The body language coming out of the first round of talks about Iran’s nuclear program is excellent. As David Ignatius writes today, we seem to be moving down a path toward a well-calibrated and sensible deal. And that should make everybody happy. But, of course, it won’t. The neoconservatives won’t like it, no matter what. They’ll say, …
Iran
U.S.-Israel Tension a Liability in Iran Talks
When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made his annual pilgrimage to Washington last year it was an unmitigated disaster. President Obama felt Netanyahu was lecturing him during the press appearance at the end of their …
First Round of Iran Nuclear Talks Highlights Obama’s Tough Spot in an Election Year
Tehran emerged from the latest round of talks on its nuclear program fairly upbeat. Iran’s foreign minister said Monday that all of the disputes over his country’s nuclear program – which Iranian officials say is peaceful …
The Menu of Options in the Iranian Nuclear Talks
For the first time in more than a year and a half, negotiators from Iran and the so-called P5+1 countries – the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, the U.S., Russia, China, France and England, plus …
Eying the Conflict Timeline with Iran
When will the U.S. go to war with Iran? That question was on the minds of President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at their summit this week in Washington, as Massimo Calabresi and I write in this week’s dead tree version of the magazine.
Making Iran a Campaign Issue May Not Prove Easy for the GOP
In Washington, D.C., Iran seems to be on everyone’s minds.
Republican strategists Karl Rove and Ed Gillespie this week made the case in an op-ed in Foreign Policy that in order to win the White House, the eventual GOP nominee should focus on international affairs rather than the domestic economy. “The Republican candidate should …
Four Ways the U.S. Could End Up at War with Iran Before the Election*
Most political analysts in Washington believe that war with Iran is unlikely, especially before the November U.S. elections. Politically it would be hard for President Obama to engage in another Middle Eastern war given the
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Obama in Foreign Policy Interview: Warmonger or Milquetoast?
To the foreign policy left, Obama is a turncoat who spoke out against the George W. Bush Administration’s expansion of executive power during the 2008 campaign only to adopt some of Bush’s security-over-civil-liberties policies on taking office. To those on the right, Obama is a turncoat determined to cede American global preeminence …
Inside Obama’s World: The President talks to TIME About the Changing Nature of American Power
In an exclusive interview with TIME’s Fareed Zakaria, President Obama opens up on Iran, Afghanistan, China and the challenges the U.S. faces in navigating a rapidly changing world. A full transcript of their conversation follows
President Obama: Romney Foreign Policy Attacks Will Wither in ‘Serious Debate’
President Obama dismissed Republican rival Mitt Romney’s critiques of his foreign policy credentials Wednesday in an exclusive TIME interview, saying the GOP front runner’s attacks are little more than primary posturing that …
Iran’s Dangerous Game
The Republicans running for President have never seemed more ridiculous than when they discuss Iran and gratuitously–and ignorantly–criticize President Obama’s handling of that issue. Obama has patiently increased the economic pressure on Iran and, acting in concert with the Israelis, worked to sabotage the Iranian nuclear program–and …
Obama’s Iran and China Challenge
In this week’s print column, which can be found here if you’re a TIME subscriber, I deal with two foreign policy challenges that may well crash through the all-economy, all-the-time nature of the coming presidential campaign–China and Iran. The President is thinking long and hard about both right now, but these are not easy issues to deal with:
Iranamok Redux
Back in the 1980s, The New Republic coined a lovely neologism to describe Ronald Reagan’s foolishly convoluted and entirely illegal attempt to trade arms for hostages: Iranamok. The reference was to Reagan’s silly staff having …