Ali Gharib

As President George W. Bush seeks to deeply entrench US military forces in Iraq, the Congress and foreign policy pundits are looking beyond his term and debating the future of US foreign policy there. Violence is down in Iraq, and Bush hopes to use the apparent success of his surge strategy to solidify the relationship … Continue reading “Critics Fear Pact Will Tie Next President’s Hands”

Out of the dozens upon dozens of reports of abuses by private contractors as part of the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, only one prosecution of a contractor has taken place. This, says a new report from Human Rights First [.pdf], epitomizes the woefully insufficient response by the U.S. government to hold private contactors … Continue reading “Contractor Abuses Rarely Punished, Groups Say”

Twelve-year-old Lama Al-Arian looked up into a camera with a broad smile two years ago and called her father a "political prisoner.” But her eyes betray her playfully shy exuberance – they are wracked by uncertainty about the future of a man who has been in a United States prison for five years this February. … Continue reading “Al-Arian Documentary Highlights Real Cost of Indefinite Detentions”

ANNAPOLIS, Maryland – The Middle East peace conference that began and ended here on this crisp, sunny Tuesday was lean on specifics for a lasting peace deal between Israel and Palestine and the formation of a Palestinian state. Dealing with a timeline for continued talks on "final status" issues, rather than the contentious issues themselves, … Continue reading “Much Ado About Annapolis”

If George W. Bush’s "freedom agenda" is to be his presidential legacy, then his six-year "global war on terror" has been his own worst enemy. As lawyers in Pakistan are being beaten and arrested by authorities for protesting against the imposition of de facto martial law, Bush has opted to set aside his campaign for … Continue reading “Bell Tolls for Bush’s ‘Freedom Agenda’”

The heads of the US State and Treasury Departments jointly announced new sanctions aimed at the further economic isolation of Iran Thursday, citing the Islamic Republic’s defiance on its continued nuclear program and its alleged involvement with terrorist organizations. The George W. Bush administration’s announcement comes at a time of heightened tensions with the Iranian … Continue reading “Dialogue Undermined by White House’s Iran Sanctions”

The policy of isolation towards Cuba is a bad hangover from the Cold War that the United States can’t afford to nurse any longer, foreign policy experts and Cuban-American political activists argued this week, both because of its unpopularity and a variety of concerns raised by critics of all stripes. “The Cold War is over,” … Continue reading “Still Flogging a Dead Cuba Policy?”

A U.S.-based private security firm received a contract worth up to 92 million dollars from the Department of Defense amid hard questions about its involvement in two separate violent incidents in Iraq. "Blackwater has been a contractor in the past with the department and could certainly be in the future," said the U.S.’s top-ranking military … Continue reading “Pentagon Gives Blackwater New Contract”