 2026 17:35:34 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1294598 Marta Jiménez, a hairdresser in Cuba’s eastern city of Holguín, covered her face with her hands and broke down crying when I asked her about Trump’s blockade of the island—especially now that the U.S. is choking off oil shipments. “You can’t imagine how it touches every part of our lives,” she sobbed. “It’s a vicious, [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/suffocating-an-island-what-the-u-s-blockade-is-doing-to-cuba/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/latin-america-pushes-back-against-u-s-intervention/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/latin-america-pushes-back-against-u-s-intervention/#respond Fri, 30 Jan 2026 16:34:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1294182 When Senator Tim Kaine told Secretary of State Marco Rubio at a recent Senate hearing on Venezuela that the administration’s announcement of a new Monroe Doctrine “does not land well in the Americas,” he was putting it mildly. I just returned from an emergency gathering in Bogotá on January 24-25 with about 90 delegates from [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/latin-america-pushes-back-against-u-s-intervention/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/can-trump-demilitarize-gaza-with-night-raids-and-death-squads/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/can-trump-demilitarize-gaza-with-night-raids-and-death-squads/#respond Fri, 23 Jan 2026 17:30:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1293844 At the opening ceremony for Donald Trump’s so-called Board of Peace in Davos, Jared Kushner unveiled glossy images of his vision for a “new Gaza”: shining apartment towers, luxury developments, and sweeping views of the Mediterranean. There were no Palestinians at the ceremony—and none on the Board of Peace itself. In Kushner’s fantasy, Palestinians appear [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/can-trump-demilitarize-gaza-with-night-raids-and-death-squads/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/whos-really-running-venezuela/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/whos-really-running-venezuela/#respond Fri, 09 Jan 2026 18:54:38 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1293280 As the Senate voted to advance a War Powers Resolution on Venezuela on January 8th, Republican Senator Susan Collins declared that she did not agree with “a sustained engagement “running” Venezuela.”  The world was mystified when President Trump first said that the United States would “run” Venezuela. He has since made it clear that he [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/whos-really-running-venezuela/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/10-good-things-that-happened-in-2025/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/10-good-things-that-happened-in-2025/#respond Wed, 31 Dec 2025 21:24:59 +0000 It’s true — 2025 has been a hard year. It’s easy to focus on the disasters, and there have been many. But we also had real victories that moved us closer to a better world. Here are some of my highlights from 2025: 1. Israel was forced to negotiate a ceasefire In October, a ceasefire [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/10-good-things-that-happened-in-2025/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/whos-the-real-outlaw-at-sea-trumps-tanker-grab-vs-the-houthis-anti-genocide-blockade/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/whos-the-real-outlaw-at-sea-trumps-tanker-grab-vs-the-houthis-anti-genocide-blockade/#comments Tue, 23 Dec 2025 17:00:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1292683 The United States has now intercepted multiple Venezuelan oil tankers as part of its escalating aggression against Venezuela, while also destroying dozens of small boats in the Caribbean and Pacific under the banner of “drug enforcement,” killing over 100 people whose identities the U.S. has obscured. At the same time, the Trump administration has threatened [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/whos-the-real-outlaw-at-sea-trumps-tanker-grab-vs-the-houthis-anti-genocide-blockade/feed/ 1 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/if-trump-is-serious-about-peace-marco-rubio-has-to-go/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/if-trump-is-serious-about-peace-marco-rubio-has-to-go/#respond Mon, 08 Dec 2025 21:58:26 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1292166 Donald Trump campaigned on ending endless wars and now boasts that he has resolved eight wars. In reality, this claim is delusional, and his foreign policy is a disaster. The United States remains mired in ongoing wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, and now Trump is careening blindly into new wars in Latin America.  [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/if-trump-is-serious-about-peace-marco-rubio-has-to-go/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/who-is-ready-to-die-for-trumps-gaza-plan-so-far-nobody/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/who-is-ready-to-die-for-trumps-gaza-plan-so-far-nobody/#respond Fri, 21 Nov 2025 16:55:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1291519 On November 17th, 2025, the UN Security Council passed a resolution to endorse President Trump’s plan for Gaza, including a transitional government headed by Trump himself and an International Stabilization Force (ISF) that is expected, among other tasks, to disarm Hamas, a task that Israel has failed to do through two years of genocide and mass destruction. The [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/who-is-ready-to-die-for-trumps-gaza-plan-so-far-nobody/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/regime-change-in-venezuela-is-a-euphemism-for-u-s-inflicted-carnage-and-chaos/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/regime-change-in-venezuela-is-a-euphemism-for-u-s-inflicted-carnage-and-chaos/#respond Tue, 11 Nov 2025 17:01:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1291122 For decades, Washington has sold the world a deadly lie: that “regime change” brings freedom, that U.S. bombs and blockades can somehow deliver democracy. But every country that has lived through this euphemism knows the truth—it instead brings death, dismemberment, and despair. Now that the same playbook is being dusted off for Venezuela, the parallels [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/regime-change-in-venezuela-is-a-euphemism-for-u-s-inflicted-carnage-and-chaos/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-world-must-demand-the-release-of-palestinian-leader-marwan-barghouti/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-world-must-demand-the-release-of-palestinian-leader-marwan-barghouti/#respond Sun, 02 Nov 2025 17:01:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1290759 For more than two decades, Marwan Barghouti has sat behind Israeli bars—a living emblem of a brutal occupation that has denied Palestinians their freedom and dignity. His continued imprisonment is not merely unjust; it silences the one leader most capable of uniting the Palestinian people and leading them toward a political solution. Polls over many years show he is [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-world-must-demand-the-release-of-palestinian-leader-marwan-barghouti/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-world-confronts-the-genocide-washington-is-trying-to-bury/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-world-confronts-the-genocide-washington-is-trying-to-bury/#respond Mon, 27 Oct 2025 14:28:52 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1290493 On October 4th, 2025, in an interview with Axios, President Trump stressed that one of the main goals behind his Gaza plan was to restore Israel’s international standing. “Bibi took it very far and Israel lost a lot of support in the world,” Trump said. “Now I am gonna get all that support back.” Under [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-world-confronts-the-genocide-washington-is-trying-to-bury/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/zvideo/trumps-crackdown-on-anti-war-activists/ https://znetwork.org/zvideo/trumps-crackdown-on-anti-war-activists/#respond Thu, 25 Sep 2025 15:58:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=video&p=1289031 Medea Benjamin and CODEPINK, the organization she cofounded, are synonymous with accosting power in the United States. Their fearless confrontations with the nation’s most prominent and powerful politicians in the halls of Congress, often seen through viral videos, are a stark embodiment of the First Amendment. Despite over 20 years of activism and consistent critique of [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/zvideo/trumps-crackdown-on-anti-war-activists/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/how-the-un-can-act-decisively-to-end-genocide-in-gaza/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/how-the-un-can-act-decisively-to-end-genocide-in-gaza/#respond Wed, 03 Sep 2025 18:36:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1288072 One year ago, the UN General Assembly demanded that Israel must end its occupation of the Palestinian Territories within twelve months. The General Assembly voted, by 124 votes to 14, with 43 abstentions, for a strong resolution that not only “demanded” an end to the occupation within a year, but called on all countries to refrain from trade [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/how-the-un-can-act-decisively-to-end-genocide-in-gaza/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/us-russia-talks-the-choice-between-peace-and-escalation/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/us-russia-talks-the-choice-between-peace-and-escalation/#respond Sun, 17 Aug 2025 14:15:55 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1287408 Donald Trump came into office promising to end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. Now, six months later, his high stakes meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska may have put the United States and Russia on a new path toward peace, or, if this initiative fails, could trigger an even more dangerous escalation, with [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/us-russia-talks-the-choice-between-peace-and-escalation/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/stop-israels-dystopian-humanitarian-city-plan-before-its-too-late/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/stop-israels-dystopian-humanitarian-city-plan-before-its-too-late/#respond Sat, 12 Jul 2025 15:39:09 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1286109 The Israeli government has just put forward one of the most brazenly genocidal schemes in modern memory—and unless we act immediately, the world will once again let it happen. As reported in Haaretz, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz is proposing to force some 600,000 Palestinians—and eventually the entire population of Gaza—into a fenced-in “humanitarian city” to be built on [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/stop-israels-dystopian-humanitarian-city-plan-before-its-too-late/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/natos-5-pledge-an-obscene-betrayal-of-global-needs/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/natos-5-pledge-an-obscene-betrayal-of-global-needs/#respond Thu, 26 Jun 2025 15:56:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1285493 At this week’s NATO summit in The Hague, leaders announced an alarming new goal: push military spending to 5% of nations’ GDP by 2035. Framed as a response to rising global threats, particularly from Russia and terrorism, the declaration was hailed as a historic step. But in truth, it represents a major step backwards—away from addressing the urgent needs of people [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/natos-5-pledge-an-obscene-betrayal-of-global-needs/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/how-the-u-s-israel-used-rafael-grossi-to-hijack-the-iaea-and-start-a-war-on-iran/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/how-the-u-s-israel-used-rafael-grossi-to-hijack-the-iaea-and-start-a-war-on-iran/#respond Mon, 23 Jun 2025 12:59:32 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1285344 Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), allowed the IAEA to be used by the United States and Israel—an undeclared nuclear weapons state in long-term violation of IAEA rules—to manufacture a pretext for war on Iran, despite his agency’s own conclusion that Iran had no nuclear weapons program. On June 12th, [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/how-the-u-s-israel-used-rafael-grossi-to-hijack-the-iaea-and-start-a-war-on-iran/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/israels-strikes-on-iran-spark-growing-dissent-in-congress/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/israels-strikes-on-iran-spark-growing-dissent-in-congress/#respond Mon, 16 Jun 2025 15:33:57 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1285079 On Monday, June 16, Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) introduced legislation, a War Powers Resolution, to prevent President Trump from using military force against Iran without Congressional authorization. This will force all Senators to go on record supporting or opposing the following: “Congress hereby directs the President to terminate the use of United States Armed Forces for hostilities against [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/israels-strikes-on-iran-spark-growing-dissent-in-congress/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/dont-fund-the-gaza-humanitarian-foundation-its-a-genocidal-smokescreen/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/dont-fund-the-gaza-humanitarian-foundation-its-a-genocidal-smokescreen/#respond Sun, 08 Jun 2025 13:45:42 +0000 Recent reports say that US AID is considering giving $500 million to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF)—an “aid” initiative launched at Israel’s request. At first glance, that might sound like a generous effort to help desperate Palestinians in Gaza. But peel back even one layer, and you’ll find a deadly political scheme masquerading as humanitarian relief. This [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/dont-fund-the-gaza-humanitarian-foundation-its-a-genocidal-smokescreen/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/is-there-a-crack-in-western-support-for-genocide/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/is-there-a-crack-in-western-support-for-genocide/#respond Fri, 06 Jun 2025 15:53:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1284649 After twenty months of horror in Gaza, political rhetoric in Western countries is finally starting to shift—but will words translate into action? And what exactly can other countries do when the United States still shields Israel from efforts to enforce international law, as it did at the UN Security Council on June 5th? On May [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/is-there-a-crack-in-western-support-for-genocide/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/flotilla-coalition-ship-to-gaza-attacked-in-international-waters/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/flotilla-coalition-ship-to-gaza-attacked-in-international-waters/#respond Sat, 03 May 2025 15:54:41 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1283310  In the early hours of May 2, the quiet of night was shattered aboard the Conscience, a civilian vessel anchored in international waters, 17 kilometers off the coast of Malta. Aboard were 18 crew members and passengers, jolted from sleep by the sound of two explosions. Flames and smoke filled the air. The ship had just [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/flotilla-coalition-ship-to-gaza-attacked-in-international-waters/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/how-to-avoid-trade-wars-and-world-war-three/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/how-to-avoid-trade-wars-and-world-war-three/#respond Mon, 28 Apr 2025 15:40:41 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1283056 Not a day goes by without a new shock to Americans and our neighbors around the world from the Trump administration. On April 22nd, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) downgraded its forecasts for global growth in 2025, from 3.3% to 2.8%, and warned that no country will feel the pain more than the United States. [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/how-to-avoid-trade-wars-and-world-war-three/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/why-are-hands-off-rallies-supporting-nato/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/why-are-hands-off-rallies-supporting-nato/#respond Thu, 10 Apr 2025 15:53:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1282233 We are passionate supporters of all but one of the items on the Hands Off agenda for the April 5 rallies. We couldn’t agree more that the corrupt U.S. government should stop destroying, privatizing, firing, and giving away the post office, schools, land, Social Security, healthcare, environmental protections, and all sorts of essential public services. But we [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/why-are-hands-off-rallies-supporting-nato/feed/ 0