U.S.-EGYPT: Neo-Cons Split on Mubarak

The ongoing crisis in Egypt has resulted in a rare split among U.S. hawks, as some leading neo-conservatives have called for Washington to help oust President Hosni Mubarak, while others have joined the Israeli government in quietly supporting Egyptian leader against protesters calling for his ouster.

US-LATAM: Disappointment May Yield to Distrust

While U.S. officials took strong exception to outgoing Brazilian President Inacio Lula da Silva's recent complaint that "nothing has changed" in Washington's relations with Latin America two years into the Barack Obama administration, many independent U.S. analysts ruefully nodded their heads.

Obama Scores Win with New START Ratification

U.S. President Barack Obama scored key wins Wednesday in both foreign policy and domestic politics as more than the required two-thirds of the Senate - including 13 Republicans who defied their party's leadership - voted to ratify the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) with Russia.

U.S.: Pakistani Ambassador Unknowingly Hosted Neocon Fundraiser

Amid putting on a two-and-a-half day conference focused on escalating measures against Iran, a neoconservative think-tank held a fundraiser at the residence of Pakistan's ambassador to the U.S., according to an IPS investigation.

Senate Hawks Push Obama on ‘Zero Enrichment’ for Tehran

Five senators sent a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama Monday warning the administration not to offer concessions in upcoming talks with Iran over its nuclear programme. If Obama takes the advice, experts say, it could sink his engagement efforts with Tehran.

Mideast Peace Key to Countering Iran, Arabs Told U.S. Diplomats

Gleeful Israeli leaders and their neo-conservative supporters here have spent much of the past week insisting that the State Department cables published by Wikileaks prove that Sunni Arab leaders in the Middle East are far more preoccupied with the threat posed by an ascendant and possibly nuclear Iran than with a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Obama Pushes START Treaty to Top of Legislative Agenda

With time running out before he faces a much more hostile and Republican Congress, President Barack Obama appears to have made Senate ratification of the pending New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) with Russia his top legislative priority.

US-IRAN: Netanyahu Pounds War Drums

Less than a week after Republicans made major gains in the U.S. midterm elections, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has called on President Barack Obama to "create a credible threat of military action" against Iran.

Obama Imposes New Iran Sanctions as War Chorus Rises

Amid new calls for Washington to attack Iran's nuclear facilities if its diplomatic efforts at curbing Tehran's uranium-enrichment programme fail, the United States Wednesday imposed unilateral sanctions against eight senior Iranian officials whom it accused of committing "sustained and severe violations of human rights".

U.S.: Forget ‘Ground Zero Mosque’, It’s the Great Sharia Conspiracy

A new report denouncing the threat to the U.S. from sharia, or Islamic law, marks the latest development in a summer filled with intensifying attacks on Islam in the United States.

US-MIDEAST: Light At End of Tunnel Elusive, Despite Obama’s Efforts

President Barack Obama will try this week to underline his progress in extricating the United States from the morass his predecessor's "global war on terror" in the Greater Middle East.

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.

CNN’s Objectivity Questioned in Sacking of Mideast Reporter

CNN's firing of Octavia Nasr, the editor responsible for the network's Middle East coverage, over a Twitter post in which she expressed her sadness over the death of a Lebanese cleric has set off a firestorm of debate about what the decision says about CNN's fairness in reporting on the region.

U.S. Congress Approves Strong Unilateral Sanctions on Iran

Escalating Washington's growing confrontation with Iran, both houses of Congress Thursday approved a sweeping unilateral sanctions package designed to pressure Tehran into curbing its nuclear programme.

Surge of Think Tanks Blurs U.S. Policy Lines – Part 2

There has been a growing tendency in recent years for think tanks and military brass to jointly pursue policy objectives, some of which are opposed by the public or the White House.

Surge of Think Tanks Blurs U.S. Policy Lines – Part 1

In early May, Gen. David Petraeus, head of U.S. Central Command, was awarded the American Enterprise Institute's Irving Kristol Award, which is given to individuals who have "made exceptional intellectual or practical contributions to improved government policy, social welfare, or political understanding".

U.S.: Neo-Conservatives Lead Charge Against Turkey

As the right-wing leadership of the organised U.S. Jewish community defends Israel against international condemnation for its deadly seizure of a flotilla bearing humanitarian supplies for Gaza, a familiar clutch of neo-conservative hawks is going on the offensive against what they see as the flotilla's chief defender, Turkey.

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.

US-IRAN: Sanctions, “Regime Change” Take Centre Stage

With the Senate set to take up major sanctions legislation against Iran by mid-February, neo-conservative and other hawks are calling on the administration of President Barack Obama to pursue a more aggressive course of "regime change" in Tehran.

US: One Step Closer to Unilateral Sanctions Against Iran

Congress has given new momentum to a bill imposing unilateral sanctions on Iran - a move seen by many as an ineffective form of sanctions and potentially antagonistic against valuable U.S. allies on the U.N. Security Council. This comes ahead of the end of the year deadline set by U.S. President Barack Obama for Tehran to respond to a proposed agreement to export most of its enriched uranium for processing in Russia and France.

US: Increased Focus and Growing Pressure on Pakistan

While President Barack Obama’s announcement last week that he will "surge" 30,000 more U.S. troops into Afghanistan has received all of the attention here over the past week, Pakistan appears to be looming larger than ever in Washington’s strategic calculations and concerns.