Despite Iraq Withdrawal, Greater Mideast Not Looking Good

While President Barack Obama Monday touted the continuing U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq as a key marker in the success of his regional policies, the latest news from the Greater Middle East, as well as a new public opinion survey, is far less encouraging.

Haiti Gears Up for Polls – Again, Sans Lavalas

After weeks of delays, Haitian President René Préval confirmed this month that presidential and legislative elections will take place on Nov. 28. The U.N. and Western donor nations are pledging millions of dollars in support of the polls, but with at least 1.5 million people still homeless from the January earthquake, questions loom over how to ensure voter participation.

HONDURAS: Rights Situation Deteriorates

Six months after the inauguration of President Porfirio Lobo, the human rights situation in Honduras continues to deteriorate, according to two major New York-based groups.

Pakistan Poll Finds Widespread Disillusionment

The recent Wikileaks dump of war-related documents has brought little new to the debate over Washington's ongoing military involvement in Afghanistan, but allegations that Pakistan's intelligence services are aiding the Taliban has brought renewed attention to U.S. concerns over its reliance on Islamabad in battling Taliban and al Qaeda forces in Afghanistan.

US: Court Blocks Arizona’s Anti-Immigrant Law

In a legal victory for the administration of President Barack Obama, a federal court Wednesday temporarily blocked the implementation of key provisions of a controversial Arizona immigration law that was to take effect Thursday.

Obama’s Afghanistan Strategy Increasingly Under Siege

Monday's release by WikiLeaks of tens of thousands of classified documents detailing the travails of the U.S. military in Afghanistan and Pakistan's secret support for the Taliban from 2004 through 2009 comes amid a growing crisis of confidence here in the nearly nine-year-old war.

Leaked Reports Make Afghan War Policy More Vulnerable

The 92,000 reports on the war in Afghanistan made public by the whistleblower organisation WikiLeaks, and reported Monday by the Guardian, The New York Times and Der Spiegel, offer no major revelations that are entirely new, as did the Pentagon Papers to which they are inevitably being compared.

Hopes Fade for Languishing U.S. Climate Bill

The Barack Obama administration has found success in passing healthcare reform and legislation touted as an "overhaul" of the U.S. financial system, but last week it became clear that the Democrats wouldn't advance a climate change bill until after the August recess and, more likely, until next year.

Despite Cuts, Nukes Still Integral to U.S. Security Strategy

The new U.S. plan to maintain and improve its nuclear weapons complex is likely to hinder international efforts to halt the spread of weapons of mass destruction, say independent analysts who have watched a series of U.N.-led talks on nuclear proliferation and disarmament for years.

US/INDONESIA: Resumption of Special Forces Training Denounced

Thursday’s announcement in Jakarta that Washington will resume training for the Indonesian military’s controversial Special Forces unit (Kopassus) has been denounced by human rights groups and two key lawmakers here.

US and South Korea Impose New Sanctions on North

The United States and South Korea will impose new sanctions on North Korea in an effort to crackdown on the North’s participation in arms proliferation and increase pressure on Pyongyang after the sinking of a South Korean warship.

UN Chief Dilly-Dallying on Panel to Probe Israeli Killings?

When the Security Council condemned the killings by Israeli military forces of nine Turkish civilians on a flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza last May, it also released a presidential statement "taking note" of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s proposal for an international investigation of the incident.

Obama-Cameron Meet Overshadowed By BP and Libya

British Prime Minister David Cameron’s visit to Washington, DC on Tuesday was supposed to be an opportunity for the Conservative Party leader to build a rapport with U.S. President Barack Obama.

Amiri Told CIA Iran Has No Nuclear Bomb Programme

Contrary to a news media narrative that Iranian scientist Shahram Amiri has provided intelligence on covert Iranian nuclear weapons work, CIA sources familiar with the Amiri case say he told his CIA handlers that there is no such Iranian nuclear weapons programme, according to a former CIA officer.

MIDEAST: Israel’s Next War Could Be Lebanon: Analyst

While speculation over a possible Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities intensifies, at least one influential analyst here is calling on Washington to focus more on the likelihood of a new war breaking out between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia and how to prevent or contain it.

Civil Society Hails New Oil and Mining Transparency Standards

National and international civil society groups Thursday hailed the U.S. Senate's passage of a major financial reform act that includes a key anti-corruption provision requiring energy and mining companies to publicly disclose payments they make to governments around the world.

Obama Says U.S. Will “Redouble” Efforts Against Al-Shabaab

U.S. President Barack Obama has said Washington will "redouble" its efforts against the Somali Islamist group al- Shabaab (The Youth), whose deadly bombings in Kampala Sunday are likely to result in stepped-up U.S. military and other assistance to the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in Mogadishu.

IRAN: Unrest Grows over Economic Woes

Last year's Iranian political demonstrations have given way to economic protests that could prove more worrisome for the Tehran government.

Stirrings of a New Push for Military Option on Iran

"From a marketing point of view, you don't introduce new products in August," explained then-White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card back in September 2002, in answer to queries about why the administration of George W. Bush had not launched its campaign to rally public opinion behind invading Iraq earlier in the summer.

US-CUBA: Clinton “Encouraged” by Prisoner Accord

In the most positive U.S. statement on developments in Cuba in recent memory, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Thursday said the reported agreement between President Raul Castro and the Cuban Catholic Church regarding the release of 52 political prisoners was "very welcome".

MIDEAST: Obama and Netanyahu All Smiles

Insisting that the bond between their two nations was "unbreakable", U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu emerged all smiles from their long-awaited White House meeting here Tuesday.