Jim Lobe

The US section of Amnesty International sent an "urgent" letter Friday to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, calling on her to end what it called Washington’s "lopsided response" to the ongoing Israeli air strikes on Gaza that have reportedly killed more than 400 Palestinians, including scores of unarmed civilians. While the letter also expressed concern … Continue reading “Amnesty Calls on Rice to Drop ‘Lopsided’ Gaza Stance”

Israel’s massive three-day aerial assault on Gaza is likely to complicate President-elect Barack Obama’s hopes of aggressively pursuing Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, and it risks inflicting greater damage to Washington’s standing in the Arab world, according to analysts. Indeed, if the current campaign goes on much longer and the Israelis launch a major ground invasion of … Continue reading “Israeli Attack May Complicate Obama’s Plans”

Eighteen months after Hamas evicted Fatah forces from Gaza, the prospects for restoring Palestinian unity are more elusive than ever, with both factions believing that time is on their side, according to a new report by the Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG) released Wednesday. But changes in the regional and international landscape, particularly if US … Continue reading “Report: Recognizing Hamas Could Help Peace”

If U.S. President-elect Barack Obama wants to begin dismantling Washington’s nearly 50-year-old trade embargo against Cuba, it appears he will have widespread support for doing so. Not only have some major foreign policy heavyweights recently called for ending the embargo if, for no other reason, than to create desperately needed goodwill elsewhere in the Americas … Continue reading “Business Groups Support Dismantling Cuba Embargo”

A week after the massacre of more than 170 people by armed militants in Mumbai, US officials are scrambling to prevent the incident from blowing up into a full-fledged confrontation between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan. While Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spent Wednesday in meetings with Indian leaders in New Delhi warning them that any … Continue reading “Mumbai Massacre Seen as Major Blow to Regional Strategy”

The incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama should move quickly to engage Iran without preconditions and to promote an Israeli-Syrian peace accord, according to two veteran Middle East experts whose views are likely to have influence over Obama’s just-announced foreign policy team. Obama should also "make a serious effort from the outset to promote progress … Continue reading “Obama Urged to Quickly Engage Iran, Syria”

Introducing the top figures in his national security team in Chicago Monday, U.S. President-elect Barack Obama promised a "new dawn of American leadership" that will be marked by much greater emphasis on diplomacy and multilateralism than was accorded by the incumbent, George W. Bush. Obama said all of his appointees, who featured current Pentagon chief … Continue reading “Diplomacy, Multilateralism Stressed by Obama Team”

Less than two months before taking office, President-elect Barack Obama is making clear that realists – some more identified with Republicans and the military than with Democrats – are likely to rule the incoming administration’s foreign policy roost, at least at the outset. While Obama is expected to formally unveil his Cabinet-level national-security picks Monday, … Continue reading “Obama Foreign Policy: Realists to Reign?”

An elite inter-American commission sponsored by a think-tank that is considered close to likely key policymakers in the administration of President-elect Barack Obama is calling for sharp break in U.S. policy toward Latin America, a substantial opening toward Cuba, greater diplomatic engagement with Venezuela, and a major reassessment of its war on drugs. In a … Continue reading “Hemispheric Group Calls for Major Changes in Americas Policy”

Capping a nearly two-year consultation involving dozens of US and international leaders, a new report by three US think tanks is calling on President-elect Barack Obama and other leaders to implement sweeping reforms in global governance to more effectively tackle shared regional and global threats over the next half century. "Global governance is the number … Continue reading “Greybeards Urge Overhaul of Global Governance”