A year and a half into the presidency of Barack Obama, any hopes that he would usher in a dramatic rethinking of U.S. foreign policy have been more or less definitively dashed. Notwithstanding the wild-eyed warnings of right-wing hawks who see Obama as "the first...
New Israeli Settlements Plan Heightens Tensions
The White House reprimanded the Israeli government Friday over reports that Israel plans to build hundreds of new housing units in West Bank settlements, the latest in a series of showdowns between Washington and Jerusalem over settlement construction. The new...
State Dept Condemns Honduran ‘Coup d’Etat,’ Curtails Aid
Frustrated by the continued intransigence of the Honduran regime that ousted President Manuel Zelaya, the U.S. State Department followed through Wednesday on threats to cut off aid to Honduras. "Restoration of the terminated assistance will be predicated upon a...
Afghan Elections Reveal Growing Doubts About War
Washington continues to wait on results from last week's elections in Afghanistan, but few analysts here expect the outcome to provide much of a boost to the U.S.-backed campaign against the Taliban, regardless of who wins. This skepticism about the elections is just...
Under Pressure from Hawks, Obama Glares at Iran
In the face of mounting pressure from hawks in Washington and the continued threat of military action from Israel, the Barack Obama Administration has been taking a harder line in its latest pronouncements about Iran. Recent media reports have suggested that the...
Iran Nuclear Capability After 2013, Says US Intelligence
Iran is unlikely to be able to produce enough highly enriched uranium (HEU) for a nuclear weapon until at least 2013, according to a U.S. government intelligence estimate made public Thursday. The estimate, which sets a notably later date for Iran's acquisition of a...
Pro-Israel Groups Push Back Against Settlements Policy
As the clash between the U.S. and Israeli governments over settlements in the occupied territories intensifies, many of Israel's traditionally staunch defenders in Washington have been pushing back, tentatively but with increasing assertiveness, to urge the Barack...
Honduras: Dictatorships and Double Standards Revisited
When the Honduran military deposed President Manuel Zelaya on Sunday, in an incident that stirred memories of Cold War military coups in Latin America, it also seems to have caused at least some foreign policy commentators here to revert to positions reminiscent of...
Iran Electoral Chaos Energizes Neoconservative Hawks
As U.S. President Barack Obama attempts to navigate the treacherous currents of the ongoing political crisis in Iran, he faces a heated attack on his right flank from neoconservatives and other right-wing hawks, who are urging him both to offer unequivocal support to...
Hawks Push ‘Three-State Solution’ for Palestine
As U.S. President Barack Obama prepares to deliver a major foreign policy speech in Cairo and his administration pushes aggressively for a two-state solution in Israel-Palestine, neoconservatives and other foreign policy hawks back home are calling on him to scrap the...