US Global War on Terrorism Not a Forever War
By Harold Hongju Koh* | IDN-InDepth NewsEssay
OXFORD (IDN | Yale Global) - From both the left and the right, three common misperceptions have emerged about US foreign policy: First, that the Global War on Terror has become a perpetual state of affairs; second, that no strategy is available to end this conflict in the near future; and third, that “the Obama approach to that conflict is just like the Bush approach.” I disagree with all three propositions.
First and most important, the overriding goal should be to end this Forever War, not engage in a perpetual “global war on terror,” without geographic or temporal limits.
Canada: New Wave Of Truedeaumania Or Maybe Not
By Ernest Corea* | IDN-InDepth NewAnalysis
WASHINGTON DC (IDN) – “We don’t do dynasties,” a Canadian friend said quite huffily, when asked about the likelihood of Justin Trudeau, the son of the late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, and Margaret Trudeau, being voted into office as the country’s next prime minister.
Turf Wars Making Farce of US Intelligence
By Jen Alic of Oilprice.com* | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis
WASHINGTON DC (IDN) - The US intelligence community is in a state of disarray – most recently illustrated by the Boston Marathon Bombings – and the idea of a more structured cooperation with Russian intelligence as a direct result of this incident is a paper tiger.
The mainstream US media has latched on to the idea of a new era of US-Russian intelligence cooperation as a result of the Chechen connection to the Boston bombing because this is an attractive post-Cold War idea that makes for good headlines.
Israel-Palestine: Waiting For Action To Replace Sweet-Talking
By Ernest Corea* | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis
WASHINGTON DC (IDN) – The party has ended, and the hubbub of nice sounding words and phrases has receded into personal and institutional memory. There are other issues calling for urgent attention, including the dangerous war talk from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, better known as North Korea.)
For all that, President Barack Obama’s March 2013 visit to the Middle East was, say those who were on the spot, nice while it lasted. Even the rockets fired by Hamas operatives from beleaguered Gaza into Israel and carefully directed not to create excessive damage during Obama’s visit failed to spoil the mood.
USA: Republicans Labour To Revive An Old Brand
By Nimal Fernando* | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis
MINNESOTA (IDN) - Rebranding is a daunting prospect in any commercial setting. When the process involves not a product or service, but a political party, daunting does not even begin to make a dent in expressing the exacting task at hand.
Republican Party faithfuls must be painfully aware of this as they take stock and move towards cementing a strategy to rebrand and revitalise the Grand Old Party (GOP) of the United States.
A cartoonist might depict the status quo in the form of a smallish tent sheltering two separate groups, one larger than the other. The smaller group will also be identified as a kind of party within the party, going by the name of Tea Party, but offering neither tea nor sympathy to any but its own.
US Spending Cuts Hit Poor at Home and Abroad
By Martin Khor* | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis
GENEVA (IDN) - On 1 March 1, the United States government had to introduce spending cuts of US$85 billion for this year, as President Obama and the Congress failed to reach an agreement on how to reduce the budget deficit. The so-called “sequestration” marked a new failure in the relations between the President and the Republicans in Congress.
The term “dysfunctional” is now commonly used to describe the US government system, as the deadlock between the President and Congress, and the animosity between the Democrat and Republican parties have blocked laws, policies and agreements.
Obama Retains Audacity of Hope
By Ernest Corea* | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis
WASHINGTON DC (IDN) - Hostile and sometimes potentially humiliating treatment of some of President Barack Obama's nominees or potential nominees for high office by opposing legislators provides a foretaste of what might lie ahead for legislation that will be formulated in line with the national agenda he outlined in his State of the Union Address on February 12.
His proposals cannot simply spring into life and become the law of the land without expert and empathetic management and implementation by senior officials, primarily members of his second term Cabinet that he is now in the process of putting together.
'Coercive Diplomacy' With Iran is Questionable
By Jeremy R. Hammond* | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis
TAIPEI (IDN | Foreign Policy Journal) - The January/February issue of Foreign Affairs features an article titled 'Getting to Yes With Iran: The Challenges of Coercive Diplomacy' by Robert Jervis. By 'Getting to Yes', of course, Jervis means compelling Iran to obey Washington, and by the Orwellian phrase "Coercive Diplomacy", of course, means issuing ultimatums and threats of criminal violence.
US-Israel: Peace Needs More Than Handshakes and Photo-Ops
By Ernest Corea* | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis
WASHINGTON DC (IDN) – Hear those sounds? They are probably the echoes of Israel’s fervent supporters in the US erupting in hosannas when the White House recently confirmed that President Barack Obama is due to visit Israel in March 2013. On the same safari, he will stop over in Jordan and in the Palestinian territory universally known as the West Bank.
The visits are of regional and international significance because they raise the possibility that Obama intends to be directly engaged in the Middle East peace process and that this time around he will be more focused, and supported by more decisive aides, than he was during his administration’s previous attempt to support effective peace negotiations. That effort now lies as inert as road-kill on a highway.
Obama Urges Middle Class-Based Prosperity
By Ernest Corea* | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis
WASHINGTON DC (IDN) – A 19-year-old single mother captured the spirit of hope and change that animated candidate Barack Hussein Obama’s first presidential election campaign with this text message: “Rosa sat, so Martin could walk; Martin walked so Obama could run; Obama is running so our children can fly.” Khari Mosley, a leader of the Democratic Party in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania cited the comment in a newspaper article and it re-surfaced in 2013, reaffirming the sentiments of “hope and change” that helped to propel Obama to the pinnacle of political power in the US.
'Drone War Will Trigger New Arms Race'
By Jaya Ramachandran | IDN-InDepth NewsReport
LONDON (IDN) - The increasing resort to drones by President Barack Obama will over the long term usher in "a new arms race and lay the foundations for an international system that is increasingly violent, destabilized and polarized between those who have drones and those who are victims of them", a leading terrorism expert has warned.
One of the distinctive elements of President Obama's approach to counterterrorism has been his embrace of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), or drones, to target terrorist operatives abroad, says Michael J Boyle in an article for International Affairs, a British journal published every two months.
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