Jim Lobe

While the vast majority of analysts agree that sectarian violence in Iraq has declined sharply from pre-“surge” levels one year ago, a major debate has broken out as to whether the achievement of the surge’s strategic objective – national reconciliation – is closer or more distant than ever. On one side, advocates of the surge … Continue reading “Iraq: Toward National Reconciliation, or a Warlord State?”

Amid growing polarization between President Gen. Pervez Musharraf and Pakistan’s civilian opposition forces, US hopes of salvaging a power-sharing accord that would marry the military dictator to former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto are fading fast. Indeed, Bhutto’s public break with the military dictator – enunciated, among other places, in a Washington Post column Wednesday that … Continue reading “No Easy Answers to Pakistan Crisis”

U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could cost U.S. taxpayers as much as $3.5 trillion through 2017 if both direct and indirect, or "hidden," costs are taken into account, according to a new report released Tuesday by Democrats in Congress. The 27-page report, entitled "War at Any Price?" [.pdf], concluded that the total economic costs … Continue reading “Dems Put War Costs at $3.5 Trillion Through 2017”

Just as the White House claims that it has finally turned the corner in what it defines as the "central front" in the war on terror – Iraq – it has found itself desperately trying to contain new crises in the war’s "periphery" stretching east to Pakistan, west to Turkey, and south to the Horn … Continue reading “New Crises Sap Bush’s War on Terror”

Despite his refusal to declare waterboarding illegal, President George W. Bush’s choice to be his next attorney general overcame a significant hurdle Tuesday as the Senate Judiciary Committee narrowly endorsed his nomination. The Committee voted 11 to 8 to recommend the confirmation of retired federal judge Michael Mukasey to the full Senate. He was opposed … Continue reading “Torture Queries Fail to Stop Bush’s Justice Pick”

Amid growing contention among Democratic presidential contenders about US policy toward Iran, a senior Republican lawmaker has appealed to President George W. Bush to pursue “direct, unconditional, and comprehensive talks” with Tehran. The appeal, which was sent to Bush by Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel two weeks ago, noted that Washington’s diplomatic efforts to use economic … Continue reading “Republican Senator Calls for Unconditional Talks With Iran”

Insisting that the recent transition in Cuba represents "the dying gasps of a failed regime," US President George W. Bush Wednesday vowed to maintain Washington’s nearly 50-year-old trade embargo against Cuba until its government "has adopted in word and deed fundamental freedoms." "America will have no part in giving oxygen to a criminal regime victimizing … Continue reading “Bush Rules Out Any Détente with Cuba”

Spurred by the deployment of at least 100,000 troops along Turkey’s border with Iraq, the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush is pressing its closest clients in Iraqi Kurdistan to crack down hard against the Kurdish Turkish Workers’ Party (PKK), which Washington considers a terrorist organization. Given the administration’s refusal so far to back … Continue reading “Bush Risks Falling Off Turkish-Kurd Tightrope”

In the harshest speech against Iran given by a top Bush administration official to date, Vice President Dick Cheney Sunday warned the Islamic Republic of "serious consequences" if it did not freeze its nuclear program and accused it of "direct involvement in the killings of Americans." "Given the nature of Iran’s rulers, the declarations of … Continue reading “Cheney Raises the Rhetoric Against Iran”

Amid rising bilateral tensions with Turkey and strong White House pressure, the Democratic leadership of the US House of Representatives is expected to set aside a controversial resolution recognizing as a "genocide" the deaths of as many as 1.5 million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. While House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who … Continue reading “Ties With Turkey Dodge One Bullet”