POLITICS-US/IRAN: Another Step Toward Realism

Realists in the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush appear to have won another victory over the dwindling ranks of neo-conservatives and others hawks with this weekend's announcement that Washington will soon engage in bilateral talks with Iran.

POLITICS-US/SYRIA: No Detente Just Yet

The U.S. State Department has harshly condemned Syria's sentencing of political prisoner Kamal al-Labwani, one week after Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice broke a two-year diplomatic embargo against Damascus.

POLITICS-US: Neo-Cons Driving Iran Divestment Campaign

Neo-conservative hawks who championed the invasion of Iraq are leading a new campaign to persuade state and local governments, as well as other institutional investors, to "divest" their holdings in foreign companies and U.S. overseas subsidiaries doing business in Iran.

POLITICS: Can Europe End the Lose-Lose Game with Iran?

As the world powers gather in Berlin this week to discuss new punitive measures against Iran's nuclear programme, Europe is faced with a daunting task.

US-AFGHANISTAN: Deaths Mount with No End in Sight

While attention among policy-makers in Washington remains focused on Iraq, the war in Afghanistan has become an ongoing struggle to keep the country from deteriorating into a failed state.

US/IRAQ: ‘Pentagon Moved to Fix Iraqi Media Before Invasion’

In the run-up to the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, the Pentagon planned to create a 'Rapid Reaction Media Team' (RRMT) designed to ensure control over major Iraqi media while providing an Iraqi 'face' for its efforts, according to a ‘White Paper' obtained by the independent National Security Archive (NSA) which released it Tuesday.

POLITICS-US: Deadly Tornado Brings Iraq War Home

Increasingly isolated by his dogged opposition to a timetable for withdrawing U.S. combat troops from Iraq, U.S. President George W. Bush will travel to the site of a deadly tornado in Kansas Wednesday, in part to rebut charges that relief operations there were hampered by shortages of equipment that had been shipped to Iraq.

POLITICS-US: Slowly, Slowly, the Ship of State Turns Realist

With just over 18 months left in office, the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush appears once again to be moving in a more "realist" direction in its dealings with the rest of the world, including the Middle East.

CANADA: Media Crucifies Green Party Hopeful for 9-11 Views

Kevin Potvin, a writer who was seeking to run for Canada's Green Party in Vancouver, has had his nomination papers denied by Elizabeth May, the party's leader, after an article he wrote expressing confusion and sympathy for the 9-11 attacks emerged from 2002.

POLITICS: A Softer, Gentler Era of U.S., Iran Relations?

Tehran's high-level presence at the meeting this week in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt to discuss Iraq's security boosts the chances for eventual negotiations between Tehran and Washington over their long-running disputes, say analysts here and in Iran.

POLITICS: Western Sahara Awaits End to 30 Years of Limbo

For the first time in seven years, Morocco and the Western Sahara will engage in direct talks over a 30-year-old territorial dispute, but the two sides come to the negotiating table with very different plans for the region's future.

U.S./IRAQ: Bush Holds Iranian Officials as Bargaining Chips

When the George W. Bush administration announced in January that it was targeting Iranian officials in Iraq, it justified the policy as necessary to protect U.S. troops because of their alleged involvement in attacks on U.S. forces.

RIGHTS: U.S. “Moral Authority” Rests on Big Stick

When the 192-member U.N. General Assembly meets in mid-May to elect 14 new members to the 47-nation Geneva-based Human Rights Council (HRC), the United States will be conspicuous by its absence and missing from the ballot.

SOMALIA: Despite Lull in Fighting, Stability Looks Remote

Four months after U.S.-backed Ethiopian forces drove the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) out of its last stronghold in Kismaayo, Somalia's return to stability looks as distant as ever, according to experts here.

POLITICS-US/IRAQ: Ex-Soldier Recalls Horrors of Abu Ghraib

Saturday marked the third anniversary of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. On Apr. 28, 2004 CBS broadcast the first graphic photos of torture inside of the U.S.-run prison in Iraq on its 60 Minutes II programme.

POLITICS: Top Wolfowitz Postings Went to Iraq War Backers

Of the top five outside international appointments made by embattled World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz during his nearly two-year tenure, three were senior political appointees of right-wing governments that provided strong backing for U.S. policy in Iraq.

POLITICS-US: Cheney Daughter Rages Against Syria

Just a week after Vice President Dick Cheney accused Congress' senior Democrat and Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi of "bad behaviour" for visiting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, his daughter and former senior State Department official, Elizabeth Cheney, called Thursday for a global diplomatic embargo against Damascus.

RIGHTS-U.S./IRAQ: Claims Detail Grim Civilian Toll

Newly released documents have made public hundreds of claims for damages by Iraqi civilians requesting compensations for the death and injury of family members as a result of operations by Coalition Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

POLITICS-US: Breaking the Army

President George W. Bush's ongoing "surge" of some 35,000 troops to add to the 140,000 already deployed in Iraq is highlighting growing concern, particularly among the military brass, that the U.S. army is overstretched and fast becoming "broken".

POLITICS: Israel Urged to Seize Chance for Talks With Syria

Israel should take advantage of the opportunity to renew peace negotiations with Syria while there is a real chance of success, or risk further destabilising the Middle East, says a new report.

POLITICS-US: Heroes or Cowards? Neocons Weigh In on Sailors

Name, rank, serial number and sign on the dotted line. No sooner had Britain's 15 "kidnapped" sailors and marines returned from their harrowing "hostage" experience at the hands of Iran than some were lining up to sell their stories to the British press.