“We can’t lose focus” after Bin Laden’s death, said the former Secretary of State, the woman who helped author the most costly loss of focus in the history of America’s fight against terrorism. Of course, Condi Rice had no earthly idea when she spouted her “mushroom cloud” warning years ago that Saddam Hussein had long given up his nuclear [...]
Archive for the ‘nuclear weapon’ Category
AfPak: Too Big To Fail?
Posted in 9/11, Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, defense spending, democracy, Fundamentalism, Iraq, islam, Middle East, Muslims, nuclear weapon, Obama, Osama, Pakistan, Radical, revolution, September 11, South Asia, Taleban, Taliban, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy, tagged 9/11, Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, America, Americans, defense spending, Iraq, islam, Middle East, Muslims, nuclear, Pakistan, South Asia, Taliban, U.S. Foreign Policy on May 5, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Under Obama, Business as Usual…
Posted in 9/11, Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, Fundamentalism, Iran, Iraq, islam, Israel, Middle East, Muslims, nuclear weapon, Obama, Pakistan, Radical, September 11, Shia, South Asia, Taliban, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy, tagged 9/11, Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, America, Americans, Iran, Iraq, islam, Israel, Middle East, Muslims, Obama, Pakistan, Palestine, Palestinians, Radical, Saudi Arabia, South Asia, Taliban, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy on October 24, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Hussein was not a dirty word for most American Muslims who watched the first black man inaugurated president two years ago. The president’s middle name represented a certain hope, not that our new head of state was a closet Muslim, for we all knew better, and, given many of our experiences, we were not advocates [...]
Insurgency and Counter-Insurgency
Posted in Afghanistan, democracy, Egypt, Fundamentalism, Iran, Iraq, islam, Israel, Middle East, Muslims, nuclear weapon, Obama, Pakistan, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy, tagged Afghanistan, Americans, Arab Gulf, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, islam, Israel, Jordan, mullah, nuclear, Palestinians, Saudi Arabia, Tea Party, U.S. Foreign Policy on September 2, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
This past weekend I hopped on Interstate 95 and rubbernecked my way along stimulus-inspired construction lanes down to colonial Williamsburg, a time-warp back to the days of British empire in America and its discontents. A passion-play called “Revolutionary City” was captivating a crowd of tourists along the former colonial capital’s cobblestone avenues, complete with costumed [...]
The Case Against Iran
Posted in Ahmadinejad, Fundamentalism, Iran, Iraq, islam, Israel, Middle East, nuclear weapon, Radical, U.S. Foreign Policy, tagged Ahmadinejad, Al Qaeda, Iran, Iranians, islam, Israel, Middle East, Netanyahu, nuclear, Radical, U.S. Foreign Policy on August 18, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
I will not attempt to dissect the spate of reactions and counter-reactions to the Jeffrey Goldberg article on the Iran-Israel conflict in this past week’s Atlantic. Smarter people who follow this debate every day and have none of Goldberg’s hidden prejudice or agenda have provided some excellent analysis here and here. I highly recommend this reading for anyone who [...]
The Lonely Voice of Bob Gates
Posted in Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, defense spending, Fundamentalism, Iran, Iraq, islam, Muslims, nuclear weapon, Pakistan, Radical, South Asia, Taliban, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy, Uncategorized, tagged Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, America, defense spending, democracy, Iran, Iraq, islam, Middle East, nuclear, Pakistan, Radical, Taliban, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy on July 14, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Hats off to Bob Gates for being a true patriot. For realizing that the real threat to our national security isn’t a group of angry beards in a Pakistani cave or a gaggle of rogue nations whose combined defense spending doesn’t approach one-tenth of ours, but rather the waste and cozy corruption within our own [...]
A Real Iran Policy
Posted in Ahmadinejad, Fundamentalism, India, Iran, Iraq, islam, Israel, Lebanon, Middle East, Muslims, nuclear weapon, Obama, Shia, U.S. Foreign Policy, tagged America, Iran, Iranians, Iraq, islam, Israel, Lebanon, Middle East, mullah, nuclear, Obama, Shia, U.S. Foreign Policy on May 20, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Elected in no small part due to the backlash against rash Bush administration misadventures abroad, the incoming Obama team swore to itself it would pursue a more nuanced, collaborative policy towards Iran. And from the beginning, the president has acted with considerable restraint, even when the mullahs’ brutality against their own people streamed across the [...]
The Elephant (Not) Attending the Summit
Posted in Iran, islam, Israel, Middle East, Muslims, nuclear weapon, Obama, Pakistan, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy, tagged America, Americans, democracy, Iran, Iranians, islam, Israel, Middle East, nuclear, Obama, Pakistan, Palestine, Palestinians, U.S. Foreign Policy on April 14, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Obama’s nuclear dream seems nice and perhaps in another dimension of reality (paradoxically called Fantasy Land), achievable. Down here on earth, nations will never give up nuclear capability once they have it because they will never know if their adversaries will develop it today or some time in the future. (They don’t even know who [...]
Iran’s Conflicted Diaspora: A Force for Change?
Posted in Afghanistan, Fundamentalism, India, Iran, Iraq, islam, Israel, Lebanon, Middle East, nuclear weapon, Pakistan, Radical, U.S. Foreign Policy, tagged Afghanistan, America, Americans, Diaspora, India, Iran, Iranians, Iraq, islam, Israel, Lebanon, Middle East, mullah, nuclear, Pakistan, Radical, Shia, U.S. Foreign Policy on March 15, 2010 | 2 Comments »
Iran’s cunning leadership has effectively divided the major powers of the world between those willing to engage with it and others who seek to contain or even obliterate it. Without unity and leadership among these various nations, the idea of outside actors influencing real change in Iranian behavior is dead on arrival. Iranians themselves are [...]
Iran’s Mullahs Fall: The Day After
Posted in Afghanistan, Ahmadinejad, democracy, elections, Fundamentalism, Hamas, Hizbullah, India, Iran, Iraq, islam, Israel, Lebanon, Middle East, Mousavi, Muslims, nuclear weapon, Pakistan, Radical, Shia, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy, tagged Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Mousavi, mullah, Muslims, nuclear, U.S. Foreign Policy on January 14, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
As Iran’s Summer of Outrage gives way to a sustained Winter of Discontent, those who predicted the protest movement would wither in the face of massive state repression are scrambling to re-evaluate. Brave Iranians have not backed down, despite rape, murder, torture, and, most recently, indications of targeted killings. On the contrary, the bravado of [...]
Iran: Our Nuclear Obsession
Posted in Ahmadinejad, elections, Fundamentalism, Hamas, Iran, islam, Israel, Middle East, Mousavi, Muslims, nuclear weapon, Shia, U.S. Foreign Policy, Uncategorized, tagged Ahmadinejad, America, Americans, democracy, Hamas, Iran, islam, Middle East, Mousavi, nuclear, Radical, U.S. Foreign Policy on November 2, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Over the weekend, Western news sources didn’t seem much interested in Mir Mousavi’s reaction to Ahmadinejad’s recent nuclear “deal” to ship Iranian uranium overseas, even before it began to unravel. Why not? The Green Revolution’s moderate poster boy has been the belle of the ball over the last 5 months any time analysts wanted [...]
