Familiar Hawks Press Obama on Iraq Withdrawal

A familiar group of mainly neo-conservative hawks – many of whom championed the 2003 invasion of Iraq –released an open letter to President Barack Obama Thursday urging him to retain a substantial military force in that Middle East country beyond this year.

U.S.-IRAQ: Hawks Fret Over U.S. Withdrawal

Eclipsed by the war in Afghanistan, growing tensions between Israel and its neighbours, and the continuing reverberations of the so-called "Arab Spring", Iraq is inching back into the news here as a debate over the future of U.S. military forces there gathers steam.

U.S.: Al Qaeda’s Project for Ending the American Century Largely Succeeded

A decade after its spectacular Sep. 11, 2001 attacks on New York City's twin World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon and despite the killing earlier this year of its charismatic leader, Osama bin Laden, Al Qaeda appears to have largely succeeded in its hopes of accelerating the decline of U.S. global power, if not bringing it to the brink of collapse.

U.S.-LIBYA: Debate Stoked Over “Leading From Behind”

As rebels moved to consolidate control over a post-Gaddafi Libya, foreign policy analysts here are debating whether Washington's role in the nearly six-month civil war in the oil-rich North African nation marks a new model for military intervention and "regime change" in objectionable countries.

SYRIA: U.S. Moves Closer to Call for Regime Change

Amidst growing calls in Congress for stronger measures to effect "regime change" in Syria, the administration of President Barack Obama is escalating its rhetoric against President Bashar Al-Assad.

U.S.: Military Hawks Upset with Debt Deal

As both houses of Congress began debating the 11th-hour debt limit deal hashed out Sunday night by senior lawmakers and the White House, neo-conservatives and other national security hawks complained bitterly Monday that the final package may force major cuts in defence spending in the coming years.

U.S. Islamophobes Distance Themselves from Norway Killings

As Norway mourns the loss of at least 76 of its citizens in Friday's bombing of government buildings in Oslo and mass shootings at a Labour Party youth camp, attention here has focused on the U.S. bloggers and groups whose Islamophobic message appears to have fuelled the alleged perpetrator's murderous rage.

U.S. Hardens Tone Against Assad

Escalating its rhetoric against Bashar Al-Assad, the White House declared Tuesday that the Syrian president had "lost his legitimacy" but declined to call explicitly for his resignation or removal.

U.S.: Neoconservatives Losing Hold Over Republican Foreign Policy

Nearly ten years after seizing control of Republican foreign policy, neo- conservatives and other hawks appear to be losing it.

Washington Failing to Understand Iran’s Opposition

The popular uprisings that have brought turmoil to Arab countries across the Middle East and North Africa have also underscored Washington's dearth of knowledge about forces on the ground in authoritarian states in the Middle East. One of the largest questions bedeviling policy makers has been the composition of various emerging opposition movements.

U.S.: Libya Splitting Republicans in 1990s Redux

In something of a replay of the infighting among Republicans over Washington's military interventions in the Balkans in the 1990s, U.S. involvement in the civil war in Libya is exposing serious splits among self-described conservatives.

U.S.-SYRIA: Neo-Cons Target Assad Regime

Despite the clear opposition of the Barack Obama administration and apparent ambivalence on the part of the right-wing government in Israel, neo-conservative hawks here have set their sights on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad who they hope will be the next domino to fall to the so-called "Arab Spring".

Latin America’s Gaze Increasingly Turns East

On the heels of U.S. President Barack Obama's trip to Latin America, Washington's traditional role as "regional hegemon" is being reevaluated as its attention focuses on the Arab Spring and an emerging commercial competitor - China - focuses on the U.S.'s backyard.

LIBYA-U.S.: Obama Speech Leaves Many Questions Unanswered

Widely praised as an effective defence of Washington's 10-day- old military intervention in Libya, President Barack Obama's speech Monday evening appears to have left several key questions about his future intentions unanswered.

LIBYA: Obama Doctrine of Multilateralism on the Line

As the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) prepares to assume command and control of military operations in Libya after five days of the United States at the helm, U.S. President Barack Obama's doctrine of multilateralism is on the line.

LIBYA: Time for Intervention Running Out

With Libyan government forces advancing towards the rebel capital of Benghazi, the time for possible military intervention by the U.S. and its NATO or other allies appears to be running short.

LIBYA: U.S. Edges Towards Rebel Recognition

As the tide of battle appeared to shift for the first time Thursday in favour of forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi, the United States and its European allies moved closer toward intervening - if not yet militarily - on the side of the insurgency.

LIBYA: Obama Inches Closer to Military Intervention

Under growing political pressure at home, President Barack Obama inched closer here Monday towards committing U.S. military power to at least protecting areas under rebel control, if not ending the 42-year reign of Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi.

U.S.: Neo-Con Hawks Take Flight over Libya

In a distinct echo of the tactics they pursued to encourage U.S. intervention in the Balkans and Iraq, a familiar clutch of neo-conservatives appealed Friday for the United States and NATO to "immediately" prepare military action to help bring down the regime of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and end the violence that is believed to have killed well over a thousand people in the past week.

LIBYA-U.S.: Obama Ally Calls for Regime Change

As Libyan strongman Muammar Al-Gaddafi vowed to hang on to power, a close Congressional ally of U.S. President Barack Obama Tuesday called for an end to his regime.

U.S.-EGYPT: Bush’s Democracy Sage Offers Obama Advice

With then-U.S. President George W. Bush's endorsement of his book, Natan Sharanky, the Ukrainian Soviet dissident turned Likud politician in Israel, rose to super-stardom in the world of democracy promotion.