A serious trust has been breached on two levels. First, by WikiLeaks so that nary a foreign contact will wish ever to speak, or at least speak with candor, to even the lowliest Foreign Service personnel. But second, also by the notion, and the threat to life and limb, that we use our Foreign Service personnel as low-cost spies.
U.S. foreign policy is in the news today with the release by Wikileaks of secret diplomatic cables. As a blogger for the Foreign Policy Association, foreign policy is naturally something that I take seriously and I’m really amazed and stunned at this malicious attack on American foreign policy. You know, when I first heard about […]
This week, Iran will officially have a fully functional nuclear power plant (with the help of Russia) in Bushehr (a city on the southwestern coast of Iran) that will connect to the country’s grid by November at the latest. There have been mixed international reactions since nuclear engineers began to fuel the power station. Last […]
This is “Upgrade Your Electric” week for the Obama Administration. First, the President announced a $3.4 billion upgrade for the US electric power grid. Then yesterday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced that the State Department had decided to help Pakistan upgrade its electricity to prevent the frequent outages. These electricity problems, according to the […]
My last blog examined the public opinion in Iran, looking at how the Iranians felt about their nuclear program and their perception about the United States. Continuing with the theme of deciphering public opinion, this blog will examine the American public’s viewpoint. The Pew Center for the People and the Press has released a survey […]
Yesterday was a very historical day as the Iranian delegation met with the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, China and Russia in Geneva. It is a little too soon to judge the efficacy of these talks, but there has been some positive news. As the New York Times reported, Iran has agreed to […]
Tomorrow Obama administration’s essay at diplomacy with Iran will take place. While some are applauding this move as a new era in the Iran- U.S. relationship, the Wall Street Journal is reminding people that this is not the first time the United States has reached across to negotiate with Iran. In his Op-ed, We’ve Been […]
[kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/URFn9IdecLY” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /] Last week ended on a huge Iran shocker: discovery of a new enrichment plant near the city of Qom. This week is also starting with a bang: Iran has tested two long-range missiles which defense analysts say are capable of hitting Israel or US bases in the Gulf region. […]
Since Iran is such a vibrant country and is constantly in the news, there are plenty of news and analyses that I read while researching my blog but am unable to write about. So here is my first installment of stories about Iran that “slip through the cracks” (yes- I am quoting Lewis Black from […]
Mark your calendars. October 1st is the date when Iran and the five UN Security Council members plus Germany will hold talks about the Iranian nuclear program. The State Department spokesman Ian Kelly announced yesterday that Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns – who was also at the Geneva talks – would […]
Understanding U.S. Foreign Policy in the context of the nation’s changing demographic landscape, and a discussion of ‘Why Africa Matters’ by the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan E. Rice, outlined the administration’s purpose and goal in the speech that was delivered later in the day at NYU’s Center for Global Affairs, and has been termed by the Administration a ‘New Era of Engagement’ with the world.
The UACES: Exchanging ideas on Europe blog has an excellent post by Michael Siebert of the German Embassy in London (this came to my attention through John Brown’s blog on public diplomacy – a must read for anyone interested in PD). John quotes this part of Siebert’s post: “As a member of the Political Department of […]
A meeting between Pakistani Prime Minister Gilani and Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh at the Non-Aligned Summit (NAM) resumed cooperative talks since they had stalled after the Mumbai atrocities. The summit marked a breakthrough in Indian-Pakistani relations when both sides decided to bracket issues of terrorism from future peace talks, by signing an agreement that identifies […]