Tag Archives: Iran
The People’s Mujahedin of Iran: A Most Undesirable Partner
Quite a few Iranian exiles are worried about the pro-MEK stance of some influential people in the Trump camp. The Crown Prince of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, has reached out to Donald Trump to congratulate him on his victory and to … Continue reading
Russia in Syria Reminds us of Soviet Actions in Cuba
Russian/Iranian actions in Syria represent a major gamble based on the perception of American weakness. An initial strong and swift response now will prevent the need for a riskier response in the future. Continue reading
P5+1 Iran Deal Reduces American Influence
The United States and Iran are not morally equivalent; we do not share the same creed, vision for the world, or idea of liberty and justice. The U.S. initiates violence only to defend the lives of its citizens or liberate people from tyranny. Tehran’s theocracy initiates violence to further expand its reach with an end goal of establishing a global caliphate under the banner of radical Shia Islam. The U.S. is a liberating force, while the Islamic Republic of Iran is a conquering one. Continue reading
Obama’s Two State Tantrum
Obama doesn’t really believe in a Palestinian state. He’s throwing a two state tantrum because it gives him a convenient angle of attack against Netanyahu. The Israeli election was about either forcing out Netanyahu or isolating him. Having failed at the first, Obama is defaulting back to the second. This isn’t about peace. It’s about fighting and winning a political war against Netanyahu in order to free Obama to secure his nuclear deal with Iran.
Revisiting the “Reset” and Russian Expansion into Crimea
Putin has every reason to think that the Ukraine crisis will pass as did the Georgia crisis. And President Xi Jinping in Beijing will be watching as well, calculating how far to push in Asia. What is being reset is the map of the world.
2014: Gazing Through a Crystal Ball, Darkly
2014 opens with gathering storm clouds and the U.S. ship of state under the command of an administration pursuing increasingly dubious foreign policies and facing declining public approval. The chickens stirred up by the “Leading from behind” approach are coming home to roost, particularly in the Middle East with the White House tilt to Iran.
Fighting for religious freedom: The plight of Saeed Abedini and America’s response
“I was devastated to learn that the [Obama] Administration didn’t even ask for my husband’s release when directly seated across the table from the leaders of the government that holds him captive.” Naghmeh Abedini
Obama’s Dangerous Nomination of Samantha Power
With the nomination of Samantha Power as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations replacing the infamous Susan Rice, Barack Obama has filled out his second term foreign policy team, and it isn’t pretty. With the appointment of Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense, to that of John Kerry as Secretary of State, the Obama administration has unsurprisingly failed to appoint a responsible foreign policy team that is willing to promote strong American interests in the Middle East.
The United States and Romania: Security Arrangements and Mutual Interests
STRATFOR is a professional electronic publication that deals with geopolitical issues and global intelligence. Its founder and chairman, George Friedman, is well-informed and aware of contemporary Eastern European affairs.
Kerry’s Mythological Peace Process: Israel and the Terrorists
Few figures in American political life have been as consistently wrong as often as John Kerry. The former Senator bet on every Communist leader and Middle Eastern tyrant he could find only to watch the wheels of history roll over his mistakes. And now as Secretary of State, Kerry is at it again. In between peddling a Syrian peace process that no one but him believes in, he took a break to peddle the even more discredited peace process between Israel and the terrorists.
Smart Power Iran
Iran plays smart. We do not – unless the objective is to stay engaged for engagement’s sake. That really worked neatly during the Cold War and we had the Soviets exactly where we wanted them: engaged. Thus, for most of the conflict we did not accomplish anything save for staying engaged. The fallacious assumption was that the impotent engagement saved us from a nuclear war, as if the Kremlin…
John Kerry’s first foreign trip: Much ado about nothing
On March 6, Barack Obama’s new Secretary of State, John Kerry—who succeeded Hillary Clinton as a result of the fallout following the terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi last September 11 — has returned home after an eleven-day nine-nation grand tour. During his first trip abroad as head of the Department of State, he visited the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.
In Your Face: Obama’s Nomination of Hagel to head Defense
In March 2012, President Barack Obama told then Russian President Dimitri Medvedev, which was unexpectedly picked up by an open mike: “This is my last election. After my election I have more flexibility” And Medvedev responded, in English, “I understand. I will transmit this information to Vladimir.” Obama was then referring to slicing our missile defense capability to the bone, but today his “flexibility” is on display with his in-your-face nomination of former Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel to become the next Secretary of Defense.
