Jim Lobe

Jim Lobe writes for Inter Press Service.

Washington Fumbles Egypt Messaging

Only four days ago, the administration of President Barack Obama appeared to be siding with the hundreds of thousands of Egyptian demonstrators calling for a quick end to Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year reign, even if it didn’t call explicitly for the Egyptian president to resign. But with the protests in Cairo and other major Egyptian cities … Continue reading “Washington Fumbles Egypt Messaging”

Obama Pressed to Pressurise Egypt’s Military

On the eve of massive planned protests dubbed "Day of Departure" in Egypt, continuing attacks by pro-government conspirators on anti-government protestors and roundups of human rights activists and foreign journalists are contributing to pressures on the administration of President Barack Obama to take a tougher line, including withholding military aid, toward the regime of Egyptian … Continue reading “Obama Pressed to Pressurise Egypt’s Military”

Obama Looking Beyond Mubarak

With new anti-government demonstrations expected in Cairo and other Egyptian cities Tuesday, the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama appears to have concluded that the 29-year reign of President Hosni Mubarak is coming to an end. But it hopes to avoid calling publicly for Mubarak’s departure, even as U.S. officials are scrambling to engage the … Continue reading “Obama Looking Beyond Mubarak”

In Arab World, Obama Riding a Tiger

Suddenly faced with an unprecedented number of challenges across the Arab world, the administration of President Barack Obama is scrambling hard to keep up. The fate of President Hosni Mubarak, long regarded as Washington’s most powerful Arab ally, no doubt gets top billing as the crisis of the moment, as Egypt girds for what are … Continue reading “In Arab World, Obama Riding a Tiger”

Palestine Papers Cause More Heartburn in Washington

The exposure by al-Jazeera and London’s Guardian newspaper of a huge cache of documents detailing Palestinian accounts of a decade of peace negotiations with Israel could deal a lethal blow to U.S. efforts to get a credible process back on track, according to experts. By demonstrating how much the Palestine Authority (PA) was willing to … Continue reading “Palestine Papers Cause More Heartburn in Washington”

Greybeards Urge US Not to Veto UN Anti-Settlement Resolution 

Some four dozen former top U.S. diplomats and prominent policy analysts are urging President Barack Obama not to veto a proposed U.N. Security Council resolution that is expected to reaffirm the illegality of Jewish settlements in the Occupied Territories. In a letter released here Wednesday, former U.S. ambassadors to Israel, as well as other former … Continue reading “Greybeards Urge US Not to Veto UN Anti-Settlement Resolution “

Latin American Disappointment With Obama May Yield to Distrust

While U.S. officials took strong exception to outgoing Brazilian President Inacio Lula da Silva’s recent complaint that "nothing has changed" in Washington’s relations with Latin America two years into the Barack Obama administration, many independent U.S. analysts ruefully nodded their heads. "(The administration) began very well," noted Abraham Lowenthal, a veteran Latin Americanist and founding … Continue reading “Latin American Disappointment With Obama May Yield to Distrust”

Sudan Referendum May Be Only the Beginning

Amid growing certainty that the much-anticipated weeklong referendum on independence for south Sudan will indeed begin Sunday as scheduled, U.S. officials and independent experts are warning that the situation in both the north and the south is likely to remain very fragile for some time to come. Ensuring that the referendum’s outcome — almost certain … Continue reading “Sudan Referendum May Be Only the Beginning”

New Poll Underlines Gloom Shrouding ‘Peace Process’

Hope among both Jewish and Palestinian Israelis that a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians can ever be achieved appears to be fading, according to two major new polls released here Thursday. A solid majority of 63 percent of Palestinian Israelis and a plurality of 47 percent of Jewish Israelis say they don’t believe … Continue reading “New Poll Underlines Gloom Shrouding ‘Peace Process’”

Mideast Peace Key to Countering Iran, Arabs Told US Diplomats 

Gleeful Israeli leaders and their neoconservative supporters here have spent much of the past week insisting that the State Department cables published by WikiLeaks prove that Sunni Arab leaders in the Middle East are far more preoccupied with the threat posed by an ascendant and possibly nuclear Iran than with a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian … Continue reading “Mideast Peace Key to Countering Iran, Arabs Told US Diplomats “