Why some experts fear the Egyptian territory–now a playground of smugglers and terrorists–may be help trigger broader conflict.
Foreign Policy
U.S. Seeks a New Opposition in Syria
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday announced the U.S. would be shifting allegiances in Syria after nearly two years of trying to empower the Paris-based Syrian National Council made up of mostly Syrians in exile.
Foreign Policy: Big Promises, Harsh Realities
Here’s something to keep in mind as the U.S. presidential candidates debate foreign policy on Monday night: the course of domestic politics is hard to predict. The course of world events is impossible to predict.
White House …
Hillary Clinton: ‘I Take Responsibility’ for Benghazi Security Lapse
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said late on Monday that the buck stops with her when it comes to diplomatic security, not the White House.
The Benghazi Attack: A Bigger Question Missed by All the Finger-Pointing
The facts of the case are this: a Sept. 11 attack carried out by armed extremists in Benghazi, Libya, took the lives of a U.S. ambassador and three other Americans. Nearly everything else is unclear. Given that it took the …
Defense Secretary Panetta Sounds Alarm on Cyberwar Threat
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta issued what he said is a “clarion call” Thursday for Americans to wake up to the growing threat posed by cyber war.
“The whole point of this is that we simply don’t just sit back and wait for a goddamn crisis to happen,” Panetta told Time. “In this country we tend to do that, and that’s a …
House Republicans Go After the Obama Administration over Benghazi Attack
House Republicans held a hearing Wednesday on what, exactly, happened in Benghazi on Sept. 11, when an attack took the life of U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens and three other Americans. I say House Republicans and not the …
Romney’s Not-So-“Major” Foreign Policy Address Casts Obama as Weak
Mitt Romney delivered a “major” speech on foreign policy on Monday, although that designation of import comes from Romney’s own campaign, and hardly seems warranted. Romney added little to his previous positions–most of them …
Eleven Years in Afghanistan
Sunday marks the beginning of the U.S. military‘s 12th year in Afghanistan. It ain’t quite the Hundred Years’ War, but 12 years is 20% of this particular Battleland correspondent’s life.
The Iranian Currency Crisis: Three Possible Scenarios
During my trip to Iran last month, the owner of a chicken shop in Shohada Square, a lower middle class neighborhood in southern Tehran not far from the bazaar, complained to me about the fluctuating price of chicken. …
Push and Shove in Iran
While the rest of us are wondering what on earth happened to Barack Obama last night, the President’s Iran policy seems to be moving toward success. The international sanctions that he so laboriously put together are having a devastating effect on Iran’s economy. The currency is collapsing. And now, the bazaaris–Iran’s mythic and …
Did the Anti-Voter Fraud Crusade Undermine the GOP in Florida?
The Sunshine State news last week was dark enough for Republicans even before the voter registration scandal hit the headlines. A Quinnipiac poll gave President Obama 53% to just 44% for GOP candidate Mitt Romney in the critical swing state of Florida, which seemed a neck-and-neck race just a few weeks ago. That body blow has since been …
U.S. Sanctions Take a Toll on Iran’s Currency
There aren’t many places for Iranians to shelter their money these days. Inflation has surpassed interest rates. There’s a construction boom in Tehran, and gold and gems are popular, but hard currency is the safest commodity. And Iranians are fleeing the Rial for the dollar. As one U.S. official described it, they are voting with …