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Thursday, June 18, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
U.S.-WEST AFRICA: Report Urges Enhanced Maritime Security
The United States and its allies should give much more attention - and resources - to ensuring that weak West African governments along the oil- and gas-rich Gulf of Guinea can protect their territory and coastal regions from terrorists, drug and human traffickers, and other threats, according to new report by an influential think tank released here this week.Obama Pushes START Treaty to Top of Legislative Agenda
With time running out before he faces a much more hostile and Republican Congress, President Barack Obama appears to have made Senate ratification of the pending New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) with Russia his top legislative priority.U.S.: No Top Secrets, but Damaging Nonetheless
While the massive dump of some 250,000 internal U.S. diplomatic communications by Wikileaks includes none marked "top secret", their dissemination is already causing considerable embarrassment and may well inflict longer-term damage on Washington's foreign relations.U.S.: Wikileaks Reveals Treacherous Terrain for Iran Policy
The leaked reports sent by U.S. officials abroad to Washington reveal a treacherous playing field for the United States in the Middle East.U.S.-KOREAS: Hawks, Doves Aflutter Over Pyongyang’s Latest Moves
Given all the other foreign policy challenges he is dealing with, the last thing U.S. President Barack Obama needed three weeks after Republicans swept mid-term elections was the outbreak of a major new crisis on the Korean Peninsula.U.S.: Will Pentagon Be Exempt from Budget Cuts?
With pressure to slash the 1.3 trillion-dollar federal deficit rising sharply, the public debate over whether to exempt the Pentagon from such cuts is moving rapidly toward centre-stage.Obama Scrambles to Save Arms, Foreign Policy Agenda
Two weeks after U.S. voters gave Republicans control of the House of Representatives and a sharply reduced the Democratic majority in the Senate, President Barack Obama is scrambling to save his foreign policy agenda.US-IRAN: Study Group Urges “Strategic Engagement”
The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama should pursue a policy of "strategic engagement" with Iran that would offer Tehran more attractive incentives to curb its nuclear programme, according to a study group convened by two centrist Washington think tanks.Chinese Lead Record Year for Foreign Study in U.S.
Led by a whopping 30 percent increase in Chinese enrollment, U.S. institutions of higher learning attracted a record number of foreign students during the 2009/10 academic year, according to the latest in an annual series of reports released here Monday by the Institute of International Education (IIE).U.S.: Blue-Ribbon Panel Finds AfPak Strategy at “Critical Point”
The administration of President Barack Obama should begin shifting to a counterterrorism (CT) strategy requiring many fewer troops in Afghanistan if its pending review finds that the current counterinsurgency (COIN) strategy is not working, according to a new report by a bipartisan task force of 25 prominent analysts and former top foreign policy officials.IRAQ: Formation of New Govt Hailed (Tentatively) by U.S.
After an agonising eight-month delay, the first concrete steps toward the formation of a new coalition Iraqi government were greeted by senior U.S. officials here Thursday as a major advance in stabilising the long-suffering nation.US-IRAN: Netanyahu Pounds War Drums
Less than a week after Republicans made major gains in the U.S. midterm elections, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has called on President Barack Obama to "create a credible threat of military action" against Iran.Trade, Clean Energy Top Obama’s Asia Agenda
Just days after his party suffered defeat in the U.S. congressional elections, President Barack Obama is finally taking a twice-postponed trip to Asia.Obama Foreign Policy Likely to Face Republican Challenges
While foreign policy issues played almost no role in Tuesday's election results, the historic Republican landslide will almost certainly make Barack Obama's vision of a more positive U.S. role in international affairs more difficult to pursue.AFGHANISTAN: Do Peace Talks Have Traction?
Reports over the past 10 days of high-level talks between the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai and senior representatives of the Taliban have spurred growing speculation here about whether Washington is looking for a speedy exit to the longest foreign war in its history.U.S.: Think Tank Calls for “Bold Leap Forward” in India Ties
On the eve of U.S. President Barack Obama's maiden voyage to India early next month, an influential think tank is calling for "a bold leap forward" in ties between the two nations.CENTRAL ASIA: U.S. Military Aid Far Outpaces Democracy Assistance
Desperate to secure supply routes to Afghanistan, the United States has been spending at least six times more on military aid for the mostly authoritarian states of Central Asia than on efforts to promote political liberalisation and human rights in the region, according to a new report released here by the Open Society Foundations (OSF).Rule of Law Prospers Most in Sweden, Least in Pakistan
The rule of law - a critical element of good governance – thrives best in Sweden, the Netherlands and in several other wealthy nations but is sorely lacking in Pakistan, Kenya, and Liberia, among other poor countries, according to a major new index released here Thursday by the World Justice Project (WPJ)./CORRECTED REPEAT*/: U.S. Jews Increasingly Hawkish on Iran, Sceptical of Obama
U.S. Jews, who, next to African Americans, have constituted the minority most supportive of Barack Obama, are growing more sceptical of his performance and increasingly hawkish on Iran, according to a new poll released Tuesday by the American Jewish Committee (AJC).U.S.-CHINA: Will Renewed Military Ties Relax Regional Tensions?
While a growing dispute between the U.S. and China over the proper valuation of the renminbi is likely to dominate this weekend's annual meeting here of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), another aspect of the complex bilateral relationship between the two global giants may be on the mend.AFGHANISTAN: Nine Years in, Afghans Don’t Trust U.S.
On the ninth anniversary of the U.S. military intervention in their country, a new report released here Thursday finds that Afghans remain deeply distrustful and resentful of the impact and intent of foreign forces there.« Previous Page — Next Page »
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