Israel has viewed Turkey as an ally since before it declared statehood. Turkey, along with Ethiopia and Iran (the latter of course being a much different story) made up Ben-Gurion’s Periphery Doctrine. Recognizing that in the short-term, Israel would not be able to work with its Arab neighbors, he looked to reach out to Israel’s […]
The White House issued a stern call for the Palestinian Authority to condemn yesterday’s terrorist attack that left left five Israeli settlers dead, including two children and a baby. However, hours beforehand PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad expressed his outrage against the attack, although those words still leave a lot to be desired. The White […]
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake On Thursday, March 10, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert O. Blake Jr. testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on Europe and Eurasia, on U.S. policy and engagement in Central Asia. The hearing was chaired by […]
Over a phone call, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton offered her support to Grameen Bank founder Dr. Md. Yunus. State Department spokesperson Phillip J. Crowley said that “Secretary Clinton spoke yesterday with Dr Muhammad Yunus and expressed support for the independence of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh.” It’s not just that Mrs. Clinton offered […]
The death toll has reached 202 people, and more than 1000 people are still missing, after an 8.8-magnitude earthquake hit Japan Friday, the largest earthquake in Japanese history, and triggered a 13-foot tsunami. (American media are reporting an 8.9-magnitude earthquake, while Japanese media are reporting M8.8.) Four trains wiped out in the tsunami in Miyaki […]
The Great People’s Day, conceived by a handful of Azerbaijani opposition figures as a country-wide day of symbolic protests and local rallies, was held as scheduled on 11 March, and was for the most part a non-event. Arrests took place as soon as protesters assembled in various locations, although reportedly one group managed to march […]
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’ pointed critique of NATO’s run toward the exits in Afghanistan was a much needed corrective to all the lead laden diplomatic talk in Brussels, Washington D.C. and Kabul. (You can find a complete transcript of his remarks here.) The war is a strategic draw nearly 10 years out; leaving now, […]
An 8.9 magnitude earthquake hit the the northeastern coast of Japan earlier today and triggered a 10 meter tsunami that has killed hundreds of people with the death toll expected to rise. Tsunami warnings are in place for several countries including Indonesia, the Philippines and the U.S. west coast. More details on southeast Asian countries […]
On Wednesday, at a memorial service for former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, current Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu decried the settlers “price tag” policy, a nebulous strategy which seeks to inflict violence and/or damage to neighboring Palestinians and their property. “I am certain Begin would have expressed grief and shock regarding this same small and […]
A magnitude-8.8 earthquake hit off the coast of Japan near Miyagi prefecture at 2:46 p.m. local time today (a little over an hour ago), followed by a 7.4-magnitude aftershock about 30 minutes later. The earthquake triggered a 13-foot tsunami that wiped out cars along Miyagi’s coast. Much of Japan’s northeast coast has been affected. Live […]
NATO and Afghan forces killed President Hamid Karzai’s cousin, one Yar Mohammed Karzai, 60 years old, during a night raid against suspected Taliban commanders. NATO and Afghan forces searched the village of Karz, the ancestral home of the Karzai clan and detained Farid Karzai, Yar Mohammed’s son’ under suspicions that he was a Taliban commander. […]
Charlie Rose put together an excellent conversation panel on General David Petraeus’ upcoming testimony to Congress. It features Retired General Jack Keane, columnist David Ignatius and James Shinn, a former policy maker, now academic at Princeton. The talk is lively, important, and perhaps most importantly, well worth your time. Please find the entire conversation here.
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