US Opinion and Commentary

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Back to the ‘Axis of Evil’ on Iran

Posted February 7th, 2017 at 1:39 pm (UTC-4)
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By Barbara Slavin When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu comes to the White House next week, he is likely to find common ground with its new occupant on at least one topic: Iran. Tough rhetoric by the Trump administration, coupled with new sanctions over missile tests and Iran’s inclusion in a controversial travel ban, signals […]

An Unwarranted Sanction Against Iran

Posted January 30th, 2017 at 1:44 pm (UTC-4)
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By Barbara Slavin With the advent of the Trump administration, many Iran analysts feared the new president would scrap the landmark nuclear deal that curbs Iran’s nuclear program in return for sanctions relief. Little did we know that U.S.-Iran relations were about to be set back more dramatically as collateral damage in a counter-productive presidential […]

 Islamic Republic of Iran Loses a Pillar and a Pragmatist in Rafsanjani

Posted January 9th, 2017 at 1:36 pm (UTC-4)
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By Barbara Slavin Next to the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, few Iranians have had more influence over the past three decades of Iranian history than Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. Rafsanjani, who died Sunday at age 82 of a heart attack, was a master manipulator of Iranian politics who inspired both respect […]

The 33 Minute Threat

Posted December 27th, 2016 at 11:28 am (UTC-4)
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We’re very good at responding when we’re attacked. Look at how America rallied when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, or when al Qaeda destroyed the World Trade Center and crippled the Pentagon….But part of the job of providing for the common defense is anticipating threats, not merely reacting to attacks.

U.S. Foreign Policy Under Donald Trump

Posted November 16th, 2016 at 4:10 pm (UTC-4)
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Before handing the keys to the White House to Donald Trump, Barack Obama is taking a final, presidential lap around the world.

Obama started his three country trip in the birthplace of democracy, Greece. Then it’s on to Berlin to thank Chancellor Angela Merkel for her support during his term. The pair will also meet with the leaders of Great Britain, France, Italy and Spain. Afterward, Obama flies to Peru for the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

In each stop, American allies, and perhaps some foes, will seek reassurance from Obama about the future under a Trump presidency.

With names like former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, former U.N. ambassador John Bolton, Senate Foreign Relations chairman Bob Corker and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley floated as possible choices for Trump’s Secretary of State, there is no shortage of foreign policy speculation and suggestions.

Will Clinton Resist Her Inner Hawk?

Posted October 25th, 2016 at 3:14 pm (UTC-4)
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By Barbara Slavin The Washington foreign policy establishment is salivating at the thought of a Hillary Clinton presidency, which promises to be more interventionist than Barack Obama’s administration and more open to elite views than a Donald Trump White House would be. Think tanks are churning out papers on a variety of topics and pushing them […]

Five Reasons the Middle East Is Becoming More Dangerous for the US Navy

Posted October 24th, 2016 at 2:31 pm (UTC-4)
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While the United States is not yet in any risk of losing its maritime dominance in the region, ensuring freedom of navigation in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, and the Arabian Sea will require more thoughtful cooperation with our allies in other areas.

Stop the Saudi Slaughter

Posted October 24th, 2016 at 1:52 pm (UTC-4)
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Until our politicians act, U.S. complicity in the carnage will continue. Allowing Washington to arm Saudi Arabia’s assault on Yemen spells disaster for the humanitarian crisis there, as well as for the people of Saudi Arabia and the United States.

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 […]

State Department Removes Last MEK Members from Iraq

Posted September 14th, 2016 at 12:00 pm (UTC-4)
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By Barbara Slavin Secretary of State John Kerry announced on Monday that the last 280 members of a controversial Iranian opposition group, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), had been removed from a camp near Baghdad and given refuge in Albania. The news aroused little notice amid Kerry’s remarks about a bigger story – a new attempt […]

Why — and How — the U.S. Navy Must Send Iran a Message

Posted September 8th, 2016 at 11:49 am (UTC-4)
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[T]he IRGC’s Naval component has conducted numerous simulated swarm-attacks against U.S. Navy vessels in the Persian Gulf. In each case, IRGC sailors have ignored radioed warnings from our sailors….(President Obama) is hoping he can ignore the IRGC into oblivion. But he’s wrong. Because the problem here is not American pride, but rather protection of American personnel.

What the World Could Lose in America’s Presidential Election

Posted August 29th, 2016 at 1:23 pm (UTC-4)
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The global impact of a Donald Trump presidency would be disastrous. But even a Hillary Clinton win won’t help reverse the worldwide retrenchment in democracy and human rights unless she brings change in policy from the current administration. If all of that strikes you as a bit too breathless, consider what’s happened over the past decade.

Russia Feels the Sting of Olympic, Iranian Rebuffs

Posted August 24th, 2016 at 1:32 pm (UTC-4)
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August has not been the best of months for Russian President Vladimir Putin. His country largely excluded from the Rio Olympics — and completely barred from the Paralympics — because of a doping scandal, Putin is facing complicated challenges at home and abroad. Continued U.S. and European economic sanctions over Russia’s military intervention in the Ukraine, plus […]

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 […]