Qatar, home to only 225,000 natives and 1.7 million foreign workers, has emerged as an influential regional actor in recent years. Emir Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani has ruled Qatar since 1995, when he replaced his father in a bloodless palace coup, and has pursued an ambitious foreign policy for his statelet. Natural resource wealth, ownership of Al Jazeera, and a carefully constructed web of foreign alliances have allowed Doha to project itself throughout the Middle East.
Recent Arms Purchases by Azerbaijan a Hedge Against Armenia, Not Iran
Even with its newly acquired weapons, Azerbaijan is ill-prepared to face off against Iran.
Congress Attempts to Legislate Away Containment of Iran and Replace It With War
Iran could be forgiven for interpreting our coercive diplomacy as a reason, were it so inclined, to arms itself with nuclear weapons.
West Falls for Iran’s Show of “Sanitizing” Parchin
To Iran, uranium enrichment is a bargaining chip.
Congress Pushes for War with Iran
In another resolution apparently designed to prepare for war against Iran, the U.S. House of Representatives, in an overwhelmingly bipartisan 401–11 vote, has passed a resolution (HR 568) urging the president to oppose any policy toward Iran “that would rely on containment as an option in response to the Iranian nuclear threat.”
Dashed Hopes for Baghdad Breakthrough
The recently concluded negotiations between Iran and the world powers, the so-called P5+1, was perhaps the first serious attempt at resolving the Iranian nuclear impasse since the 2009 botched negotiations. Both sides entered the talks with a strong sense of cautious optimism, thinking maybe this time would be different. Even former top American diplomats joined the euphoric run up to the Baghdad talks. According to the former lead U.S. negotiator on Iran, Nicholas Burns, “for the first time in 32 years, since the Iranian revolution, there is the possibility of serious, substantive and sustained talks with Iran.”
Promoting Democracy in Iran Is Not Only Wishful Thinking, But Belligerent
Foreign Affairs contributor Patrick Clawson clings to the hoary old myth of democracy promotion as a means to regime change in Iran.
Iran: Why This Time Is Different
The latest P5+1 talks in Istanbul rejuvenated the diplomatic track between Iran and the West, paving the way for a new chapter in Iranian nuclear negotiations. Yet if the recently concluded talks were a test of intentions, the upcoming negotiations in Baghdad are going to be a real test of wills. Both sides will have to overcome huge obstacles if they want to establish a “sustained process of serious dialogue” to resolve the Iranian nuclear impasse.
NATO vs. Rogues?
Institutions rarely vote themselves out of existence. Not if they still have money in their budgets. Large institutions in particular have an almost genetic propensity to cling to life even after their reasons for being have vanished. That’s why I don’t expect NATO, which will gather in Chicago later this month, to suddenly declare game over and disband – even though the alliance’s rationale has become wafer-thin. The Soviet Union is no more, al-Qaeda is a spent force, and NATO members are rushing for the door in Afghanistan. Indeed, most of Europe is cutting back on military spending, and the debt-saddled region has a diminished appetite for intervention.
Administration Buys Lies About Iran Using Latin America as Base for Terrorism
Leon Panetta has expressed a concern that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps has expanded into Latin America.