Analysis & Commentary
‘Divide’ and Conquer?
If Paul Revere were alive today, he'd have his midnight work cut out for him. Most likely he'd be spreading the alarm not on horseback, but by Internet: The U.N. is coming! The U.N. is coming!
‘Never Say Never’; The Ukrainian Revolution and the Renaissance of Democracy
Orange, rose, yellow. These are the colors not just of sunrise, but of a few of the many "people power" revolutions that over the past generation have been by increments changing the world. Yellow was the Philippines in 1986. Rose was the former Soviet republic of Georgia last year. Now we see an exuberant orange in Ukraine, where despite election fraud, poisoning and the displeasure of the Kremlin, democratic candidate Viktor Yushchenko looks poised to win a revote Dec. 26.
A Blow to Obama’s Russia ‘Reset’
Last week's International Atomic Energy Agency report on Iranian nuclear activities has understandably ruffled feathers in American and European foreign-policy circles.
A Creeping Coup’: Is Russia Heading Back to the USSR?
When the Soviet Union collapsed, most Russians looked forward to joining the Free World as quickly as possible. Having been a student and a reporter in the USSR, I soon found myself attending conferences with enthusiastic Russian reformers. At one point, I complimented my colleagues on having chosen a difficult path. I noted that in any library there were dozens of scholarly books on the transition from capitalism to socialism.
A Proper Welcome
To: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President Islamic Republic of Iran Tehran
A Real Syria Policy, Anyone?
Russia and China’s October 4 veto of a U.N. -Security Council resolution on Syria elicited a strong response from U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice.
A Russian Ruse
On March 3, Hamas envoys will arrive in Moscow. Their Russian hosts have prepared a banquet fit for a sultan. Gifts will be abundant. Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has offered to provide Hamas with foreign aid. There may even be shipments of everything from guns to helicopters. Moscow's position undercuts the strategy of U.S., European, and Israeli officials who had hoped that isolation would encourage moderation.
Advise, Don’t Consent
President Obama is writing to the wrong people, and those wrong people are hopelessly confused about his power and their own. This is how bad agreements are born.
After START
National security hawks lost a battle last week when 71 members of the Senate -- not all of them Democrats -- voted to ratify New START. The treaty limits America’s non-nuclear long-range weapons. Its verification provisions are not as rigorous as those negotiated in the 1991 START treaty. And, perhaps most troubling, the Russians have made clear that they view the agreement as limiting America’s deployment of a comprehensive system of defenses against missile attacks.
Americans Increasingly Link Iran, Syria, and Saudi Arabia to Terrorism
A growing number of Americans believe that Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia are supporting terrorism, according to a poll conducted by ARNSI (the Alliance for Research on National Security Issues).
Among the Believers
Nearly ten years after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, many politicians, diplomats, journalists and academics remain reluctant even to name America’s enemies. To take but one example: John Brennan, head of the White House homeland security office, has argued that America is only “at war with al Qaeda” and its closest affiliates.
Assad Finds His Margin to Maneuver
One of the more curious things about Bashar al-Assad’s latest rambling speech on Tuesday was his aggressive and typically condescending attack against his Gulf Arab foes.
Ataturk, the Arab Spring and Europe’s Fall
If I asked you to name the important events of the early 20th century, you’d probably mention the start of World War I in 1914, the Russian Revolution in 1917, the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, the stock market crash in 1929, and Hitler becoming Chancellor of Germany in 1933.
Autocracies United
Diplomacy is not a science but sometimes diplomatic theories can be tested. As a presidential candidate, Barrack Obama hypothesized that relations with both Iran and Russia could be much improved.
Bordering On Tyranny
Set on the northern bank of the muddy Tumen River, this Chinese border town has one of the saddest backdrops in the world.
Byline
Canada’s sanctions against Iran and Chinese and Russian resitance to sanctions.
Claudia Rosett Wins Breindel Award
The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies congratulates FDD Journalist-in-Residence Claudia Rosett, for receiving the seventh annual Eric Breindel Award for Excellence in Journalism for her groundbreaking work exposing the UN Oil-for-Food scandal.
Countering the Growing Airborne Threat
President Obama has made it clear that “resetting” relations with Russia and eliminating the planet’s nuclear weapons are two of his top national security priorities. Toward these ends, the president this month hosted an international nuclear summit, signed the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) and went public with the Nuclear Posture Review (NPR). Now Congress is carefully considering the results.
Crane Durham’s Nothing But Truth
Russia's involvement in Syria, US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, and Iran's nuclear strategy.
Damascus via Moscow
Despite its admission that the UN-backed Kofi Annan plan in Syria was failing, the Obama administration appears to have settled into the plan’s process. The administration’s backing of the plan has brought US policy back to where it was last fall.
