POLITICS-U.S.: Iraq-Attack Think Tank Turns Wrath on NGOs

Having led the charge to war in Iraq, an influential think tank close to the Bush administration has added a new target: international non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

POLITICS-U.S.: Pentagon Moving Swiftly to Become ‘GloboCop’

Much like its successful military campaign in Iraq, the Pentagon is moving at seemingly breakneck speed to re-deploy U.S. forces and equipment around the world in ways that will permit Washington to play ''GloboCop'', according to a number of statements by top officials and defence planners.

POLITICS-U.S.: Loss of Key Aide Marks New Setback for Colin Powell

Thursday's announcement that the State Department's director for policy planning, Richard Haass, is leaving to become the next president of the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), marks the latest sign of the eclipse of Secretary of State Colin Powell's influence in the Bush administration.

IRAQ-U.S.: Credibility Gap Anyone?

When all three major U.S. newsweeklies - 'Time', 'Newsweek' and 'U.S. News & World Report' - run major features on the same day on possible government lying, you can bet you have the makings of a major scandal.

POLITICS-U.S.: Neo-Cons Move Quickly on Iran

Reports that top officials in the administration of President George W. Bush will meet Tuesday to discuss U.S. policy toward Iran, including possible efforts to overthrow its government, mark a major advance in what has been an 18-month campaign by neo-conservatives in and out of the administration.

POLITICS-U.S.: Hawks Push Growing India-Israel Ties

Immediately after the Sep. 11 attacks on New York and the Pentagon, the neo-conservative editorial page of the 'Wall Street Journal' featured an article arguing that Israel, India and Turkey were Washington's only ''allies for the long haul'' in the coming war against terrorism.

POLITICS-U.S.: China Hawk Settles in Neo-Cons’ Nest

Neo-conservative hawks have scored a new victory in the administration of President George W. Bush with the hiring by Vice President Richard Cheney of a prominent hawk on China policy.

POLITICS-U.S.: Strong Must Rule the Weak, said Neo-Cons’ Muse

Is U.S. foreign policy being run by followers of an obscure German Jewish political philosopher whose views were elitist, amoral and hostile to democratic government?

IRAQ: Next Target: Iran?

With Iraq under U.S. occupation and Syria shaken by a series of high-level threats from the administration here, Iran is now looming as a major target for U.S. pressure.

IRAQ: Who’s in Charge in Washington?

One day after U.S. President George W. Bush proclaimed victory in the war against Iraq from the flight deck of a homeward-bound aircraft carrier off San Diego, the war between the Pentagon and the State Department seemed to be raging as furiously as ever.

POLITICS-U.S.: Bush Commitment to Mideast Road Map Doubtful

Will President George W. Bush follow in his father's footsteps after a previous military victory against Iraq and exert serious pressure on Israel to implement the ''road map'' to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict that was released by the State Department on Wednesday?

IRAQ: U.S. Neo-Conservatives Launch War at Home

Only a week after U.S. military forces consolidated their control of Baghdad, a new war has broken out, this time in Washington.

IRAQ-U.S.: Syria in the Crosshairs of Familiar Group of Hawks

Many of the same people who led the campaign for war against Iraq signed a report released three years ago that called for using military force to disarm Syria of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and to end its military presence in Lebanon.

U.S.-IRAQ: What Next?

Even as U.S. troops helped bring down Baghdad's most imposing statues of President Saddam Hussein, the big question here on Wednesday was, 'What now?', not just for Iraq and the Mideast in general, but also for the future of international relations.

IRAQ: Pentagon Parachutes Favourite into Position

When U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt asked Josef Stalin to consider seeking the advice of Pope Pius XII about the shape of post-World War II Europe, the Soviet dictator famously replied, ''How many divisions does the Pope have?''

POLITICS-U.S.-IRAQ: Watch Woolsey

If you want to figure out whether the administration of President George W. Bush intends a crusade to ''remake the Middle East'' in the wake of Washington's presumed military victory in Iraq, watch what happens with R. James Woolsey.

IRAQ: Rumsfeld Under Heavy Fire at Home

While the U.S. military continues to explode real bombs over Baghdad, a full-scale guerrilla war centred on President George W. Bush's controversial Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld appears to have broken out in earnest back in Washington.

IRAQ: Occupation Struggle Pits Pentagon Against Powell, Europe

Even as U.S. troops grind their way toward Baghdad, the administration of President George W. Bush remains in turmoil over its post-war plans to occupy Iraq.

IRAQ: Poll Finds U.S. Public Rallying to Bush and Supporting U.N.

While a strong majority of the U.S. public is rallying behind President George W. Bush's invasion of Iraq, they also support the United Nations Security Council and back multilateral diplomacy rather than unilateral U.S. action, according to a major poll released here Monday.

POLITICS-U.S.: Neo-Con Nosedive?

Just a week ago, Richard Perle, the powerful chairman of the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board (DPB) and the leader of the neo-conservative hawks who have pushed the drive to war in Iraq, reportedly threw a victory party at his house in celebration of the U.S.-led invasion.

POLITICS-U.S.-EUROPE: The Split is Forever, Author Argues

Try as he might, British Prime Minister Tony Blair's desperate efforts to bridge the growing divide between the United States and Europe are doomed to fail in the long run, says Charles Kupchan, an influential foreign-policy expert and former National Security Council (NSC) officer.