Tag: iran

Heavy Grows Israel’s Finger on the Trigger

P5 +1 (the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany) and Iran failed to secure a breakthrough at the third round of talks in Moscow last week. Meanwhile, Israel’s trigger finger remains itchy. On May 17 Michael Stott of Reuters reported: “I think they’ve gone into lockdown mode now,” the senior Western … Continue reading “Heavy Grows Israel’s Finger on the Trigger”

Obama’s October Surprise: Largest War Games in US-Israeli History

Israel’s daily Maariv reported yesterday that the long delayed war games between U.S. and Israeli forces will take place in October. It noted that some commentators are calling it a “dress rehearsal” for the aftermath of an Israeli attack on Iran. IDF sources quoted in the article called the exercises “of immense importance.” These will … Continue reading “Obama’s October Surprise: Largest War Games in US-Israeli History”

Regime-Changers’ Report Card

Divide et impera – a strategy employed by empires since ancient times, and perfected by the British – has been the leitmotif of American foreign policy in the Middle East since the Bush administration’s “Arab Awakening” in Iraq and the supposed success of the “surge.” I’ve written in this space about the playing of the … Continue reading “Regime-Changers’ Report Card”

Playing for Time on Iran

Recently, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta finally said it. The U.S. is “fighting a war” in the Pakistani tribal belt. Similarly, observers are starting to suggest that “war” is the right word for the American air and special operations campaign against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in southern Yemen. (There have already been 23 U.S. … Continue reading “Playing for Time on Iran”

Creepy Nicholas Kristof Rejoices in Murderous Iran Sanctions

There is something more than a little creepy about Nicholas Kristof’s incessant interest in prostitutes — only out of concern for their well-being, of course — as he travels across the planet. But in his most recent trek across Iran, he abandons his obsession for a bit in order to look at the U.S. sanctions … Continue reading “Creepy Nicholas Kristof Rejoices in Murderous Iran Sanctions”

Cyberwar for Me but Not for Thee

In my last column, I wrote about how the U.S. has pivoted to Asia (the administration prefers the term “rebalanced”) because of the concern of a rising China. In addition to China’s growing military capabilities [.pdf] — such as modernizing its nuclear forces (including a development of a road mobile intercontinental ballistic missile capable of … Continue reading “Cyberwar for Me but Not for Thee”

Will Heads Roll for the Stuxnet Leak?

Within days of SEAL Team Six’s killing of Osama on that midnight mission in Pakistan, Defense Secretary Bob Gates, reading all about the raid in the press, went to the White House to tell President Obama’s national security adviser pungently to “shut the [bleep] up.” Leaked secrets of that raid may have led to the … Continue reading “Will Heads Roll for the Stuxnet Leak?”

Changes at Parchin Suggest an Iranian Bargaining Ploy

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Western governments acted this week to escalate their accusations that Iran has "sanitized" a site at its Parchin military complex to hide evidence of nuclear weapons work, showing satellite images of physical changes at the site to IAEA member delegations. The nature of the changes depicted in the … Continue reading “Changes at Parchin Suggest an Iranian Bargaining Ploy”