Foreign Policy Blogs

Regions

Details on Sudan Strike, Shalit, Alleged Assault on Arab MK

The Israeli army used unmanned aerial vehicles at least three times since January to disrupt the flow of Iranian weapons from Sudan to the Gaza Strip, according to recent reports. The additional details involving the strikes indicated that the weapons convoys carried missiles that could reach both Tel Aviv and Israel’s nuclear reactor in Dimona. […]

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NY Times: Arctic Op-Ed

Today’s edition of the New York Times features an editorial co-authored by Scott Borgeson and Caitlyn Antrim. Borgeson is a visiting fellow on ocean governance at the Council of Foreign Relations, while Antrim is the executive director of the Rule of Law Committee for the Oceans. The crux of their argument is this: Before the […]

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Olmert a Failure?

A new article from the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies essentially details how Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert failed in every initiative of his since taking office. Namely, the author blames Olmert for failing to handle Hamas, thereby permitting the terrorist group to act freely, without repercussions, in the Gaza Strip. Moreover, Olmert failed to […]

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Erakat Op-Ed in WaPo Today

Chief Palestinian Negotiator Saeb Erakat penned an op-ed for todays Washington Postdelineating steps towards the renewal of the peace process. He expresses concern regarding the upcoming Likud-led government in Israel, stating that the peace process reached a critical juncture putting a two state solution in jeopardy. His plan inlcudes: commitments by both sides to negotiations; […]

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Extremism risks killing Pakistani state, warns Obama

WASHINGTON: President Barak Obama on Friday announced a new strategy which seeks to triple US economic aid to Pakistan and promises 4,000 additional troops to train Afghan security forces. ‘Make no mistake: al Qaeda and its extremist allies are a cancer that risks killing Pakistan from within,’ he warned the Pakistani nation. ‘Al Qaeda offers […]

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Kazakh hunger strikers hospitalized; martial law a possibility?

The Kazakh Prime Minister has compared the economic situation to wartime and told his cabinet that the “government will be ruling the economy manually”. He warned that “wartime regulations” may be a necessary step. Obviously, this is a bad sign. Four of the sixteen laid-off oil workers who are on a hunger strike have been […]

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Could the € collapse?

Could the € collapse?

This Newsweek Article considers the stability of the Euro currency. There are 16 members of the Euro-zone since Slovakia adopted the currency as of 1st January 2009. As the article states, in the current instability many other countries are scrambling to join the currency.

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Russia to Give MiG-29s to Lebanon

The Russian Federation is giving ten of the  fighter jets to Lebanon as military aid. The Lebanese army is largely funded by the United States, so the gesture from Russia is a bit of a surprise, especially to Israel, Lebanon’s neighbor to the south. Lebanon also seems to be surprised by the offer. The United […]

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Suicide attack kills 48 at Pakistani mosque

PESHAWAR, Pakistan – A suicide bomber demolished a mosque packed with hundreds of worshippers attending Friday prayers close to the Afghan border, killing at least 48 people and injuring scores more, officials said. The attack in the Khyber region was the bloodiest in Pakistan this year and came hours before President Barack Obama was due […]

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Pakistani and Afghan Taliban Unify in Face of U.S. Influx

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — After agreeing to bury their differences and unite forces, Taliban leaders based in Pakistan have closed ranks with their Afghan comrades to ready a new offensive in Afghanistan as the United States prepares to send 17,000 more troops there this year. In interviews, several Taliban fighters based in the border region said […]

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NYTimes for MidEast Envoy?

A New York Times editorial questions Binyamin Netanyahu’s intention on pursuing a peace plan and lists ways of beginning to forge trust between Israel and the Palestinians. However, the piece does not address what Palestinians must do in return to work towards a peace process. The piece urges: we suggest that he start with freezing […]

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Likud-Labor Deal Complicates Both Parties

Due to the demands of coalition partners, Likud members will have very few ministerial portfolios in the coming government. Binyamin Netanyahu originally sought to give himself the Finance Minister along with Prime Minister post, but he may need to reconsider to appease his own party. Moreover, with Labor now in the coalition, many supporters of […]

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Obama briefs Zardari on new strategy

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama called President Asif Ali Zardari and his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai on Thursday to tell them Washington had completed a review of its new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, officials said. According to TV reports, President Zardari expressed concern over US drone attacks in Pakistan’s tribal areas and told President […]

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Pakistan, US coordinating drone attacks: WSJ

NEW YORK: US and Pakistani intelligence officials are drawing up a fresh list of terrorist targets for Predator drone strikes along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, part of a US review of the drone program, the Wall Street Journal said Thursday. Citing official sources the newspaper said Pakistani officials are seeking to broaden the scope of the […]

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China Taking Uncooperative Stance on G20, Climate Treaty Terms

The G20 Global Summit, which will take place in the UK in April, stands to be an important factor in determining China’s stance on climate change commitments as Copenhagen draws near. First, this meeting will provide the US and China a chance to meet behind the scenes, for the first time since Hillary Clinton visited […]

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