In The News

The Washington Times: Resolving the Afghanistan Crisis

Seyed Hossein Mousavian April 26, 2017
Peace has evaded Afghanistan for decades. The Russians fought in Afghanistan from 1979 until 1989. The brutal Taliban regime, a minority group, took control in the 1990s until the US-led invasion in 2001. Since 2001, the United States and its allies tried to rebuild communities with schools, agriculture projects, road construction, clinics and more. “By early 2017, the situation had deteriorated...

The Atlantic: All the President's Flip-Flops

David A. Graham April 13, 2017
The US president, in office for less than 100 days, has reversed course on multiple campaign promises, as listed by David Graham for the Atlantic. The “most visible reversal” is on Syria – with Donald Trump rejecting foreign intervention in Syria, even after a 2013 chemical attack, before the election and as president ordering missile attacks. Trump’s praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin...

BBC News: G7 Seeks United Front on Assad, Russia and Syria War

April 10, 2017
G7 leaders want to unite around a strategy for ending civil war in Syria while convincing Russia to abandon support for President Bashar al-Assad. “Allies will also be seeking clarity from the US on its Syria policy, after some apparently mixed messages,” notes a BBC report. US officials continue to offer divided assessments on Assad’s future, even after air strikes on an air base in retaliation...

Asia Sentinel: Pyongyang Finds an Ally in Moscow

Alessandra Colarizi April 6, 2017
US President Donald Trump said to Financial Times, “If China is not going to solve North Korea, we will.” Trump may be one step behind as North Korea increasingly turns to Russia for support. “Gone are the days when Beijing was by far the Democratic People’s Republic’s most reliable partner,” reports Alessandra Colarizi for Asia Sentinel. “And although China accounts for 90 percent of North Korea...

Washington Post: Trump and “America First” Philosophy

Greg Jaffe April 6, 2017
Citizens around the world expect to international leaders to speak out against wartime atrocities and offer policies that promote moral values including justice and concern for human rights. “President Trump has vowed to follow a radically new approach to foreign policy that jettisons the costly mantle of moral leadership in favor of America’s most immediate economic and security interests,”...

The New York Times: Worst Chemical Attack in Years in Syria; US Blames Assad

Anne Barnard and Michael R. Gordon April 5, 2017
A few days after the United States announced that it would not seek removal of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, a chemical weapon attack was launched against a rebel stronghold in Idlib Province, killing dozens and injuring more than 250. A nerve agent is suspected with images of people shaking or paralyzed, gasping for air, transmitted by global media. “A senior State Department official said the attack...

France-Amérique: NATO and the Trump Enigma

Guy Sorman April 3, 2017
French diplomats and pundits admit to confusion over US President Donald Trump's goals and opinions about NATO. An essay goes on to pose multiple questions and suggests that longstanding US allies such as France do not expect clear answers, with analysts wondering whether Trump deliberately presents two stances, one specifically for his followers and another for the world at large. “No...