US Opinion and Commentary

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A Turning Point in Yemen?

Posted October 17th, 2016 at 10:47 am (UTC-4)
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By Barbara Slavin The Saudi bombing that killed 140 people at a funeral in Yemen earlier this month has given the Barack Obama administration new diplomatic ammunition to push for a halt to an increasingly bloody and counter-productive war. Meeting in London Sunday with his British counterpart, Boris Johnson, and a UN envoy, Secretary of […]

Trump Doubles Down on His Bromance with Putin

Posted October 10th, 2016 at 3:40 pm (UTC-4)
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By Barbara Slavin Throughout a long and dispiriting campaign, Donald Trump has been consistent on at least one topic: his admiration for Vladimir Putin and unwillingness to blame Russia for provocative and aggressive actions against the United States and others. During Sunday’s second debate with Hillary Clinton, Trump continued to try to minimize or deny […]

Iran Refuses to Release Prisoner of Conscience Mohammad Ali Taheri

Posted October 3rd, 2016 at 10:11 am (UTC-4)
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By Barbara Slavin When Iranian officials come to the United Nations, they are usually met with questions about their human rights practices, particularly the arrest of dual nationals. This year was no different as interlocutors brought up the cases of Siamak Namazi and his father, Baquer; another Iranian-American, Robin Shahini; a British-Iranian mother, Nazenin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, […]

Iran President to Avoid Obama in Brief Visit to U.N.

Posted September 19th, 2016 at 9:43 am (UTC-4)
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By Barbara Slavin Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s fourth sojourn to New York during the annual General Assembly summit will be his shortest since taking office – only two days. Rouhani, who is due to arrive Tuesday and leave Thursday, is seeking a Goldilocks-like happy medium intended to show that he is still relevant but avoiding […]

Burkini Ban as Bad as Obligatory Hijab

Posted August 29th, 2016 at 11:08 am (UTC-4)
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by Barbara Slavin The “burkini” controversy is about much more than proper attire on France’s Mediterranean Coast. The victim of repeated brutal terrorist attacks by men claiming affiliation with the Islamic State (ISIS), France is understandably uneasy at the growth of a native Muslim population that distinguishes itself from the general public in such an […]

Saudi Backing of Iranian Exile Group Inflames Mideast Conflicts

Posted July 11th, 2016 at 12:35 pm (UTC-4)
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By Barbara Slavin Iran and Saudi Arabia are experts at infuriating each other, with dismal consequences for the region they co-inhabit. Facing off in proxy conflicts from Yemen to Syria, they are also practitioners in a propaganda war that now extends to open Saudi support for an Iranian exile group that seeks the overthrow of […]

What Americans Owe Iraqis

Posted July 5th, 2016 at 2:24 pm (UTC-4)
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By Barbara Slavin While Americans were celebrating their 240th year of independence with cookouts, trips to the movies and peaceful fireworks, Iraqis were digging victims out of the rubble after one of the worst bombings in that country’s history. At least 175 people are now confirmed dead, hundreds more injured from the suicide bombing Sunday […]

Millennials, Brexit and the Future of Globalization

Posted June 27th, 2016 at 10:30 am (UTC-4)
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By Barbara Slavin The results of the British referendum on leaving the European Union are another reminder of how much more thoughtful and yes, mature, the millennial generation is turning out to be. By large majorities, Britons under 45 voted to remain in the EU while their elders, with fewer years to bear the consequences, tossed […]

Supporters of Nuclear Deal Should Promote Iran Human Rights

Posted May 12th, 2016 at 11:08 am (UTC-4)
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By Barbara Slavin Every day brings another horrific story of human rights abuses in the Middle East. From the killing fields of Syria to the carnage in Yemen to the crowded prisons of Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and Israel, there are enough atrocities in the region to absorb the energies of dozens of […]

Have Russia and Iran ‘Won’ in Syria?

Posted February 10th, 2016 at 12:59 pm (UTC-4)
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By Barbara Slavin As Russia continues to pound Syria’s largest city, Aleppo, sending thousands more desperate people surging toward the Turkish border, it is hard to deny that U.S. diplomatic strategy on Syria is in disarray. Secretary of State John Kerry, facing reporters Tuesday, conceded the obvious: “Russia’s activities in Aleppo and in the region […]

Iran Nuclear Agreement Faces ‘Significant Turbulence’

Posted December 21st, 2015 at 1:43 pm (UTC-4)
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By Barbara Slavin Eager to see relief of punishing economic sanctions, Iran is moving swiftly to implement the landmark nuclear deal it reached with the international community in July. But other actions in Tehran and Washington are souring the climate for compliance. Stephen Mull, the State Department’s lead coordinator for the agreement, faced tough questioning […]

More ‘Special Operators’ Head to Iraq and Syria as Anti-IS Coalition Grows

Posted December 2nd, 2015 at 3:58 pm (UTC-4)
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By Barbara Slavin Galvanized by the terrorist attacks in Paris, President Barack Obama is sending another 100-200 Special Forces troops to the Middle East to augment the fight against the group that calls itself the Islamic State (IS). The decision, revealed Tuesday, is a cautious escalation characteristic of a president who campaigned on a pledge […]

A Multinational, Multidimensional Strategy Against the Islamic State

Posted November 16th, 2015 at 12:51 pm (UTC-4)
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By Barbara Slavin Among the most unhelpful suggestions in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in Paris was Republican Mike Huckabee’s proposal that President Barack Obama cancel the recently signed nuclear agreement with Iran. Huckabee’s reasoning: “Radical Islamists, whether Sunni or Shia, are a clear and present danger to civilization.” Never mind that Iran is […]

The Mixed Legacy of Iraq’s Ahmed Chalabi

Posted November 3rd, 2015 at 2:37 pm (UTC-4)
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By Barbara Slavin News that Ahmed Chalabi died today in Baghdad brings back a flood of memories of the time when Chalabi was the most influential Iraqi in Washington. Leader of a fractious exile group called the Iraqi National Congress (I.N.C.), Chalabi – who left Iraq as a teenager and lived most of his life […]

Saudis Should Reveal a Political Endgame for Yemen

Posted October 8th, 2015 at 4:55 pm (UTC-4)
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By Barbara Slavin As Saudi planes continue to bombard one of the world’s poorest nations, it is time for the Barack Obama administration to use its leverage as the Kingdom’s major arms supplier to put pressure on Riyadh to enter negotiations on a political solution to the conflict in Yemen. Testifying this week before the […]