Jim Lobe

While the Pentagon’s budget has risen to heights not seen since World War II, US diplomatic and foreign aid assets have largely atrophied and must be quickly rebuilt by any new administration that takes office in January, according to a new report released here this week by former senior foreign service officers. The report by … Continue reading “Top Ex-Diplomats Slam ‘Militarization’ of Foreign Policy”

With only three months left in office, U.S. President George W. Bush appears increasingly determined to calm the international waters he so vigorously churned up, especially during his first term. In just the last several days, he has effectively rehabilitated a charter member of the "Axis of Evil" – North Korea – by agreeing to … Continue reading “Bush Set to Go With a Whimper, Not a Bang”

Calling Pakistan the "greatest single challenge" to the next U.S. administration, a bipartisan group of South Asia experts recommends cutting aid to the Pakistani army unless it commits itself to the counter-insurgency struggle against the Taliban and al-Qaeda. "The Pakistan military should understand that its failure to embrace this fundamental shift in outlook will significantly … Continue reading “Pakistan ‘Greatest Single Challenge’ to Next President”

While the US Senate’s approval of a controversial nuclear deal with India was hailed by the White House Thursday as a major advance in Washington’s "strategic relationship" with the South Asian giant, weapons experts warned that it dealt a serious blow to more than 30 years of US and international nonproliferation efforts. "This is a … Continue reading “Senate Passes Nuke Deal Over Escalation Fears”

A series of meetings between U.S. and Syrian diplomats, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her counterpart, Foreign Minister Walid Moallem, at the United Nations over the past week is stirring speculation that Washington may at last be moving toward engaging Damascus. Instead of focusing on specific issues of special interest to the U.S. … Continue reading “Brief Talks With Syria Spur Speculation”

In a significant and highly unusual defeat for the so-called "Israel Lobby," the Democratic leadership of the House of Representatives has decided to shelve a long-pending, albeit nonbinding, resolution that called for President George W. Bush to launch what critics called a blockade against Iran. House Congressional Resolution (HR) 362, whose passage the powerful American … Continue reading “Iran Resolution Shelved in Rare Defeat for AIPAC”

In an implicit indictment of President George W. Bush’s "global war on terror" and the hawkish pronouncements by Republican candidate John McCain, a bipartisan group of nearly three dozen U.S. leaders called here Wednesday for Bush’s successor to place much greater emphasis on high-level diplomacy – including direct engagement with Iran and Syria – in … Continue reading “Bipartisan Group Urges Deeper Diplomacy with Muslim World”

As if the outgoing administration of U.S. President George W. Bush didn’t already have enough on its plate, the question of whether and how to rearm Georgia in the aftermath of its thrashing last month by Russia is moving steadily up its increasingly crowded foreign policy agenda. Moscow has already signaled any move to provide … Continue reading “White House Still Cautious on Georgia”

US counterterrorism policies and support for the Ethiopian-backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in Somalia have helped create an increasingly desperate humanitarian and security situation in the East African nation, whose population has become increasingly radicalized and anti-US, according to a new report by a major US human rights group. The report, authored by Ken Menkhaus, … Continue reading “US’ Somalia Policy Likely to Bring Blowback”

Iran could emerge as a big winner, at least in the short term, from the rapidly escalating tensions between the United States and Russia over Moscow’s intervention in Georgia, according to analysts. Whatever waning chances remained of a U.S. military attack on Iran before President George W. Bush leaves office next January have all but … Continue reading “Iran Could Reap Benefits of U.S.-Russian Tensions”