During his first year in office, President George W. Bush was confronted by the key strategic challenge facing the United States in the new century, in an incident that began with the diversion of a U.S. aircraft — by Chinese fighter planes, which forced a U.S. Navy spy plane to land on the island of Hainan after a collision that …
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Turkey Crisis: Unconditional U.S. Backing Has Helped Israel to Isolate Itself
Israel’s fallout with long-time ally Turkey is no isolated spat that will be repaired any time soon; it’s a dramatic illustration that no amount of U.S. backing can prevent the growing international isolation resulting from Israel’s handling of the Palestinian issue. Indeed, the unconditional nature of Washington’s backing may, in …
China Alleged to Have Offered Arms to Gaddafi
Allegations that state-controlled Chinese arms manufacturers offered weapons to the Gaddafi regime as recently as July will likely harm efforts by Beijing to develop ties with a new government in Libya. Documents describing the proposed sales were found by a Graeme Smith, a reporter with the Toronto-based Globe and Mail, in a trash pile …
Looking to Invest? How About China’s New Frontier?
Looking for a place to invest in China? How about Xinjiang, or the “New Frontier,” as the northwestern autonomous region is known in Mandarin? Home to the Uighur people—a Turkic group that briefly helmed two self-proclaimed republics called East Turkestan in the 1930s and ‘40s—Xinjiang seethes with resentment toward the …
Israel and Turkey revive hostilities over the UN flotilla report
Well that ended well, didn’t it?
Fifteen months after Israeli commandos clashed with Turkish activists on the high seas, leaving nine civilians dead and Israel’s public image in further tatters, the United Nations report on what was popularly known as the Flotilla Fiasco has emerged. The Palmer Report, named for the former New …
Paris Conference On Libya’s Future Opens In Optimism (And Opportunism)
Though their military operation to defeat forces loyal to Col. Muammar Gaddafi is not quite over, Libya’s opposition leaders sealed their political and diplomatic victory in Paris Thursday during the international conference to map plans on Libya’s post-war economic and political reconstruction. Heading into the meeting of …
In Israel, a U.S. candidate for president keeps it simple
By his own account, one of the knocks on Herman Cain as a candidate for president is his lack of foreign policy experience. He has succeeded in the business world, running Godfather’s Pizza, and hosts an Atlanta radio talk show. But his current trip to Israel is his first, and at a breakfast with reporters on Sunday, the Republican …
De-escalation Easier Said than Done in Gaza, As Each Side Picks Its Spots
It’s a peculiar cease-fire that sees 20 missiles and mortars launched in a single night, but that’s the kind of cease-fire in effect in the Gaza Strip, despite the professed efforts of the two major players, Israel and Hamas, to draw down hostilities. Neither side may want to see the conflict spiral into full-on battle, with Israeli …
Despite Rebel Surge, Gaddafi’s Vindictive Resolve Endures
No one thought Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and his hard-core supporters would go away easily, and more than 48 hours after rebel forces stormed the capital of Tripoli, that determination to dig in was still evident. But if few observers believe Gaddafi’s renewed efforts to prove his regime remains a force to reckon with can turn …
Looming End of Gaddafi Regime Brings New Challenges
If the dramatic advances in recent days that have taken opponents of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi toward — then into — Tripoli have thus far elicited only the most careful responses from tight-lipped Western leaders, there’s a good chance those officials are showing more emotion over the conflict, which is apparently nearing …
What Will Happen When the Palestinians Go to the U.N.?
The Palestinian Authority has set the date: Sept. 20, a Tuesday, is the day it will ask the United Nations for membership. As for what comes the day after, well, that’s a good deal less clear, and efforts to read the murk betray only intentions.
An Israeli legal expert predicts chaos.
“There are huge legal consequences of …
Could French Doubts On Afghanistan Influence Future Foreign Policy?
It may wind up proving to be nothing more than mere politics, but if the re-thinking now being expressed by French Socialists about the country’s engagement in Afghanistan is in earnest, it could have some serious consequences for the military operations Paris is already involved in—and any more than might be looming.
On …
As the World Protests, Syria’s Isolated Regime Sticks to Its Guns
The embattled regime of Bashar Assad is losing foreign friends fast, but not the will to punish its enemies at home. The Syrian government has been circling the wagons, making hollow promises for reform while keeping up a sustained, brutal campaign against the country’s opposition. According to some counts, over 2,000 people have …