Jim Lobe

Jim Lobe writes for Inter Press Service.

US Scrambles to Save Peace Talks

With a key Arab League meeting delayed until Friday, the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama is scrambling to keep one-month-old direct Israeli- Palestinian peace talks alive. The stakes are high. If the talks fall apart, a number of observers believe a third intifada could break out on the West Bank and in East Jerusalem … Continue reading “US Scrambles to Save Peace Talks”

Rise in Af-Pak Cross-Border Attacks Spurs Backlash

The steady increase in U.S. cross-border attacks from Afghanistan into the frontier areas of Pakistan – whether by drone missiles or attack helicopters – is causing a serious backlash from both the region’s residents and Islamabad’s government and military leadership. In the latest case, the government of President Asif Ali Zardari Thursday closed NATO’s primary … Continue reading “Rise in Af-Pak Cross-Border Attacks Spurs Backlash”

Obama Imposes New Iran Sanctions as War Chorus Rises

Amid new calls for Washington to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities if its diplomatic efforts at curbing Tehran’s uranium-enrichment program fail, the United States Wednesday imposed unilateral sanctions against eight senior Iranian officials whom it accused of committing "sustained and severe violations of human rights." Announced at a joint press appearance by Secretary of State Hillary … Continue reading “Obama Imposes New Iran Sanctions as War Chorus Rises”

US Defense Spending Set for Downward Course 

Although U.S. military spending will reach an all-time high next year, the Pentagon budget almost certainly faces steady cuts over the medium to long term, mainly as a result of increasing pressure to reduce the ballooning national debt, according to a growing consensus among defense experts. And while Pentagon chief Robert Gates is taking pre-emptive … Continue reading “US Defense Spending Set for Downward Course “

US Boosts Aid Amid Doubts About Pakistan’s Recovery

The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama has announced it will provide an additional 75 million dollars in food aid to help Pakistan cope with floods that have affected about one-fifth of the country – including some 20 million people – since they began in July. That will bring total U.S. assistance to Islamabad to … Continue reading “US Boosts Aid Amid Doubts About Pakistan’s Recovery”

Americans Want Smaller World Role

Battered by two lengthy wars and a two-year-old economic crisis, the U.S. public appears increasingly reconciled to Washington’s playing a declining global role in the coming years, according to the latest in a biennial series of major surveys released here Thursday by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs (CCGA). The public also appears increasingly doubtful … Continue reading “Americans Want Smaller World Role”

US Still Top Arms Supplier to South as Record Sale to Saudis Pends

Despite an unusual dip in global weapons sales in 2009, the United States retained its spot as the world’s top arms supplier of developing countries, according to an authoritative new report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). The report, the latest in an annual series produced by CRS on conventional arms sales, was released Monday … Continue reading “US Still Top Arms Supplier to South as Record Sale to Saudis Pends”

Calls for Change of Afghan Strategy Grow Louder

Amid continued high levels of violence and a steady stream of reports of high-level government corruption in Kabul, a growing number of foreign policy specialists are urging President Barack Obama to reconsider his counterinsurgency (COIN) strategy in Afghanistan. In a new report released here Wednesday, a bipartisan group of some three dozen former senior officials, … Continue reading “Calls for Change of Afghan Strategy Grow Louder”

Religious Leaders Condemn Growing Islamophobia

Leaders of some three dozen mainstream U.S. religious denominations Tuesday condemned what many commentators have called a rising tide of Islamophobia touched off by the recent controversy over the construction of a Muslim community center in Lower Manhattan, two blocks from the site of the twin World Trade Center towers destroyed in the 9/11 terrorist … Continue reading “Religious Leaders Condemn Growing Islamophobia”

Iran Benefits from Arab Disillusion with Obama

U.S. President Barack Obama has suffered a sharp drop in popularity in the Arab world over the past year, and Iran may be reaping the benefits, according to a major new survey of public opinion in five Arab countries released here Thursday. Only 20 percent of respondents in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the … Continue reading “Iran Benefits from Arab Disillusion with Obama”