There are plenty of legitimate arguments as to why more sanctions on Iran should not be pushed- they will not work, they hurt ordinary people while strengthening the leaders etc.- but the argument that sanctions should not be pushed because Iran can retaliate by closing the Strait of Hormuz is not one of them. The […]
Clinton tried it, but failed miserably. Similarly Bush gave it a shot and was unable to get any results. Now it is Obama’s turn. But this time the U.S. administration is taking a different approach on the Israel- Palestine conflict. The Guardian reported that the Obama administration’s strategy is to use Iran as a bargaining […]
As the month of Ramadan starts, here is President Obama’s message to Muslims all around the world: [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/1R4KfYuDrvU” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]
Pakistan has a deep interest in seeing stable, peaceful democratic processes in Afghan elections this week. Islamabad’s insistence on allocating resources to uprooting domestic factions and maintaing troops along the Indian border rather than focusing directly on fighting terror in Afghanistan do not mean they are uncommitted to stability in Afghanistan. Rather, Pakistan is better equipped and rightfully focused on fighting domestic turmoil and given current Indo-Pak relations, must keep forces on the Indian border. Also, Pakistan has a profound interest in seeing their large refugee population repatriate to Afghanistan, which can only happen if elections are successful and lead to a more stable, democratic Afghanistan.
In his op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Mr. Alexander Benard urges the United States to “propose a conversation with Iran about human rights” instead of negotiating with Iran on its nuclear program. His reasoning is simple: Focusing on Iranian nuclear program will ignite patriotism in Iranian people and they will “in large part rally […]
Apparently never. The answer comes from applying the “rational actor” game theory to this question. Game theory is a branch of applied mathematics, often used in the social sciences, to study how people will behave in strategic situations– a situation in which an individual’s success in making decisions depends on the decisions of others (think […]
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.
Considering that in his last op-ed for the New York Times, Mr. Luttwak stated that the Muslim world will not accept Obama due to his “conversion to Christianity” (Muslim countries’ approval of U.S. leadership has increased under Obama’s presidency), it is no surprise that his op-ed published today in the Wall Street Journal on why […]
A newly disclosed document- answers to questions for the record submitted by the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to the Senate Intelligence Committee in April 2009 – has revealed that Iran is at least four years away from producing nuclear weapon and Iran has been secretly helping the Afghan insurgents including the Taliban. The Washington […]
President Ahmadinejad was sworn in for his second term by the country’s parliament today. Once again the ceremony had notable absentees. The New York Times reported that all but 13 of the 70 lawmakers forming a reformist bloc in Parliament were absent from the inauguration, and some of those who did attend walked out as […]
No explanation can at this moment adequately address the horrors carried out in Gojra Pakistan. But these horrors are newsworthy and have potential to serve as a lesson in uprooting such inhumanity. Rather than focusing squarely and vaguely on vast historical causation that might allow factions to commit these horrors, a closer look at the […]
Today the Washington Times reported that the United States is discreetly trying to stop Iraq from closing the Camp Ashraf, home to over 3,000 Mujahedeen-e Khalq (MEK) members. As discussed in my previous blog, MEK is regarded by both the Iranian and the U.S. government as a terrorist group. The group had been operating from […]
During her trip to Thailand, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has created quite a stir with her remarks on Iran. In her harshest words delivered against Iran yet, Clinton warned that the United States would take “crippling action” and work to “upgrade the defense of our partners in the region.” She warned Iran that […]
Memo to Obama Administration: Now would be a good time to re-hyphenate your India policy, less India-Pakistan more India-China. Rising Sino-Indian tensions are causing people, including this blogger, to wonder whether Obama has a plan to deal with a pivotal security challenge of the 21st Century: the management of Chinese ambitions and Indian anxieties. It […]