Libya-related chatter in the U.S. on Wednesday seemed to revolve around how the White House was going to wriggle away from stipulations of the War Powers Act — Swampland’s Jay Newton Small has the answer here. Evidently, the U.S. is acting in a “support” role, with no boots on the ground, and is “not engaged in any of the activities …
E.U.
Could Iran’s Defiance of Western Nuclear Demands be a Rational Choice?
Despite mounting pressure on Tehran to engage in substantial negotiations over its nuclear program, no serious analyst is expecting a diplomatic breakthrough any time soon. After all, the Iranian leadership continues to signal defiance despite sanctions pressure, and the ferocious power struggle currently underway within the Tehran …
Never Mind Political Risk, Who Can Afford a Syria Intervention?
There are many reasons why Western military action in Syria remains unlikely despite the Assad regime’s sustained brutality against its opponents, and the burgeoning refugee crisis along the Turkish border. For one thing, Western powers remain fearful of the consequences of toppling President Bashar al-Assad in what is fast evolving into …
Despite Modest Gains, Doubts Rise Over The Libyan Operation–And NATO’s Military Future
In what appears to a recurring paradox of the Libyan conflict, heartening news of advances by Libyan rebel forces aided by renewed NATO bombing strikes is being off-set by wider warnings from Western officials about the operation becoming an open-ended slog. As a result, even as reports from the ground now depict setbacks to loyalists of …
On Mideast Peace, Europeans Hold Obama to His Words
When it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, there’s sometimes a certain disconnect between what President Obama says and what he does. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has proven adept at widening that gap, and ensuring that he’s not pressured to meet Obama’s expectations. But America’s European allies appear …
Et Tu, Jacques? Chirac Backs Socialist Over Sarkozy For 2012 Presidential Election
It’s certainly not a kill shot, but the re-election hopes of French President Nicolas Sarkozy have taken another groan-eliciting body check—this time from Elysée predecessor Jacques Chirac, who said he’d vote for a leading Socialist rival François Hollande over his fellow conservative. However, given Chirac’s previous status as …
Power Play: How the Childish Behavior of Top Politicians Shapes the World
Democracy is an exercise in adulthood. We don’t want our elected leaders to style themselves, as despots so often do, the fathers of our nations, but we assume them to be responsible grown-ups, focused on carrying out the mandates we have granted them. It’s a nice idea. Unfortunately the more we find out about our political masters—and …
Orphaned By Front-Runner Strauss-Kahn’s Melt-Down, French Socialists Still Favored To Beat Sarkozy In 2012 Presidential Election
Much attention has understandably been focused around the world of late on the legal woes former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn faces in the U.S. Yet less has been directed to the question of how the fall of the man who had been the odds-on favorite to win the French presidential elections next year has affected …
A Separation of Church and State? Not in the UK, Mate
The British government has no mandate to pursue its austerity policies, according to Dr. Rowan Williams. Dr. Williams is not an opposition politicians or firebrand activist; he’s the Archbishop of Canterbury and primate of the Church of England. But in his capacity as guest-editor of the latest edition of the leftie magazine New …
Despite His Dire Legal Problems, Could DSK Return To Politics?
Please read the entire story before putting the vats of tar to boil and splitting the pillows for their feathery content.
My current piece on time.com isn’t making the argument that Dominique Strauss-Kahn should return to politics once his current legal battle is over (which at any rate, if things go badly for him, could be several, …
The Syrian Conflict: Confusion Central
The popular uprising against Syria’s brutal regime that appears to be evolving towards full-blown civil war is of course serious business—deadly serious, as the reported 1,110 lives claimed in nearly three months of clashes demonstrate. But it’s also become a major source of head scratching among international observers. Whether …
NATO Hopes to Pass the Buck in Libya, But May Not Be Able to Hand Off Responsibility
“We do not see a lead role for NATO in Libya once this crisis is over,” the organization’s Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Wednesday. “We see the United Nations playing a lead role in the post-Gaddafi, post-conflict scenario.” He urged the international body to begin planning to take charge of a transition in …
Jacques Chirac’s Presidential Memoir: A Sarkozy Smack-Down
So much for locking his lips and throwing away the key. Just four years after leaving the Elysée with a pledge to never, ever comment on his successor and erstwhile foe Nicolas Sarkozy, former French President Jacques Chirac is now dishing some less than flattering views on France’s current head of state—and only 11 months ahead of …