US-Backed Maliki Gov’t is Driving Iraq Into Civil War
August 15, 2013
Following up on Kelley Vlahos’s brilliant post about the ongoing failure of the U.S.’s vaunted surge in Iraq, an important question arises as to why Iraq remains on the verge of civil war. It is not, as many seem to think, for mysterious and complex reasons that are too difficult to figure out much less […]
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Egypt: Paging Samantha Power!
August 15, 2013
Think back a couple weeks and recall the political narratives accompanying Obama’s pick for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, the journalist and Harvard scholar at the forefront of the debate over humanitarian interventions for the past decade. Foreign Policy’s John Hudson described Power’s “staunch advocacy of U.S. intervention on moral grounds.” Max […]
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Leave Egypt Alone
August 14, 2013
Marc Lynch at Foreign Policy: With blood in Egypt’s streets and a return to a state of emergency, it’s time for Washington to stop pretending. Its efforts to maintain its lines of communication with the Egyptian military, quietly mediate the crisis, and help lay the groundwork for some new, democratic political process have utterly failed. […]
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Iraq: This is what it looks like when you rip off the Band Aid
August 13, 2013
As of July 1st, there have been 1,405 people killed in Iraq, mostly civilians. That number is likely to change by the time you read this — just yesterday, 45 people died as a result of numerous terror attacks across the country. One bomb had been planted near a cafe, another by a playground. According […]
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On Iran Negotiations, US is Untrustworthy
August 13, 2013
In a new report, the International Crisis Group suggests the election of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani does present a potential diplomatic opening, and that the U.S. should organize direct bilateral engagement with Iran (as opposed to the hollow P5+1). “Now is not the time to ramp up sanctions against Iran,” ICG adds. The report’s recommendations will […]
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Obama’s Gratuitous Support, And Silence, For Bahrain’s Brutal Crackdown
August 13, 2013
Massive protests are planned for tomorrow, August 14, in Bahrain. The dictator and king of Bahrain, also a close friend and ally of the United States, issued this warning ahead of the planned demonstrations: “The government will forcefully confront suspect calls to violate law and order and those who stand behind them through decisive measures.” You […]
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Obama’s Confused Syria Policy: Pro/Anti-Assad & Pro/Anti-Rebel
August 13, 2013
Obama’s Syria policy is fundamentally one of contradictions. Back in 2011, the president called for Bashar al-Assad to step down and proceeded to gradually support the armed rebellion. As Joshua Landis, professor at the University of Oklahoma and an expert on Syria, wrote back at the time, “Let’s be clear: Washington is pursuing regime change by civil […]
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Judge Napolitano on NSA Spying on Americans
August 13, 2013
Judge Andrew Napolitano appeared on Fox Business to discuss the latest revelations about NSA spying on Americans. Watch the latest video at video.foxbusiness.com
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Settlement Announcements Shows Israel Isn’t Interested in Negotiations
August 12, 2013
Seconds before the bell rings in a professional boxing match, the two contenders meet in the center of the ring and touch gloves. Imagine what would happen if one of them used that brief opportunity of goodwill to headbutt the other. Everyone would call foul and the referee would stop the fight, possibly penalizing the […]
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Memo from Oslo: If Peace Is Prized, a Nobel for Bradley Manning
August 12, 2013
The headquarters of the Nobel Committee is in downtown Oslo on a street named after Henrik Ibsen, whose play "An Enemy of the People" has remained as current as dawn light falling on the Nobel building and then, hours later, on a Fort Meade courtroom where Bradley Manning’s trial enters a new stage – defense […]
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