Timing of Leak of Afghan Mineral Wealth Evokes Scepticism

The timing of the publication of a major New York Times story on the vast untapped mineral wealth that lies beneath Afghanistan's soil is raising major questions about the intent of the Pentagon, which released the information.

McChrystal Faces “Iraq 2006 Moment” in Coming Months

Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal confronts the spectre of a collapse of U.S. political support for the war in Afghanistan in coming months comparable to the one that occurred in the Iraq War in late 2006.

AFGHANISTAN: The News Is Bad

While U.S. officials insist they are making progress in reversing the momentum built up by the Taliban insurgency over the last several years, the latest news from Afghanistan suggests the opposite may be closer to the truth.

Concerns Grow over Bagram’s Prison within a Prison

The administration of President Barack Obama is considering using Afghanistan's U.S.-run Bagram Air Base prison to indefinitely detain terrorism suspects captured far from a battlefield and who have not been charged with a crime - without any judicial oversight.

Health Agency Urged to Probe CIA Torture Claims

Human rights groups are turning to an obscure government agency to investigate allegations that medical professionals on the payroll of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) helped the agency to perform experiments on detainees in U.S. custody following the terrorist attacks of Sep. 11, 2001, in an effort to make "enhanced interrogation techniques" more efficient and provide them with legal cover.

IRAN: Sanctions’ Effectiveness Widely Questioned

While top U.S. officials touted the U.N. Security Council's approval Wednesday of a new sanctions resolution against Iran as a major diplomatic breakthrough, most nuclear and Iran specialists say it is unlikely to be effective and could prove counterproductive.

Brazil, Turkey Defy U.S. on Nuke Vote Against Iran

After several months of closed-door negotiations and shuttle diplomacy, the United States succeeded Wednesday in getting a new Security Council resolution - the fourth in a series - imposing a fresh set of sanctions penalising Iran for its nuclear programme.

Performance Series Tackles U.S. Accountability Deficit

The Culture Project, a New York City political performance group, staged the latest installment in its "Blueprint for Accountability" series - launched earlier this year to mark the anniversary of President Barack Obama's lapsed deadline to close the Guantánamo Bay detention camp – to a sold-out audience Monday.

CIA Medics Honed Torture Techniques on Detainees, Group Charges

A major human rights organisation claims it has uncovered evidence indicating that the administration of former U.S. President George W. Bush conducted "illegal and unethical human experimentation" and research on detainees in CIA custody.

Doubts Grow Over Israel’s Value as U.S. Ally

Israel's disastrous raid in international waters Monday on a Turkish-flagged flotilla carrying humanitarian supplies to Gaza has resurrected a long-running debate over whether Washington's close alliance with the Jewish state really serves U.S. strategic interests.

CIA Drone Operators Oppose Strikes as Helping al Qaeda

Some CIA officers involved in the agency's drone strikes programme in Pakistan and elsewhere are privately expressing their opposition to the programme within the agency, because it is helping al Qaeda and its allies recruit, according to a retired military officer in contact with them.

Guantanamo Deaths in 2006 Won’t Go Away

A leading good-government group is asking the U.S. Justice Department to disclose details of its investigation into the deaths of three Guantanamo prisoners in 2006.

U.S.: Israel’s Defenders Mobilise, Threaten

Faced with what the Wall Street Journal calls "one of Israel's worst international relations disasters in years", the right- wing leadership of the so-called "Israel Lobby" has been pulling out all the stops to defend the Jewish state against global outrage over its deadly seizure of a Gaza-bound vessel in international waters carrying humanitarian supplies early Monday morning.

U.N. Expert Calls On U.S. To Halt CIA Targeted Killings

Targeted killings, including those using drones, are increasingly being applied in ways that violate international law, according to a report issued Wednesday by a United Nations expert on extrajudicial killings.

Protests Erupt After Israeli Flotilla Raid

Civil society protests are being staged in cities around the world following Israel's widely condemned raid on a flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian aid bound for Gaza.

Child Soldier Case to Kick Off Guantanamo Trials

Legal experts and civil libertarians are attacking the administration of President Barack Obama for resusiscitating what they regard as "deeply flawed" military commissions to try detainees at Guantanamo Bay - and their choice of a "child soldier" as the first defendant.

Obama Seeks to Quiet Outrage over Gaza Flotilla Killings

Amid nearly universal condemnation of Monday's pre-dawn Israeli assault in international waters on a flotilla carrying humanitarian and reconstruction aid bound for Gaza, the administration of President Barack Obama has steadfastly avoided assigning blame.

Indefinite Detention at Gitmo Criticised as “Legal Nihilism”

A new U.S. government report is recommending that 48 men currently detained at Guantanamo Bay should be held indefinitely without trial because "for many of the detainees, there are no witnesses who are available to testify in any proceeding against them".

Gaza Aid Attack Complicates New Sanctions on Iran

Israel's lethal confrontation with pro-Palestinian activists in the Mediterranean is complicating U.S. strategy toward Iran and undermining the likelihood of a solid sanctions victory at the United Nations.

U.S. Drone Strikes Draw Int’l Scrutiny

On the heels of reports that the Barack Obama administration altered a new manual on military commission rules to accommodate an illegal drone programme, a senior United Nations official is expected to call on the U.S. this week to stop Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) drone strikes against people suspected of belonging to al Qaeda.

Fuel Swap Shakes Sanctions Draft, Prods U.S. on New Iran Talks

Although the Barack Obama administration continued to dismiss the May 17 Iranian fuel swap agreement Friday, there are indications that Iran's move has shaken the agreement among U.N. Security Council members on sanctions, and is bringing Russian diplomatic pressure on the United States to participate in new talks with Iran on the swap arrangement - something the administration clearly wished to avoid.