Senators Lindsey Graham and Robert Menendez introduced a joint resolution declaring U.S. support for Israel in the event of an Israeli military strike on Iran’s nuclear programme. “If the Senate moves forward with this [non-binding resolution,] they risk sending the signal to the Iranians that, no matter what was said at Almaty, the U.S. does not have its own house in order to make a deal and is not serious about resolving the nuclear dispute peacefully,” says Jamal Abdi, policy director of the National Iranian American Council.
The Forgotten Oscar: “Argo” for Best Propaganda
The lack of vision from Argo’s left-leaning director, Ben Affleck, is disappointing.
Latest Smoking Gun on Iran’s Nuclear Program Just Another Misfire
It makes little sense, Butt writes, to order ceramic magnets that are, as ISIS describes, “almost exactly” the right dimensions when ceramics are almost impossible to machine due to their brittle nature.
Emphasis Added: The Foreign Policy Week in Fragments
The U.S. military, “witch burning,” negotiations with Iran, among other affairs.
Iran’s Weak Emergency Infrastructure Would Only Compound Effects of an Attack
Instituting a nuclear-energy program with substandard emergency preparedness is like starting a war without medical staff and hospitals.
How Our Obsession With Iran Increases Chances of Nuclear War With Russia
As it stands now, a toxic byproduct of our obsession with Iran’s nuclear program is the increased chance of nuclear war with Russia and China.
It’s All About Israel
If former Defence Secretary-designate Sen. Chuck Hagel’s lacklustre performance at his confirmation hearing Thursday heartened neo-conservatives and other hawks opposed to his nomination, those who argued that the Israel lobby has been exerting too great an influence on U.S. foreign policy were ecstatic. In fact, the degree to which Israel and the threat posed to it by Iran dominated the hearing was somewhat understated: The full transcript revealed that Israel was brought up no less than 178 times, followed closely by Iran with 171 mentions.
The Dreams and Dilemmas of Iraqi Kurdistan
Today, Iraqi and Syrian Kurds enjoy unprecedented autonomy from Baghdad and Damascus, and the prospects of an independent Kurdish state are real. Despite the Kurds’ gains, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), led by President Massoud Barzani, finds its semi-autonomous state in northern Iraq at several geopolitical fault lines. Barzani must tread carefully in this volatile region to safeguard the Iraqi Kurds’ interests while pursuing independence from central Iraq.
Time for a Reckoning on Iran Sanctions
With President Obama’s nomination of Chuck Hagel for secretary of defense, U.S.-Iranian relations have been thrust back into the news cycle. This is a good thing. The debates surrounding Obama’s cabinet nominations offer a welcome opportunity for the public—and the administration—to review the failing U.S. policy toward Iran.
Iran’s Survival Strategy
The extent and depth of Western sanctions on Iran reveal that they are geared toward inflicting economic hardships on ordinary Iranians in the hope of inciting public discontent and possible revolts. But whether these crippling sanctions will meet their ostensible political goal of changing Iran’s nuclear posture is a different story.