Skepticism by Syrian opposition groups and their foreign supporters over the Kofi Annan peace plan ostensibly accepted by President Bashar al-Assad is hardly surprising: The plan specifies no timetable or sequence for its …
iran
As Assad ‘Accepts’ Peace Plan, Can Syria Reset its Rebellion?
Three sets of meetings in different capitals on Tuesday offer a bleak reminder that Syria’s uprising against President Bashar al-Assad faces something of a do-over. Syrian opposition figures are gathered in Istanbul at the behest …
Is Netanyahu Dreaming in Cuban on Iran?
President Barack Obama, speaking Saturday in Turkey on the Iran nuclear standoff, reiterated his belief that “there is a window of time to solve this diplomatically, but that window is closing.” That may be a rhetorical device …
Five Tips for President Obama on Nuclear Negotiations with Iran
Trita Parsi, author of “A Single Roll of the Dice: Obama’s Diplomacy with Iran,” offers the President some advice based on what went wrong last time
The State Visit That Isn’t: Is the U.S. Dissing Brazil’s Dilma On the Eve of Her Trip?
In the often Sisyphean exercise known as U.S.-Latin American relations, old habits die hard on both sides. Even the Obama Administration, which came to power pledging a less high-handed hemispheric policy, snubbed Brazil this …
Netanyahu Makes the Case for Going It Alone Against Iran
By his own account, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went to Washington this month with two goals.
One Year Into Syria’s Bloody Rebellion, the Assads Are Eating Fondue and Watching Harry Potter
Which Hogwarts house does President Bashar al-Assad identify with when he curls up on the couch with his wife to watch Harry Potter and the Death Hallows Part II? And when he emails her the lyrics from country-and-western crooner …
Egypt Brokers a Gaza Ceasefire
After more than 170 rockets fired by Palestinian militants into Israel, and 37 attacks by the Israeli military into the Gaza Strip, the latest round of warfare appeared to end on Tuesday, as both sides honored a cease-fire …
Diplomacy With Iran: Hey, What’s the Hurry?
Such is the chasm between Washington and Tehran that last week’s comments by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatullah Ali Khamenei on President Barack Obama’s recent speech verged on geopolitical flirting: “We heard two days ago that the …
‘Iron Dome’ Protects Israel From Gaza’s Missiles: Will That Embolden it to Strike Iran?
Another round of fighting broke out over the weekend between Israel and militants in the Gaza Strip. It was the usual thing, only more so: Until Sunday morning, only militants were reported killed on the Palestinian side. And …
As Kofi Annan Arrives to Mediate, Syria’s Assad Regime is Far From Beaten
The defection of Syria’s deputy oil minister to the country’s year-old rebellion briefly captured headlines on Thursday, hailed in the West as a hopeful sign that the regime of President Bashar al-Assad may be starting to …
Bibi’s Domestic Constituency: Why Netanyahu Knows for Whom He Speaks
It’s not all about personality, the famous difficulty between Barack Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu. They are indeed very different people, and by all accounts far from friends. But the Iranian nuclear dilemma would guarantee …
Netanyahu Signals Determination on Iran, but War Will Have to Wait
Had he been speaking Hebrew in a dramatic TV broadcast back home, parts of Benjamin Netanyahu’s fire-and-brimstone speech on Monday night might have been mistaken for the words of an Israeli Prime Minister about to launch a …