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 [...]
via LobeLog
by Mitchell Plitnick
If John Kerry wants to find a silver lining in the heavy criticism US foreign policy has faced due to the events in both Egypt and Syria, he might find it in, of all places, the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
via LobeLog
by Mitchell Plitnick
Some days, it must be really difficult to be the State Department’s spokesperson. It doesn’t seem like a bad job to have at all, but on certain questions it’s impossible to not look like an idiot. A lot of those questions are connected to de facto policies which differ [...]
via LobeLog
by Emile Nakhleh
The recently restarted talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) are the only peaceful political activity amidst on-going violence in Syria, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Egypt, Bahrain and elsewhere in the Arab world.
Neither Secretary of State John Kerry nor Ambassador Martin Indyk are Pollyannaish about the prospects [...]
via LobeLog
by Marsha B. Cohen
Last week marked the 68th anniversary of the WWII destruction of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima (Aug. 6) and Nagasaki (Aug. 9) — the first and only deployment of nuclear weapons in human history. Within moments of the nuclear explosions that destroyed these cities, at least 200,000 people [...]
via LobeLog
by Mitchell Plitnick
It’s time to ask some tough questions about US policy regarding Egypt. The most pressing being what that policy is, exactly?
I agreed with the easily assailable decision by the Obama administration to refrain from labelling the ouster of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi a coup. It still [...]
via LobeLog
by Robert E. Hunter
For Secretary of State John Kerry, the good news this past week is that he has finally got Israel and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to agree to talk directly about peace. The bad news is that Kerry now has the thankless task of delivering the [...]
via LobeLog
by Mitchell Plitnick
I’m always pleased when something surprises me in the realm of Israeli-Palestinian diplomacy. It doesn’t happen often. Today’s announcement that Secretary of State John Kerry has apparently succeeded at bringing Israel and the Palestinian Authority back to the table was one such surprise.
The announcement [...]
by Mitchell Plitnick
via IPS News
The Oslo peace process has failed and Europe must take stronger leadership in the Middle East, according to a distinguished group of former European leaders that is pushing for a stronger and more independent European stance on the Israeli occupation.
And some United States analysts believe the [...]
via Lobe Log
by Mitchell Plitnick
Who is John Kerry trying to fool?
His repeated trips to the Middle East have produced no change in the status quo and prevented neither the resignation of the US’ golden boy in Palestine, Salam Fayyad, nor Turkish Prime Minister Trecip Erdogan’s planned visit to Gaza. But he [...]
En Español
The Latest
From IPS News
- Media Freedom Declining Across Europe, With Implications for Rule of Law
- UN Secretary-General’s message for World Press Freedom Day
- Disinformation in the Super Election Year
- Rainy Chiloé, in Southern Chile, Faces Drinking Water Crisis
- We Should Aim to be at Peace with Nature, Says David Cooper of UN Convention on Biological Diversity
- How Israel Has Used US Weapons to Commit War Crimes
- Press Freedom and Climate Journalism: United in Crisis
- World Press Freedom Day 2024
- Gaza Journalist Describes 33 Harrowing Days in Israeli Custody
- The Tragic Death of Palestinian Journalists
- Online fundraising for IPS Inter Press Service at Razoo