In a case of better late than never, the Obama Administration finally seems to have put its strategy ducks in order and moved to a more reasoned policy towards Syria. The timing is critical as Israel and Syria indulge in a war of words against the backdrop of escalating tension in the region The
02.8.2010 | Americas, Editorials, Middle East, Syria | Stuart Ford
While we would love to claim prescience, we were not alone in predicting Syria as the potential key to the current regional quagmire. We have probably mentioned the issue more regularly, but there were several other analysts who recognized the same thing. The Bush Administration missed the strat
This is a sort of 'dissectorial’ which I define as a corrective editorial when columnists go rogue (or alternatively satire when you despair about current political discourse). This time, it is Ann Coulter’s fault, and the gloves are off. I usually don’t mind Ann Coulter that much. She is of
It takes an insightful geostrategist like Tom Barnett to point out what should have been obvious, that the public spat between McChrystal and Obama over Afghanistan, is an echo of the disagreement between Fallon and Bush. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Reminds me of Fallon-v-B
In recent weeks there have been some interesting changes in the geopolitical landscape in the Middle East. Some of it is internal reconfiguration, but much of it has been in reaction to changes in the broader international sphere. Saudi Arabia, it is rumored, has potentially made a covert agreement
A little story that slipped through the net in many papers is the report that for the first time in five years a senior Syrian diplomat is visiting Washington, DC for talks with the Obama Administration. Syria has a reasonable relationship with Iran, both have been pariah states to the US for ye
09.30.2009 | Iran, Middle East, Syria | Clarity Correspondent
The vast right wing conspiracy as Bill Clinton recently called it, is amassing its hordes for the final battle to the death on health-care. While some of the opponents are politically motivated, some philosophically, and some cynically/fiscally, there are those who oppose reform predicated on religi
In examining the question of US foreign policy, the focus is often directed on the value sets of the President of the day. However, the question should become not whether the particular man in office is flawed in his Presidency, but whether the world view the US pursues is valid. For exa
Obama faces a serious challenge of his own making in Afghanistan. He has claimed the war as his own, and is now facing an uphill battle for credibility and meaningful advancement in his efforts there. Potentially and despite assurances to the contrary, he may face requests for yet more troops to
A re-run from the vaults to keep the issues front and center. The implied social contract that governs our democratic involvement has changed. In an increasingly complex, inter-connected, and rapid-pace world this is perhaps inevitable, but is worthy of note. Like the current economic recession,
A classic error made by some political scientists (and journalists) is to equate, or in some instances linguistically make interchangeable, a policy tool with an ideology. Many of the issues under debate in the current economic maelstrom would serve as examples. One one side, we have the striden
It has been frustrating to witness the outraged blathering of the far right commentators on developments In Iran. When they spit vitriol and acid at domestic issues it is bad enough, but when they apply their one-eyed world view to international matters, the consequences can be far more seri
06.21.2009 | Americas, Features, Iran, Middle East | Stuart Ford
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