Global Geopolitics

Azerbaijan Pursues Drones, New Security Options

By Shahin Abbasov
Heightened tensions with longtime foe Armenia over breakaway Nagorno Karabakh and mediator Russia’s Ukrainian adventure appear to be pushing Caspian-Sea energy power Azerbaijan ever more strongly toward a military strategy of self-reliance.

Documents Detail Secret Talks Between Washington and Havana

By Roger Hamilton-Martin
In a new book cataloguing the recent history of clandestine exchanges between the U.S. and Cuba, the reliance on secret intermediaries belies the common perception that the two governments rarely communicated during the decades that followed the Cuban revolution in 1959.

Militarising the Ebola Crisis

By Joeva Rock
Six months into West Africa’s Ebola crisis, the international community is finally heeding calls for substantial intervention in the region.

Arms Trade Treaty Gains Momentum with 50th Ratification

By Joel Jaeger
With state support moving at an unprecedented pace, the Arms Trade Treaty will enter into force on Dec. 24, 2014, only 18 months after it was opened for signature.

Iraq Looking for an ‘Independent’ Sunni Defense Minister

By Barbara Slavin
Iraqi President Fouad Massoum said this past week that the government was looking for an independent Sunni Muslim to fill the post of defense minister in an effort to improve chances of reunifying the country and defeating the group that calls itself the Islamic State (IS).

Zero Nuclear Weapons: A Never-Ending Journey Ahead

By Thalif Deen
When the United Nations commemorated its first ever "international day for the total elimination of nuclear weapons," the lingering question in the minds of most anti-nuclear activists was: are we anywhere closer to abolishing the deadly weapons or are we moving further and further away from their complete destruction?

Championing Ocean Conservation Or Paying Lip Service to the Seas?

By Christopher Pala
President Barack Obama this week extended the no-fishing areas around three remote pacific islands, eliciting praise from some, and disappointment from those who fear the move did not go far enough towards helping depleted species of fish recover.

OPINION: How Obama Should Counter ISIS

By Emile Nakhleh
President Obama’s speech at the United Nations on Sep. 23 offered a rhetorically eloquent roadmap on how to fight the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). 

Washington Snubs Bolivia on Drug Policy Reform, Again

By Zoe Pearson and Thomas Grisaffi
Once again, Washington claims Bolivia has not met its obligations under international narcotics agreements. For the seventh year in a row, the U.S. president has notified Congress that the Andean country “failed demonstrably” in its counter-narcotics efforts over the last 12 months. Blacklisting Bolivia means the withholding of U.S. aid from one of South America’s poorest countries.

Despite New Pledges, Aid to Fight Ebola Lagging

By Jim Lobe
Despite mounting pledges of assistance, the continuing spread of the deadly Ebola virus in West Africa is outpacing regional and international efforts to stop it, according to world leaders and global health experts.

Obama Blasts Brutality and Bullying, but Not by Israel

By Thalif Deen
When U.S. President Barack Obama addressed the U.N. General Assembly Wednesday, he was outspoken in his criticism of Russia for bullying Ukraine, Syria for its brutality towards its own people, and terrorists of all political stripes for the death and destruction plaguing Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Somalia.

OPINION: Delivering on the Promises of the Global Partnership for Development

By Wu Hongbo
Persistent gaps between the promises made, and actually delivered, by developed countries to developing countries, hold back efforts to improve people’s lives and end poverty.

The Changing Face of Caribbean Migration

By Jewel Fraser
Ruth Osman is attractive and well-groomed in tailored slacks and a patterned blouse, topped by a soft jacket worn open. Her demeanour and polished accent belie the stereotypical view that most Caribbean nationals have of Guyanese migrants.

OPINION: ISIS Appeals to a Longing for the Caliphate

By Farhang Jahanpour
When, all of a sudden, ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) emerged on the scene and in a matter of days occupied large swathes of mainly Sunni-inhabited parts of Iraq and Syria, including Iraq’s second city Mosul and Tikrit, birthplace of Saddam Hussein, and called itself the Islamic State, many people, not least Western politicians and intelligence services, were taken by surprise.

U.N. High-Level Summits Ignore World’s Political Crises

By Thalif Deen
As the 69th session of the General Assembly took off with the usual political pageantry, the United Nations will be hosting as many as seven "high-level meetings", "summits" and "special sessions" compressed into a single week - the largest number in living memory.

ISIS Complicates Iran’s Nuclear Focus at UNGA

By Jasmin Ramsey
Iran’s foreign minister arrived in New York last week with his sights set on a final deal on Iran’s nuclear programme. But a pressing regional conflict is hanging heavily over the already strained negotiations as Iran and world powers resume talks on the sidelines of this week’s U.N. General Assembly.

Is Newly-Renovated U.N. Readying For Balkanisation of World?

By Thalif Deen
When world political leaders arrive next week for the annual ritual of addressing the United Nations, they will be speaking inside a newly renovated General Assembly hall - part of a hefty 2.1-billion-dollar, seven-year refurbishing project - with an extended seating capacity for 204 member states, 11 more than the current 193.

OPINION: Fighting ISIS and the Morning After

By Emile Nakhleh
As the wobbly anti-ISIS coalition is being formed with American prodding, the Obama administration should take a strategic look at the future of the Arab world beyond the threat posed by the self-declared Islamic State. Otherwise, the United States would be unprepared to deal with the unintended chaos.

OPINION: Sleepwalking Towards Nuclear War

By Helge Luras
New military measures to deter what NATO perceives to be a direct threat from Russia were adopted at the alliance’s Heads of State meeting in Wales (Sep. 4-5). A few days earlier, President Barack Obama made promises in Estonia that the three tiny Baltic NATO member states would “never stand alone”. 

Nuclear Deal with Iran Likely to Enhance U.S. Regional Leverage

By Jim Lobe
A successful agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme could significantly enhance U.S. leverage and influence throughout the Greater Middle East, according to a new report signed by 31 former senior U.S. foreign-policy officials and regional experts and released here Wednesday.

U.S. Ground Troops Possible in Anti-ISIS Battle

By Jim Lobe
U.S. combat troops may be deployed against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) if the strategy announced by President Barack Obama last week fails to make substantial progress against the radical Sunni group, Washington’s top military officer warned here Tuesday.
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