via LobeLog
by Robert E. Hunter
For three years, the Syrian civil war has continued unabated; and for three years, the so-called “international community” has achieved almost nothing — other than to head off the war’s escalation over the use of chemical weapons following President Barack Obama’s ill-considered drawing of a so-called red line [...]
via LobeLog
by Robert E. Hunter
Ariel Sharon, the former Defense and Prime Minister of Israel, who died last week, was one of the most controversial leaders in Israeli history. I met him several times, including when I was the White House representative on the US negotiating team for the West Bank/Gaza Autonomy talks [...]
via LobeLog
by Robert E. Hunter
The consensus in Washington is that President Barak Obama had a bad year in 2013. Indeed, the Washington Post selected him as the person who had the worst year. The problem with a “consensus,” of course, is that it is often wrong.
This column will not try [...]
by Robert E. Hunter
Since the conclusion of the Interim Agreement between Iran and 6 world powers in Geneva, Washington has taken pains to reassure friends and allies in the Persian Gulf that it will not be fooled by the Islamic Republic. Further, the US will continue to bolster both its own military deployments and [...]
via LobeLog
By Robert E. Hunter
The devil is in the details. This cliché is already being invoked regarding the deal concluded this past weekend between Iran and the so-called P5+1 – the permanent members of the UN Security Council, plus Germany, along with the European Union’s High Representative, Baroness Ashton.
Devil and details, [...]
via LobeLogby Robert E. Hunter
The CIA has just declassified a raft of documents related to President Jimmy Carter’s historic meeting at Camp David in September 1978, with Egypt’s President Anwar Sadat and Israel’s Menachem Begin. At least a cursory reading of the most salient documents does not reveal a lot that has not [...]
via LobeLog
by Robert E. Hunter
“Victory has a thousand fathers; defeat is an orphan” — John Kennedy’s pithy phrase also has its opposite. We have seen this since last weekend’s failed effort to reach an accord on nuclear matters between Iran and the so-called “P5+1”, the five permanent members of the UN Security [...]
via LobeLog
by Robert E. Hunter
The talks between Iran and the “P5+1” countries last week bring to mind Winston Churchill’s 1942 description of World War II: “It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”
via LobeLog
by Robert E. Hunter
Following the US-Russian agreement, the Syrian government’s chemical weapons must now be destroyed. To do this without putting UN employees at impossible risk, the Syrian civil war must also stop. To do that requires a plan by the Obama administration and others. To do that requires a realistic [...]
by Robert E. Hunter
“…my credibility is not on the line. The international community’s credibility is on the line.”
– President Barack Obama, Stockholm, September 4, 2013
President Obama and other US supporters of attacking Syria in response to its alleged use of chemical weapons have based much of their argument on the issue [...]
En Español
The Latest
From IPS News
- WHO Calls for More Data on Violence Against Older Women and Women With Disabilities
- Why Farmers in India and Pakistan Are Shifting to Natural or Regenerative Farming
- The Impact of Climate Change on a Biodiversity Hot Spot
- Revival of Hope: How a Remote Indian Village Overcame Water Scarcity
- Ahead of UN Summit of the Future, Mobilizing Youth for Change
- The Kids of the Islamic State: A Childhood Stolen
- The Gambia Must Not Repeal FGM Ban
- Global Governance: Time for Reform
- Abandoned Children Growing Problem in Northern Syria
- IMF Urges Non-alignment in Second Cold War
- Online fundraising for IPS Inter Press Service at Razoo