Peace in Afghanistan: The Foreigners’ Dilemma

01/16/2012
By Dr. Richard Weitz 01/16/2011 - Limited international backing contributed to the failure of the past Afghan-led reintegration and reconciliation initiatives. Until recently, these processes encountered strong opposition in many Western countries. Meanwhile, reconciliation confronted the issue of previous Taliban misrule and the organization’s ties to the al-Qaeda perpetrators of…

2012: Swans Take Flight

01/15/2012
01/08/2012 by Robbin Laird As the country prepares for the Presidential and Congressional elections, the world will move on oblivious to the logic of the debate inside the Beltway and the country.  The national debt has become a more important focus than national security.  In fact, for many the two have…

Afghanistan 2012: The Peace Problem

01/15/2012
01/15/2011 - by Richard Weitz Editor's Note: In the first of four parts, Richard Weitz looks at the prospects and challenges for an Afghan peace process in 2012 and the reality of the 2014 target goal of withdrawal.  If it is not real now, what will 2014 magic bring that…

Countering Iranian Influence in Latin America (Updated)

01/15/2012
01/15/2012 by Richard Weitz Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's recent five-day, four-country Latin American tour, his fifth to the region as president, has been designed to bolster his reelection chances by showing his supposed global clout, achieve economic gains through bilateral deals, and circumvent international sanctions, which are becoming increasingly severe.…

Why China Opposes US Sanctions on Iran

01/15/2012
01/15/2012 by Richard Weitz Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s failure to secure Chinese government support for imposing sanctions on Iran should come as no surprise. The Chinese government has long resisted sanctions that are not approved by the UNSC, which gives Beijing the right to veto them. And within the UNSC…

Bold Alligator 2012: The USN-USMC Team Shapes the Future (Updated)

01/13/2012
01/13/2012 by Robbin Laird The USN-USMC team is building forces for the future : as the largest amphibious exercise since the 1990s will take place starting this month in Norfolk, Va, it will include not only US forces but French, Dutch and British forces as well. The USN-USMC team is…