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Whatever happens in the anti-Assad protests, Iran is likely to lose some of its easy access to Syria, its key Arab ally. If Assad survives, he will have to establish some distance from Iran to appease Sunni protesters, U.S. officials believe. And it he’s toppled, Syria is likely to be ruled by a Sunni-dominated regime [...]
Filed under: foreign policy, politics
No, a breakup cannot be imagined, the east-west web of relationships and loyalties and family ties is dense. Libya is not Yugoslavia. ~Roger Cohen I don’t know what this is supposed to mean. Populations in Yugoslavia were mixed, and social relationships existed across lines of religion and ethnicity. One of the tragedies of the Balkan [...]
Filed under: foreign policy, politics
Marco Rubio is a quick study. He has been in the Senate for just three months, and he has already learned John McCain’s art of reckless moral posturing as a substitute for foreign policy argument: As ill-advised as it was to restore diplomatic relations with Syria by sending an American ambassador to Damascus last year, [...]
Filed under: foreign policy, politics
The U.N. Security Council cannot agree on a condemnation of the brutal Syrian crackdown that has resulted in the deaths of at least 450-500 civilian protesters. Why is this? The easiest answer to this is that there is no consensus on the Council, but why might that be? For one thing, the self-serving humanitarian interests [...]
Filed under: foreign policy, politics
Amid a growing row over [the Syrian Ambassador] Dr Khiyami’s invitation to the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Foreign Office said representatives of countries with which the UK had “normal diplomatic relations” had been invited. But in a statement, it added: “An invitation does not mean endorsement or approval of the behaviour [...]
Filed under: foreign policy, politics
But I think people caricatured the president, and the only thing that I couldn’t understand is why this man with such a curious mind, who in briefings always asked the question you wish you thought of, why that quality didn’t come across. And I fully admit that it didn’t come across. ~Condoleeza Rice I suppose [...]
Filed under: foreign policy, politics
In a House of Commons vote on supporting the UN-approved commitment to Libya, only 13 of the 570 members of Parliament present rejected the motion. And of 280 Tories, only one dared say no. This from the party of Lord Salisbury and “splendid isolation.” ~Freddy Gray I enjoyed Freddy’s article, and he is correct that [...]
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I call them “Free Libya forces” because that is what they call themselves, on Benghazi radio. The Benghazi Transitional National Council has been recognized as the legitimate government of Libya by France, Italy and Qatar, with more governments near to taking this step. They are not mere ‘rebels’ any more. ~Juan Cole Prof. Cole is [...]
Filed under: foreign policy, politics
By definition, realists seek a foreign policy immune to public sentiment and special interest groups. In this rarefied view, the preferences of the majority of the American people are immaterial or, worse, self-defeating. ~Michael Oren Maybe this explains that odd remark Marc Lynch made the other day. There seems to be a widespread belief that [...]
Filed under: foreign policy, politics
In the face of this lack of will on the part of the Europeans, the United States’ readiness to rapidly and constantly support the pursuit of European interests out of solidarity to the alliance will also diminish, as is currently illustrated in the case of Libya. The consequence of this is that NATO may transform [...]
Filed under: foreign policy, politics