The spectacle of some of the most powerful leaders in the world gathering at Camp David on Friday for the G-8 summit and then for this weekend’s NATO anniversary in Chicago won’t disguise the fact that things seem to be gradually …
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Must-Reads from Around the World, May 17, 2012
Suspicious Minds – Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reveals that elderly Communist Party members in the Chinese province of Yunnan have been questioned after they penned a letter calling for the sacking of Zhou Yongkang, the country’s top security official, amid rumors of continued infighting following the downfall of Bo Xilai. …
Political Pressure Mounts Ahead of Iran Nuclear Talks
Iranian diplomat Ali Bagheri is reportedly now huddled with his EU counterpart Helga Schmid at an undisclosed location, shaping the agenda for the next round nuclear negotiations that are now barely a week away. Sequestering the …
Israel Sets Tough Demands for Next Round of Iran Talks
During a visit to Israel on Wednesday, Catherine Ashton, the European diplomat leading nuclear negotiations with Iran, got a reminder of the enormity of the challenge she faces. Ashton met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu …
Can India Balance Its Ties with the U.S. and Iran?
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton used her visit to Kolkata and New Delhi this week to urge India to up its efforts in reducing oil imports from Iran. In remarks made in Kolkata, Clinton commended the cuts India has made in …
Netanyahu’s Election Flip-Flop: Is He Sounding a Warning on Iran?
So entrenched is the dominance of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israeli politics that he can afford to use the parliamentary process for political theater — that’s the lesson of Israel’s on-again, off-again election. On …
Why Israeli Challenges to Netanyahu on Iran May Help Obama’s Nuclear Diplomacy
The steady torrent of criticism of Benjamin Netanyahu’s Iran rhetoric by some of the most senior figures in Israel’s security establishment may be causing consternation within the Prime Minister’s office, but it’s not necessarily …
Power Struggles in Baghdad and Beyond Mean Opportunities for Iraq’s Kurds
The thriving Kurdish mini-state in northern Iraq is a monument to the ability of the nationalist Kurdish-Iraqi leadership to parlay the conflict between more powerful geopolitical forces around them to maximum advantage. And the …
How France’s Presidential Runoff Could Shape Iran Diplomacy
French President Nicolas Sarkozy may have once been caught in an unguarded moment telling President Barack Obama he couldn’t stand Benjamin Netanyahu and branding the Israeli leader “a liar,” but Netanyahu would nonetheless lose …
For Israel, the Problem with Iran Diplomacy Is the Prospect of Nuclear Compromise
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu amplified his skepticism of President Obama’s Iran strategy on Wednesday, when he used a Holocaust remembrance speech to warn that Iran was building nuclear weapons in order to destroy …
Must-Reads from Around the World: April 18, 2012
Clutching at Straw – With former British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw now being accused of complicity in the rendition and alleged torture of Libyan dissident Abdel Hakim Belhadj, The Week investigates why MI6 agents have let …
Iran Nuclear Talks: Hitting the ‘Snooze’ Button on the Alarm Clock of Confrontation
Staying within the “clock is ticking” metaphor favored by the Obama Administration when discussing diplomacy with Iran, Saturday’s talks in Istanbul could be said to have hit the snooze button. The doomsday alarm could yet sound, …
Iran Talks: Amid Ticking Clocks and Closing Windows, What Would Success Look Like?
The clock is ticking and the window is closing for a diplomatic solution to the Iran nuclear standoff, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Saturday, ahead of talks scheduled for April 13 in Istanbul. “We are determined to …