February 21, 2008

Angry Serbs Assault U.S. Embassy In Belgrade

Hundreds of protesters are attacking the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade, Serbia's capital. Video footage captured one protester scaling the building to rip down the American flag, and fires can be seen in and around the compound.

"As long as we live, Kosovo is Serbia," Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said at another rally in front of the former parliament building. That gathering was peaceful, and drew around 200,000 people.

At the embassy, Serbs were throwing rocks and other objects at riot police and attempting to break through the police presence to raid the building. Serbs angry over Kosovo's declaration of independence -- a decision supported by the White House and much of the EU -- chanted "Kosovo is ours! Kosovo is Serbia!" and "We'll never give up Kosovo, never!" according to various media reports. (See accounts from AP, Reuters, BBC News and the London Guardian.)

The State Department tried to downplay the situation, emphasizing that the embassy was probably closed at the time. According to CNN, U.S. officials are denying that protesters actually penetrated the building.

"It has been up and running. It's been functioning. They've been carrying out their diplomatic functions and activities," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack at the afternoon briefing. "The question is whether or not it was open to the public."

McCormack stressed that the White House is sympathetic to the concerns of Serbs, angry because they consider Kosovo part of their religious and cultural heritage. NATO forced an end to ethnic cleansing of mostly Muslim Albanians in the former Yugoslavia in the late 1990s. Since then, the mostly Albanian province of Kosovo and the mostly Orthodox Christian Serbia have existed in an uneasy peace.

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Posted to: Bush Administration, EU, Europe, Russia, U.N.
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February 20, 2008

Kosovo's Break From Serbia Splinters World Community

Russia's foreign minister has declared an EU mission to Kosovo illegal days after the Balkan state declared its independence from Serbia.

"To put it mildly, it is a bitter irony that this mission to ensure the supremacy of the law in Kosovo is being sent in breach of the highest international law," Sergei Lavrov said in a press briefing.

Russia and Serbia are in disagreement with the West's interpretation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1244, adopted in 1999 at the end of the Balkan conflict. The resolution reaffirms "the commitment of all Member States to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia," but it also reaffirms "the call in previous resolutions for substantial autonomy and meaningful self-administration for Kosovo."

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Posted to: Bush Administration, Chechnya, EU, Europe, Russia
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February 07, 2008

More Warnings Delivered On Afghanistan

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice denied that her surprise visit to Kandahar today was Washington's way of sticking it to NATO allies not doing their fair share in Afghanistan.

"It's just the rationale of being able to get outside of Kabul and see one of the areas that's been very active," Rice said before touching down, according to Reuters. "I don't think there's any message there to anyone."

Poignantly -- or not, if Rice's statement is taken at face value -- she and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband were touring Kandahar, a former Taliban stronghold in the country's south. Most trips by top foreign dignitaries are confined to the much safer capital city of Kabul. Kandahar remains dangerous, but it is also a prime example of the effectiveness of NATO forces in the fight against the Taliban and al-Qaida.

And in what has over the years become a ritual, Afghan President Hamid Karzai denied there were tensions between his government and its Western allies.

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Posted to: Afghanistan, Al-Qaida, Asia, Bush Administration, Condoleezza Rice, Europe, Germany, Robert Gates, Terrorism, U.K.
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February 06, 2008

What's The Point Of NATO, Anyway?

The U.S. and Britain have been fighting an uphill battle to win deeper commitments from NATO allies in Afghanistan. With recent independent reports warning that Afghanistan may be tipping back into failed statehood, and a critical upcoming vote in Canada that could determine that country's ongoing security contributions, NATO member nations are facing a kind of do-or-die moment.

The question at hand is: What is NATO's mission in the 21st century?

NATO was formed during the Cold War to fend off the Soviet threat. It was a mutual security pact, in which an attack on one was to be perceived as an attack on all.

After the 9/11 attacks, it became clear that al-Qaida was now the biggest threat facing the West. With little debate, NATO's mission was updated for the 21st century, and forces were sent to Afghanistan.

More than six years later, the success of NATO's fight against the Taliban and al-Qaida is in dispute. The war in Iraq sapped resources from Afghanistan, and more importantly sapped confidence in the United States' and Britain's leadership roles there. Nations have withdrawn forces over the last several years, and now the fighting -- and dying -- falls disproportionately on the U.S., Britain, the Netherlands and Canada.

Member nations privately blame the U.S. and Britain for being so preoccupied with the war in Iraq -- overwhelmingly unpopular among member nations -- that they delivered a seemingly half-hearted effort in Afghanistan. Washington and 10 Downing Street vehemently deny this is the case.

Without positing it directly, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is challenging member nations to remember the point of NATO and step up their contributions. "I do think the alliance is facing a real test here. And it is a test of the alliance's strength," she said at a press conference with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband today.

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Posted to: Afghanistan, Al-Qaida, Bush Administration, Europe, Germany, Iraq, Middle East, Military, Pakistan, President Bush, Robert Gates, Terrorism, U.K.
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February 01, 2008

Poland OKs U.S. Missile Defense System

UPDATED.

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski confirmed this afternoon "an agreement in principle" to host a U.S. missile defense shield, AP reports. He was in Washington today to discuss the matter with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

"We understand that there is a desire for defense modernization in Poland, and particularly for air defense modernization in Poland," Rice said at a joint press appearance following their meeting. "This is something that we support because it will make our ally, Poland, more capable, it will make Poland, as the foreign minister has said, more able to operate with us."

The offer to help Poland bolster its air force apparently helped secure the tentative deal. But there were more details to be ironed out, Sikorski said.

"We are not at the end of the road as regards negotiations. We are in the middle of the road," he said. "We have an agreement in principle."

The deal is sure to provoke strong reaction from Russia, which in May threatened to train its long-range weapons on Europe if Washington went ahead with plans to build a new anti-ballistic missile shield in that neighborhood.

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Posted to: Bush Administration, Europe, Russia
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January 24, 2008

Freedom Falters Worldwide

If 2007 seemed like a bad year for democracy, that's because it was, according to new data from Freedom House, a U.S.-based organization that monitors and promotes freedom around the world. The group recently released its report on 2007, citing a "notable setback for global freedom" for the second consecutive year.

Freedom House uses its own set of criteria to divide nations into three categories: "free," "partly free" and "not free." In 2007, one-fifth of the world's nations experienced a decline in freedom, the group says. Although the number of countries in the "not free" category did not grow over the last year, "there were many changes within these broad categories" that demonstrate an alarming trend, a press release announcing the report claims. These reversals were seen in countries across the globe -- from sub-Saharan Africa to the former Soviet Union.

Nearly four times as many countries saw declines in levels of freedom as showed improvement. Dishearteningly, several countries that had been experiencing progress toward democracy in recent years, such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nigeria and Kenya, took steps backward in 2007. Two former Soviet countries that underwent "color revolutions" fairly recently -- Kyrgyzstan and Georgia -- also reversed track last year, Freedom House reports.

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Posted to: Africa, Asia, China, Europe, Iran, Kenya, Middle East, Pakistan
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January 22, 2008

Econ Watch: The 'Uh-Oh' Heard 'Round The World

UPDATED.

President Bush sought to assure investors and consumers that a relief package was on the way, though he made no promises about when.

"I believe we can find common ground to get something done," he said, flanked by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. They were joined by Bush's economic team at the White House for a briefing on Bush's recent trip to the Middle East as well as a discussion of the $150 billion stimulus package the president proposed on Friday.

"The economy is inherently strong, but it needs to get a boost. We need to make sure this uncertainty doesn't translate into more economic woes for our workers and businesspeople," Bush said.

Bush was discussing the nation's economy with opposition leaders in Congress on a day of dizzying volatility in the U.S. and global markets. This morning, the Federal Reserve Board made its first emergency rate cut since shortly after the 9/11 attacks, voting to slash its benchmark interest rate by 75 basis points to 3.5 percent. The move was meant to provide immediate relief for debtors in an economy seized by a two-fer liquidity and credit drought.

The surprise announcement came one week before the Fed's regularly scheduled meeting, at which it was expected to further nick at rates by 50 basis points. The move did nothing, initially, to mitigate fears that the U.S. economic slowdown is having a tsunami effect on global markets. The Dow plummeted more than 460 points soon after the opening bell.

But the emergency cut was also a signal that the Fed stands at the ready to react aggressively to the economy's downturn. By noon the sell-off had slowed, and the Dow mostly recovered to close down 128 points, or 1.1 percent.

Continue reading "Econ Watch: The 'Uh-Oh' Heard 'Round The World"

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Posted to: Asia, Ben Bernanke, Bush Administration, Congress, Economy, Europe, Federal Reserve, President Bush
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January 03, 2008

Kenya's Kibaki Breaks Silence As Post-Election Crisis Continues

Amid continuing violent protests in the capital today over his contested re-election last week, Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki extended an olive branch to his political opponent, Raila Odinga. The results of last week's election, in which Kenya's electoral commission named Kibaki the winner by a slim margin, has sent the country spiraling into violence and chaos.

With more than 300 people killed and tens of thousands displaced, according to BBC News, Kibaki bowed to intense political and diplomatic pressure and made a televised appeal for peace today.

"I am ready to have dialogue with the concerned parties once the nation is calm and the political temperatures are lowered enough for constructive and productive engagement," Kibaki said, breaking his silence on the election results, which the opposition claims were rigged.

Meanwhile, the attorney general has called for an independent inquiry into the election, as Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement continues to demand a revote. The opposition party canceled a planned rally for today but has rescheduled it for Jan. 8 if an agreement is not reached by then.

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Posted to: Africa, Bush Administration, Condoleezza Rice, EU, Europe, Kenya
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December 19, 2007

Time Gets It Right With Person Of The Year

After being mocked and ridiculed for its gimmicky 2006 pick, Time magazine reverted to heft with this year's choice: Russian President (for Life) Vladimir Putin.

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Posted to: Bush Administration, Campaigns, Europe, Iran, Iraq, Middle East, President Bush, Russia, U.K., WH 2008
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December 10, 2007

Kosovo Moves Closer To Independence

After months of U.N. talks about the future of Kosovo yielded few results, leaders of the region today said that they will begin the process of declaring independence from Serbia without an official agreement. A U.N. deadline to settle the issue expired today with no agreement in sight.

The U.S., EU and Russia had tried to mediate talks between Serbia and Kosovo, but most people expected Kosovo to announce its independence in May regardless; now, it looks as though the announcement could come sooner. EU leaders now say they are close to having a unified position to recognize Kosovo's independence.

"From today, Kosovo is starting intense consultations with its international partners with the aim of coordinating steps for declaring independence, and the official demands for recognising independence," Skender Hyseni of the Kosovo Albanian negotiating team told reporters.

Kosovo's ethnic Albanians have long chafed under Serbia's control. The U.N. has controlled the tiny province since 1999, when a NATO force stepped in to end a bloody campaign against the Albanians led by former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, who died in 2006 during his trial for war crimes.

The Detroit Free Press has a useful Q&A about the history of Kosovo, and Bloomberg News has more on Europe's reaction.

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Posted to: EU, Europe, U.N.
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December 04, 2007

May U.K. Hostage-Taking In Iraq Revealed

Al-Arabiya television has broadcast video of five Britons missing since May 29 in Iraq, BBC News reports. In the tape, dated Nov. 18, gunmen threaten to kill one of the hostages if British troops do not begin pulling out in 10 days.

The kidnapping is just coming to light because the U.K. Foreign Office had asked the media to back off on coverage while it negotiated the men's release, according to BBC News. The gunmen say they are from a group called the Islamic Shia Resistance in Iraq. The hostages are four guards and a computer expert.

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Posted to: Europe, Iraq, Middle East, U.K.
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November 12, 2007

Blaze Hits London's Olympic Park

Plumes of smoke rising into the London sky set the city on high alert today. The fire turned out to be located in an empty warehouse being demolished to make way for the site of the 2012 Summer Games.

Firefighters are still battling the blaze; no injuries have been reported. An Olympic official said an investigation will be launched, but "initial indications would suggest that this was an accident rather than arson." London police added that there was no indication the fire was an act of terrorism.

The Olympic Delivery Authority released a statement confirming that the east London fire was at the Olympic Park site. The main stadium was set for construction near the site of the fire.

London will become the first city to host the modern Olympics three times, and its potentially seizure-inducing logo has already stirred up some controversy.

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Posted to: Europe, Olympics, U.K.
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November 09, 2007

Iran On Tap For Merkel's First Visit To The Ranch

Completing this week's U.S.-Old Europe bonding experience, German Chancellor Angela Merkel heads to Texas today to discuss a host of global issues in the rustic setting of the Bush family ranch.

Like President Bush's meeting with new French President Nicolas Sarkozy earlier this week, the Bush-Merkel talks will hinge primarily on Iran, as the president seeks to shore up U.S. allies against Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

Gordon Johndroe, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, told Reuters that "strategically," Merkel and the Bush administration "see eye-to-eye" in opposing Iran's plans to develop nuclear technology. "Tactically, there are some slight differences," he said, adding that the discussions this weekend are part of an ongoing effort and aren't likely to yield any major developments.

Merkel is no softie on Iran, but Bush is seeking stronger commitments from allies to take a hard line against Tehran if it continues to defy orders to stop its nuclear program. In its preview of her visit this weekend, Germany's Der Spiegel notes that Germans are concerned about the Bush administration's perceived "saber-rattling" on Iran. Calling Merkel "the queen of the backroom deal," the magazine writes that "German politicians at both ends of the political spectrum will expect her to voice clear opposition to further military escapades" when she meets with Bush.

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Posted to: Afghanistan, Bush Administration, Europe, Germany, Iran, Middle East, President Bush
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November 06, 2007

From Freedom Fries To Freedom Friends!

President Bush hosts French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy at the White House later today, in an evening that is being characterized as a lovefest by the media on both continents. Hyperbolic, probably, but a sure sign of the dramatic turn in U.S.-Franco relations since Sarkozy won election in May.

The Los Angeles Times may have scored the lede of the week with its preview of the visit:

Laurent Mellier remembers the dark days of 2003, when drivers would spot the French-flag sticker on his Honda and yell at him. Alain de Chalvron's low point came when a movie audience erupted after a character mentioned France and people around him began shouting insults. For one French diplomat in Los Angeles, it was watching children dump bottles of French wine into the street outside the consulate.

How far we've come. These days, some Americans might suspect that those "cheese-eating surrender monkeys" were right about invading Iraq. Rep. Walter "Freedom Fries" Jones, R-N.C., certainly does. Likewise, some of Sarkozy's countrymen may wonder what all those years of vitriolic U.S.A.-bashing has gotten them, besides a backwards labor structure and economy.

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Posted to: Bush Administration, Europe, France, Germany, President Bush
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November 05, 2007

Progress On The PKK-Turkish Front

UPDATED.

In a sign that tensions may be lessening between Turkey and Kurdish militants in northern Iraq, members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, today freed eight Turkish soldiers who were captured last month.

Diplomatic talks have been going on for weeks to try to avert a conflict, but a massive Turkish force was still amassing on the border and PKK rebels continued to partake in skirmishes with Turkish troops in the region. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice traveled to Turkey last week to reassure the government that the PKK rebels were a "common threat."

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was in Washington today to meet with President Bush. Erdogan was seeking American support for action against the PKK, while Bush sought to convince the prime minister to hold off on a full-scale incursion.

Following the meeting, Bush and Erdogan exuded a united front before the press.

Continue reading "Progress On The PKK-Turkish Front"

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Posted to: Europe, Iraq, Kurds, Middle East, Turkey
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October 31, 2007

Aid Workers Charged In Alleged Rescue Attempt In Chad

Associates of the French charity Zoe's Ark who tried to fly more than 100 African children out of Chad last week are facing charges of kidnapping and child trafficking, sparking international conflict over the case and concerns about the future of humanitarian efforts in the region.

Nine French citizens and six Spanish nationals have been accused of abduction and fraud, and some of them face up to 20 years of hard labor in a Chadian prison, according to Chad's interior minister.

U.N. officials claim many of the children were actually from Chad, not refugees from Darfur, and there is no clear evidence they are actually orphans. Zoe's Ark counters that tribal leaders told them the children were from Darfur and that the children were to be placed in the French foster care system, which would qualify the airlift as a medical rescue operation rather than an adoption effort.

The French government is backing up the U.N. "According to initial information... there seem to be many Chadian children and even many who are not orphans," a government spokeswoman told reporters yesterday.

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Posted to: Africa, Europe, France
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October 24, 2007

Reports: Eight Turkish Soldiers Captured, Iran Seizes Opportunity

U.S. and Iraqi officials are working quickly to appease an angry Turkish government after tensions on its southern border boiled over this week. Efforts to negotiate an end to the fighting, however, are further complicated by reports that Kurdish separatists have captured eight Turkish soldiers and that Tehran is leveraging resentment toward Washington and Baghdad to its advantage.

Photos of the alleged captives have been published by several news outlets. The Turkish government has not confirmed the claims by a group of Kurdish fighters that the soldiers, missing since an ambush on Sunday, were captured. Turkey authorized a cross-border incursion earlier this week against militants with the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, who have been launching discrete attacks on Turkey for years. Forty-two Turkish civilians and soldiers have been killed by PKK fighters this month alone, Bloomberg News reports.

Turkey has been warning its allies in the U.S. and Iraq that if they did not clamp down on the PKK's attacks, the Turkish military would be sent to do the job. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki have sought to persuade Ankara to approach the problem diplomatically, but in Turkey's view neither ally has acted forcefully enough. In August, the Pentagon admitted that American weapons issued to Iraqis had been used by PKK rebels in cross-border attacks against Turks.

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Posted to: Bush Administration, Condoleezza Rice, Europe, Iran, Iraq, Kurds, Middle East, Turkey
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October 22, 2007

Muslim Live 8 Concert Raises Money For Darfur

London's Wembley Arena has played host to many high-profile concerts, including this summer's tribute to Princess Diana. But on Sunday, Wembley was the scene of a different kind of concert, one many are calling the first of its kind.

Ten thousand Muslims gathered at the arena for what is being dubbed Muslim Live 8, a concert to raise money for and awareness of the humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan.

The sold-out crowd heard music from Outlandish, an MTV award-winning hip-hop band, and Muslim-American country singer, Kareem Salama. But Sami Yusuf, labeled by Time as "Islam's biggest rock star," drew the most fervent cheers from fans.

Continue reading "Muslim Live 8 Concert Raises Money For Darfur"

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Posted to: Africa, Europe, Gordon Brown, Sudan, U.K.
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Turkey Forestalls Iraq Invasion

In what could be a tipping point in the conflict between Turkey's government and Kurds in northern Iraq, Kurdish forces ambushed a Turkish convoy on Sunday just three miles from the border. Twelve Turkish soldiers were killed and eight more are still missing.

Turkish forces responded by shelling an area near Kurdish towns and destroying a bridge, and AP reports that dozens of military vehicles were headed toward the border to join the tens of thousands of troops already gathered there. The Turkish government believes thousands of PKK rebels are also massed at the border.

But today, Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said his government would try to seek a political solution to the conflict before an invasion. Tension has been mounting for months, and last week, Turkey's parliament authorized incursions into Iraqi Kurdistan to hunt down rebels in the area.

"We will continue these diplomatic efforts with all good intentions to solve this problem caused by a terrorist organization," Babacan told reporters. "But in the end, if we do not reach any results, there are other means we might have to use."

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Posted to: Europe, Turkey
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October 18, 2007

SCHIP: Democrats Lose The Battle, Stand To Win The War

UPDATED.

The House Democratic leadership failed to wrangle the 12 to 15 additional votes it needed to push an expansion of a health care program for poor children past a presidential veto.

Lawmakers voted to override President Bush's veto 265 to 159, just under the two-thirds majority required. Squabbling over the bill, popular in spirit but contentious in practice, culminated in lawmakers using and attacking real live children volunteered by their parents as props in the debate.

Today's vote was originally scheduled for around noon, but had to be delayed because of still more ugliness. During floor debate preceding the vote, California Democrat Pete Stark accused Republican fiscal conservatives of "telling lies" about the breadth of the expansion. He continued: "You don't have money to fund the war or children. But you're going to spend it to blow up innocent people if we can get enough kids to grow old enough for you to send to Iraq to get their heads blown off for the president's amusement."

The National Republican Congressional Committee fired off video of Stark's remarks so fast that it misidentified the loose-cannon lawmaker as a fellow Republican. Protesting GOP lawmakers called for a reprimand vote on the remarks, which failed.

Continue reading "SCHIP: Democrats Lose The Battle, Stand To Win The War"

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Posted to: Bush Administration, Campaigns, Congress, Europe, Health, House, President Bush, Turkey
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October 16, 2007

Superpower Watch: Picking Sides, Choosing Teams

Once again, the Bush administration is reminded that while it would be preferable to have the world at its back as it attempts to stabilize the Middle East, it simply does not. Iran and Russia have sealed an agreement among the Caspian Sea nations that "under no circumstances will they allow [the use of their] territories by third countries to launch aggression or other military action against any of the member states." Doesn't take a genius to figure out which third country might top that list.

This declaration accomplishes several things, none of which bode well for Washington's push for Iran to come clean on its nuclear program.

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Posted to: Asia, Bush Administration, China, Europe, IAEA, Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Middle East, Military, Nuclear Weapons, President Bush, Robert Gates, Russia, Terrorism, U.N., Vladimir Putin
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Iraqi Crisis Envoy Dispatched To Turkey

In an effort to stave off a looming incursion of Turkish forces into his country, Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi crossed the border today to meet with Turkey's prime minister and new president.

Turkey has been threatening to stage assaults on separatists operating in Iraqi Kurdistan. According to the Turkish government, those separatists (called the Kurdistan Workers Party or the PKK, which the EU and the U.S. have classified as a terrorist group) operate in northern Iraq without interference. Iraq had promised to address the group in a late September resolution; Turkey claims nothing has been done and that the PKK is becoming emboldened.

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Posted to: Europe, Iraq, Kurds, Turkey
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October 15, 2007

U.K. Watch: The Perils Of National Health Care

A survey of British dental patients has found that some are resorting to pulling out their own teeth as the number of dentists participating in the National Health Service drops, AFP reports.

Nearly half of dentists surveyed said they had stopped treating NHS patients. As a result, nearly 80 percent of Britons on private insurance said they were pushed there because they couldn't find an NHS dentist. Only 15 percent of those privately insured said their choice was based on quality of treatment.

"When you've got a severe toothache, you don't want to wait two or three weeks -- you need treatment straightaway," DIY patient Don Wilson told BBC News.

"It is a very foolish thing to do," scolded Liz Kay, dean of the Peninsula Dental School in Plymouth. BBC News has a report on the "pros and cons" of at-home dentistry.

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Posted to: Europe, Health, U.K.
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October 11, 2007

Two Journos Convicted Of 'Insulting Turkishness'

A Turkish court has convicted two journalists for publishing content that mentions the Armenian genocide, following a vote by a U.S. congressional panel officially declaring the Ottoman Empire massacres to be genocide.

Arat Dink and Serkis Seropyan, editors at a Turkish-Armenian weekly, were given one-year suspended sentences under a law that makes it a crime to "insult" Turkish culture. The government of Turkey officially denies that the early 20th-century genocide took place, despite the widespread consensus of historians.

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Posted to: Europe, Turkey
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October 10, 2007

The Armenian Genocide: When Purity Meets Pragmatism

Let's get this detail out of the way: The United States does not brook genocide. Maybe this country does not always go far enough to stop genocide where it occurs (Rwanda, Sudan), but it has not ignored, let alone denied, the mass extermination of an ethnic group since World War II. What the U.S. always does do in reaction to genocide is condemn the killing wherever it occurs.

So why the opposition to a nonbinding House resolution that compels the U.S. government to formally recognize the 1915-17 mass killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire as genocide -- something George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush did not do as commander in chief?

The answer, of course, is Turkey's resistance to the resolution. Almost anywhere else in the world, official government condemnation of genocide is an easy position for Washington to take. Not so with the Armenian genocide, because Turkey holds many cards, and the U.S. is in no position to strong-arm anyone it might still count as an ally in the war on terror.

Continue reading "The Armenian Genocide: When Purity Meets Pragmatism"

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Posted to: Bill Clinton, Bush Administration, Condoleezza Rice, Congress, EU, Europe, France, George H.W. Bush, House, Iraq, Israel, Kurds, Middle East, President Bush, Robert Gates, Senate, Turkey
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September 28, 2007

New Vote On Iran Sanctions Delayed

UPDATED.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice did not go out of her way to hide her disappointment at the latest setback in U.S. efforts to clamp down further on Iran.

"The international community has to have a greater sense of urgency about some of these issues," she said, speaking to reporters at the U.N. this afternoon. "We have two unanimous Security Council resolutions in place on Iran. We're working on a third, and using that track to try to invigorate the negotiations track." Rice conceded that there was already a "certain level of cooperation in Iran."

Continue reading "New Vote On Iran Sanctions Delayed"

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Posted to: Asia, Bush Administration, China, Condoleezza Rice, EU, Europe, France, Germany, IAEA, Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Middle East, Nuclear Weapons, Russia, Terrorism, U.K., U.N.
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September 18, 2007

In Case You Missed It...

... we're going to war with Iran. France is on board, too. (With us, not Iran.)

What?

The surreality of global relations this week is enough to make us wonder if we're trapped inside one of John Bolton's fevered dreams. Let's untangle this web of crazy carefully, lest all our heads collectively explode.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner is now seeking to assure allies that his country will "negotiate, negotiate, negotiate" before resorting to the option of war with Iran. On Sunday, the socialist ignited a firestorm when he told an interviewer, "We must prepare for the worst," adding, "The worst, sir, is war."

Kouchner said that France was "preparing" itself for the prospect of war in the event efforts to dismantle Iran's nuclear program were unsuccessful.

En route to a meeting with his counterpart in Moscow today, Kouchner sought to dial back his earlier remarks. "I do not want it said that I'm a warmonger. My message was one of peace, serious and determined," he told traveling reporters. Later, he blamed the media for running wild with what he'd said on Sunday. "As usual with journalists, they take one phrase and you don't know what came after," he said on a Russian radio talk show.

That's fair. Then again, maybe France picked a really bad time to propose Germany dump its historical baggage and dive into the nukes business.

Continue reading "In Case You Missed It..."

Posted at 6:30 PM
Posted to: Asia, Bush Administration, China, Europe, France, Germany, Iran, Middle East, North Korea, Nuclear Weapons, Russia, Syria, Terrorism, U.K., U.N.
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Petraeus & Crocker Take Report To U.K.

After a grueling week of testimony, interviews and close public scrutiny in their home country, the top U.S. military and diplomatic officials in Iraq flew to the United Kingdom to face an even tougher crowd.

Even though Britain's contribution in manpower and money to the war in Iraq has been far less than America's, resentment over the war and its costs arguably runs deeper across the pond. Tensions have grown worse since the departure of former Prime Minister Tony Blair, a staunch supporter of President Bush's foreign policies, and the pullout of nearly all British troops from Basra, their last stronghold in Iraq.

But in talks with new Prime Minister Gordon Brown today, U.S. Gen. David Petraeus had nothing but praise for the British armed services and their dedication to the fight in Iraq.

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