The recent U.S. veto of a UN Security Council resolution denouncing Israel’s settlement policy is a tragicomic way for the Obama administration to abandon its claim to global leadership. But that is what Ambassador Susan Rice’s “nay” vote on February 18 signifies. The battle for a rational foreign policy in Washington has been over for some time. This veto represents surrender.
By allowing Iranian ships through the Suez Canal and refusing to continue to help strangle Gaza, Egyptians are simply opting out of a U.S. regional strategy of confronting Iran.
Home to the region’s biggest economies, largest middle classes, and most educated populations, Iran and Turkey represent vibrant societies with huge reservoir of both soft and hard power. Growing cooperation between the two may signal the opening of a new chapter in the Middle Eastern affairs.
Like “wipe Israel off the map,” “another Chernobyl” is pushing buttons for an attack on Iran.
From carving up Switzerland to initiating a multilateral pirate peace process, Gaddafi doesn’t lack for opinions.
This escalating rhetoric of military intervention from pundits and the administration toward Libya is not surprising. Libya has oil, and the West needs it. But we should not repeat the mistake of Iraq. The United States – or Europe – should not send troops to Libya except as part of a UN peacekeeping mission.
The political revolts in the Middle East, which have produced the overthrow of Ben Ali in Tunisia and the resignation of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, have also generated a flawed debate about the region. In this discourse repeated ad nauseum in the mainstream press and the policy world, the United States has to balance its views on democracy promotion and stability in the Middle East.
Despite pointing the way to nonviolent revolution, Gene Sharp was once viciously attacked by the left.
The Mubarak dictatorship is over! The military dictatorship lives on! The events in Tunisia and Egypt make it clear that change is coming to the Arab world. But is this change we can believe in? Unfortunately, it is increasingly evident that, although the demonstrators have won some concessions, authoritarianism remains in place.
Protesters in Martyr’s Square chanted “yesterday Egypt, today Algeria” during demonstrations in the Algerian capital Algiers on February 12. The Algerian government’s response to the protesters was reminiscent of Egypt’s ex-President Hosni Mubarak during the last five days of the 18-day protest in Cairo. Armed riot police and pro-government thugs attacked pro-democracy protesters to provoke violent clashes. The same aggressive approach to the protesters was seen again on February 19 when military-style armored police vehicles deployed throughout Algiers to prevent the protests from even forming.