US Opinion and Commentary

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How We Can Make Our Vision of a World Without Nuclear Weapons a Reality

Posted March 31st, 2016 at 2:06 pm (UTC-4)
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“I believe that we must never resign ourselves to the fatalism that the spread of nuclear weapons is inevitable.” President Barack Obama

How We Can Make Our Vision of a World Without Nuclear Weapons a Reality

Posted March 31st, 2016 at 11:24 am (UTC-4)
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Given the continued threat posed by organizations such as the terrorist group we call ISIL, or ISIS, we’ll also join allies and partners in reviewing our counterterrorism efforts, to prevent the world’s most dangerous networks from obtaining the world’s most dangerous weapons.

Obama’s Last Chance to Bolster Nuclear Security

Posted March 29th, 2016 at 10:57 am (UTC-4)
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 By Barbara Slavin Terrorist attacks in Belgium and Pakistan lend a greater sense of urgency to President Barack Obama’s final nuclear security summit, set to open on Thursday in Washington. Leaders of more than 50 nations will discuss further steps to reduce and safeguard stockpiles of nuclear materials that would pose an even more serious threat to […]

Terrorism and Presidential Messaging

Posted March 25th, 2016 at 1:38 pm (UTC-4)
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The public does not need from its leaders an eloquent way of expressing what it is already feeling. At least since 9/11, there has been no need for leaders to get the public more stirred up about terrorism than it already is and convince the public that it needs to take the topic more seriously.

The Changing Logic Behind Suicide Bombings

Posted March 25th, 2016 at 12:50 pm (UTC-4)
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‘ISIS is now losing in Iraq and Syria—they’re losing actually quite badly—and so they’re now in a position where they’re trying to change a losing game,’ (Robert Pape) said. The less in control the organization is at home, the more it strikes at targets abroad.

A Wounded Islamic State Is a Dangerous Islamic State

Posted March 24th, 2016 at 12:56 pm (UTC-4)
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But while the Islamic State may be gloating over the Brussels attack, it will lose ground in the coming months as the coalition seems poised to retake Mosul… To survive, it must seek new targets for its fighters and new successes to sustain its brand. Future attacks in Europe aren’t a possibility, they’re a likelihood.

Terrorists, Bathtubs and Snakes

Posted March 24th, 2016 at 10:12 am (UTC-4)
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‘We have a political system that engages quickly and powerfully in response to terrorism and security risks,’ notes Daniel Esty, an environment expert at Yale Law School, ‘but doesn’t seem capable of galvanizing action on climate change and other risks that are less visible and spread over time and space.’

Brussels: Our New Normal?

Posted March 23rd, 2016 at 3:15 pm (UTC-4)
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“We have been through this two times last year,” a diplomatic official told a VOA reporter. “We have to get used to this.” The heinous attacks on two soft targets in the heart of the European Union shattered any delusion that acts of terrorism are one-offs. Amid the horror, came a torrent of criticism, targeting the Belgian government, the effectiveness of EU security apparatus and the Obama administration’s ISIS strategy.Perhaps the most pressing question right now is what can be done to stop the massacre of innocent people? In Europe, the French prime minister urged the EU to “invest massively” in security systems. In the United States, Obama called for unity and resolve. Trump once again called for a crackdown on Muslims. And Clinton called for reinforcing America’s alliances and doing away with what she termed “bluster.”

President Condemns Belgium Terror Attacks

Posted March 22nd, 2016 at 3:18 pm (UTC-4)
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“We will do whatever is necessary to support our friend and ally, Belgium, in bringing to justice those who are responsible. And this is yet another reminder that the world must unite.” President Barack Obama

Making Sense of the Mideast Oil Muddle

Posted March 21st, 2016 at 12:37 pm (UTC-4)
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Low oil prices don’t just affect the wealthy sheiks of the Gulf, but also the Kurdish peshmerga fighters operating on the front line against the Islamic State group. With the decline in market value comes a decline in oil exploration, and diminished budgetary expectations in countries like Iraq that are already hanging on by a thread.

Tackling the Refugee Crisis

Posted March 21st, 2016 at 10:36 am (UTC-4)
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The State Department has been working on its new Innovation Forum, which encourages dialogue between senior policymakers and global innovators to spark fresh ideas

A Hollow Superpower

Posted March 18th, 2016 at 1:04 pm (UTC-4)
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Judging by the pictures on television, Vladimir Putin won a famous victory in Syria this week. After his unexpected declaration that the campaign is over, Mr Putin is claiming credit for a ceasefire and the start of peace talks…. Look closer, however, and Russia’s victory rings hollow.

Genocide

Posted March 17th, 2016 at 5:06 pm (UTC-4)
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Critics of the Obama administration’s Mideast policy say the United States has waited far too long to use the word genocide to describe the brutality exacted by Islamic State militants against its perceived foes. Today, Secretary of State John Kerry satisfied the president’s opponents. “In my judgement Daesh (the Arabic acronym for ISIS) is responsible for genocide against groups in areas under its control, including Yazidis, Christians and Shia Muslims,” said Kerry. Genocide is a legal—and loaded—term. In 1948, the Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide was adopted by the U.N. Security Council. After Kerry’s statement, State Department spokesperson Mark Toner briefed the media:

REPORTER: “So if the Secretary was to decide what is going on is a genocide, that would have legal implications for policy, would it not? You’re obliged to do more about it?… ”

MR. TONER: “So, it’s a fair question. So acknowledging that genocide or crimes against humanity have taken place in another country would not necessarily result in any particular legal obligation for the United States. However, we have joined with the international community in recognizing the importance of protecting populations from genocide, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, war crimes.”

Therein lies the thorns of defining Islamic State’s brutality as genocide. As signatories, is the United States compelled to do more in Iraq and Syria to stop the genocide? Just think back to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and the words of former President Bill Clinton: “If we’d gone in sooner, I believe we could have saved at least a third of the lives that were lost…it had an enduring impact on me.”

Putin’s Surprise Syria Move Leaves World Wondering What He’ll Do Next

Posted March 16th, 2016 at 10:24 am (UTC-4)
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Critics sometimes rail at President Barack Obama for devising foreign policy largely on his own, but Obama is a model of consultative comity compared to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Last September, the Russian leader stunned Obama and everyone else by dramatically intervening in Syria’s civil war ostensibly to fight the Islamic State (ISIS) but actually to save embattled Syrian […]

Syria Truce Holds, So Far

Posted March 10th, 2016 at 3:46 pm (UTC-4)
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Saturday marks two weeks since a ceasefire began in Syria. While the Assad regime, the Russians and opposition groups have all reported violations, combat has been greatly reduced and humanitarian aid has been moving to more areas. Anti-government protests have even taken place amid the truce. A new round of U.N.-mediated peace talks are set […]