Jim Lobe

Hopes by the George W. Bush administration for the emergence of an implicit Sunni-Israel alliance against an Iranian-led "Shia Crescent" have faded over the past week as Arab public opinion has become increasingly united by outrage over the Jewish state’s continuing military campaign in Lebanon and Washington’s refusal to stop it, according to Middle East … Continue reading “Sunni-Shia Split Fades as Israel Presses Campaign”

Mocked just months ago as a fool and a lightweight compared to his legendarily shrewd father, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad appears increasingly to have become the "go-to guy" in resolving the two-week-old war between Hezbollah and Israel. While neoconservatives and other hardliners in the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush ruled out any thought … Continue reading “Damascus Now Seen As Pivotal in Mideast Crisis”

Washington’s strong backing – hedged by occasional calls for restraint – for Israel’s 10-day-old military campaign in Lebanon has won it very few friends in the Arab world, despite recent criticism of Hezbollah by pro-U.S. governments in the region, according to a range of regional and foreign policy experts. On the contrary, most experts believe … Continue reading “Backing for Israel Stymies Larger US Aims in Region”

The week-old Israeli-Hezbollah conflict is likely to boost the chances of U.S. military action against Iran, according to a number of regional experts who see a broad consensus among the U.S. political elite that the ongoing hostilities are part of a broader offensive being waged by Tehran against Washington across the region. While Israel-centered neoconservatives … Continue reading “Mideast Conflict Boosts Chances of Iran-US Showdown”

After posing as the champion of democratic reform and the long-oppressed Shia minority in the Arab world, the administration of President George W. Bush appears to be scurrying back to Washington’s traditional policy of strong support for the region’s Sunni-dominated, pro-U.S. authoritarian governments. The shift has actually evolved over much of the past year, as … Continue reading “Back to Sunni Authoritarians?”

Seeing a major opportunity to regain influence lost as a result of setbacks in Iraq, prominent neoconservatives are calling for unconditional U.S. support for Israel’s military offensives in Gaza and Lebanon and "regime change" in Syria and Iran, as well as possible U.S. attacks on Tehran’s nuclear facilities in retaliation for its support of Hezbollah. … Continue reading “Energized Neocons Say Israel’s Fight Is Washington’s”

"We don’t negotiate with evil; we defeat it." So said U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, according to Knight Ridder news agency, three years ago during a top-level White House meeting in which he vetoed yet another State Department proposal that Washington engage North Korea in negotiations over its nuclear program, and a more succinct expression … Continue reading “Cowboy Diplomacy Is Not Dead Yet”

While only one in four Iranians believe that developing nuclear weapons should be their government’s most important long-term goal, more than half say that economic hardship should not deter the country from pursuing its nuclear program, according to a new survey [.pdf] released here Thursday. The survey, which was carried out by Zogby International on … Continue reading “Iran Poll Shows Strong Nationalism, Anti-US Sentiment”

The sudden opening Wednesday by Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia of a second front in Israel’s ongoing campaign against Hamas militants in Gaza presents the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush with an escalating crisis that, until now, it has preferred to ignore. The immediate question it faces is whether to maintain its strong backing for … Continue reading “Bush Faces Major Choice Amid Israeli Escalation”

Tuesday’s announcement by the administration of President George W. Bush that detainees held by the U.S. military at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and elsewhere will be treated in accordance with the Geneva Conventions has provoked both hope and skepticism from human rights activists. While some rights groups hailed the Pentagon’s decision to apply the protections of … Continue reading “Pentagon Switch on Geneva Elicits Hope, Skepticism”