Articles by James Petras

The strong Zionist lobby in the United States and Israel supporters in Britain and France continue to talk of hostilities against Iran despite the National Intelligence Estimate report on the non-existence of an Iranian nuclear weapons programme. The Zionist-neoconservative combine is bent upon war against Iran to establish Israeli hegemony in west Asia and to control natural resources in the region.

In no way has the Evo Morales-Garcia Linera regime in Bolivia attempted a radical break with capitalism; at best, it represents an attempt to "moralise" existing capitalist elites. Morales is rhetorically anti-imperialist, while in practice the economy is dependent on the multinational corporations and on aid from both Europe and the United States.

The politics of US, British and Israeli militarism has been at the expense of the civilian economy. Bush, Blair and their civilian-militarist advisors are resorting to phoney bomb plots and frame-up trials to distract the public from their costly and failed policies and tighten political control.

Despite the significant differences in west Asia, both the European Union and the United States still find room to cooperate in imposing spheres of joint influence on several countries and regions, namely, in Afghanistan, Haiti and Africa. Cooperation and conflict between the great imperial powers in redividing the world into spheres of colonisation, domination and influence are the key to understanding the meaning of war in the late 20th century and in the new millennium.

A theoretical and analytical framework for understanding the peculiarities of US empire-building in the new millennium, particularly the current US administration's big push in the year following 9/11, and a discussion of the new themes, policies and strategic goals enunciated and their application to specific regions of the world.