Uncategorized Archives - Page 94 of 279

A New U.S. Relationship with Libya?

by John Feffer, Ronald Bruce St John | Mar 27, 2009

Following decades of conflict, Libya and the United States took major steps to improve their bilateral relationship in the closing months of the Bush administration. In September 2008, Condoleezza Rice visited Libya, the first secretary of State to do so since John Foster Dulles in 1953. In November, two weeks after Libya contributed $1.5 billion to a newly created Humanitarian Settlement Fund intended to resolve outstanding lawsuits by American victims of Libyan terrorism, President George W. Bush telephoned the Libyan leader, Muammar al-Qaddafi, and voiced his satisfaction with the settlement. In December 2008, Gene A. Cretz took up his position as U.S. ambassador to Libya, the first since 1972.

Trouble in Paradise

by John Feffer, Laura Norton | Mar 26, 2009

Madagascar, a tourist paradise of beaches and exotic animals, is home to one of the most uninterrupted cycles of coups and crises in Africa.

Democracy hasn’t settled easily on the world’s fourth largest island. Like so many other African nations still struggling still with their colonial past, Madagascar was left by France in 1960 ill-equipped for free and fair elections. It experienced political upheaval for much of the post-colonial period. In 2002, the United States recognized the current president — the country’s sixth — after he grabbed power in a coup that left dozens of Malagasy dead. That coup, and the creation of Marc Ravalomanana’s government, was the fifth political crisis to successfully unseat a president in 30 years.

On January 26, this cycle of political upheaval began again. Andry Rajoelina, the ousted mayor of the capital city, accused Ravalomanana of leading a dictatorship. Soon after that came protests, marches, and bloodshed. On March 17, days after Rajoelina burst into the unoccupied presidential palace with gunshots and mortar fire, Ravalomanana handed power over to the military.

On Trial 60 Years Later

by John Feffer | Mar 26, 2009

The deliberations that took place in Tokyo after World War II, which led to 25 guilty verdicts and the execution of seven Japanese, helped shape the international law around war crimes.

The Budget’s Foreign Policy Handcuffs

by Emily Schwartz Greco, Stephen Zunes | Mar 20, 2009

Hopes that a Democratic administration with an expanded Democratic congressional majority might lead to a more ethical, rational, and progressive foreign policy were challenged with last week’s passage of the 2009 omnibus budget bill, which included many troubling provisions regarding the State Department and related diplomatic functions.

Hearts and Minds and Empire

by John Feffer, Francis Njubi Nesbitt | Mar 20, 2009

While there is no doubt that President Barack Obama is winning hearts around world, the jury is still out on whether he can convince skeptical intellectuals. A surge in Afghanistan, residual troops in Iraq and the resumption of renditions in the Horn of Africa conjure up fears of quagmires.

Clinton in Indonesia: What She Missed

by John Feffer, Andre Vltchek | Mar 18, 2009

She came to Indonesia as the new Secretary of State, and she came, she said, as a friend. Hilary Clinton met Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and later told the press that she "wanted Jakarta’s advice and counsel about how to reach out not only to the Muslim world but to Asia and beyond." This overture from Barack Obama’s administration signaled the direction U.S. policy will take toward the fourth most populous nation on Earth.

Foreign Policy In Fashion

by John Feffer | Mar 17, 2009

Consider the Bush administration’s preferred garb. George W. Bush favored the flight suit look when he landed on the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln back in May 2003 for his premature enunciation that the Iraq War was over. The press went wild. “Here’s a president who’s really nonverbal,” Chris Matthews said, turning “nonverbal” for the first time into high praise. “He’s like Eisenhower. He looks great in a military uniform. He looks great in that cowboy costume he wears when he goes West.”

Neocons 1, Obama 0

by John Feffer, Stephen Zunes | Mar 16, 2009

The Obama administration’s choice to head the National Intelligence Council (NIC) recently withdrew in face of a concerted right-wing attack. Veteran diplomat Chas Freeman would not have had to face Senate confirmation. Instead, he had to face attacks in the right-wing press and blogosphere. His withdrawal was a victory for Bush-era neoconservatives and their allies regarding intelligence and broader Middle East Policy.

Thinking Big in Crisis Time

by John Feffer | Mar 12, 2009

It might seem like the worst possible time for Tokyo to think big. The global economic crisis is hitting Japan hard. The current government of Taro Aso is scraping the bottom of public opinion polls.

Iraq Policy Outlook 2009

by Erik Leaver | Mar 12, 2009

In Iraq, 2008 carried over much of the beginnings of security improvements that began in late 2007. The decrease in violence, at least relative to the devastation of 2006-2007 is widely seen as enabling President Barack Obama to have the political space needed to call for the drawdown of U.S. troops in Iraq.