via LobeLog
by Robert E. Hunter
Over the last century, July 20 was more than once a consequential date, for good and ill. The ill was in 1944: the unsuccessful plot to kill Adolph Hitler. The good was in 1969: the first manned landing on the moon. Success on the former July 20 might [...]
via LobeLog
by Robert E. Hunter
What do we, the United States, need — as opposed to want — in the Middle East?
It’s no secret that the region is in a mess. But as Hamlet could have said about US responsibilities: “O cursed spite, that ever I was born to set it right.”
[...]
by Robert E. Hunter
With bilateral US-Iran talks taking place in Geneva today, notably topped for the US by Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns, who led earlier secret exchanges, negotiations between Iran and world powers might be entering their final phase — or not.
Such is the nature of difficult negotiations, involving countries that, in [...]
via LobeLog
by Robert E. Hunter
Even the most serious issues can have lighter — not to say ludicrous — moments. Such is the case of Ambassador Hamid Aboutalebi, the man whom the Iranian government designated as its Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York. The US State Department objected (rightly) on the grounds [...]
via LobeLog
by Robert E. Hunter
Viewed from the aerie of the Oval Office, US policy in the Middle East is much more pluses than minuses, and there is much to commend that view. President Barack Obama has successfully navigated the Ship of State past the Scylla and Charybdis of Iraq and Afghanistan. He [...]
via LobeLog
by Robert E. Hunter
Almost from the day the Cold War ended, pundits, professors, and professionals alike have been wondering Quo Vadis? for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). This has happened despite the facts that NATO (at times also with what is now the European Union) has stopped two [...]
via LobeLog
by Robert E. Hunter
When President Barack Obama meets Wednesday with the new Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk there are many things he must say regarding the crisis over Crimea. First is to reinforce some basic principles: that Ukraine’s sovereignty must be respected by everyone; that borders in Europe cannot [...]
via LobeLog
by Robert E. Hunter
What did the guy say? Truth is the first casualty in war. And that other guy? “If you don’t learn from history…” Both bromides apply to what is happening with regard to Ukraine, as US government officials (other than Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, the one calm voice) [...]
via LobeLog
by Robert E. Hunter
With the collapse of the latest round of negotiations over Syria’s future, the tragedy of its people — of all ethnic and religious backgrounds — continues into its third year. Military forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad are doing better than was expected a few months ago. The [...]
via LobeLog
by Robert E. Hunter
Accidents happen, even to seasoned US diplomats. In this case, the Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia was caught in a highly sensitive conversation on Ukraine’s future with the US ambassador in Kiev. Not much out of the ordinary in their talk, conducted in diplo-speech, except [...]
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