The United States
Posted at 2:30am on Jun. 16, 2008 The Future Of Iraqi-American Relations
By Pejman Yousefzadeh
A really outstanding editorial from the Washington Post:
THOUGH IT was hardly noticed in Washington, Iraq's Shiite-led government sent a powerful message to Iran and to the Middle East last week. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whose coalition is often portrayed as an Iranian client, traveled to Tehran for a meeting with supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The ayatollah bluntly declared that Iraq's "most important problem" was the continuing presence of U.S. troops. He pressured Mr. Maliki to stop negotiating a package of agreements with the Bush administration that would delineate a "strategic framework" between Iraq and the United States and provide for the deployment of U.S. forces beyond the expiration of a U.N. mandate at the end of this year.
Mr. Maliki refused. He assured his Iranian hosts that Iraq would not be a launching pad for an American attack on Iran. But he pointedly told a press briefing that negotiations on the strategic partnership would continue. He repeated that commitment on Friday, even after warning that the talks had "reached a dead end." In effect, the Iraqi prime minister was saying that his country does not want to become an Iranian satellite but an independent Arab state that would look to the United States to ensure its security.
This would seem to be an obvious U.S. gain in what, according to Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) as well as President Bush, is the urgent task of countering Iran's attempt to dominate the Middle East. It means that Iraq, a country with the world's second largest oil reserves and a strategic linchpin of the Middle East, just might emerge from the last five years of war and turmoil as an American ally, even if its relations with Iran remain warm.
Read the rest for information on how this remarkably positive state of affairs is actually upsetting Congressional Democrats, who evidently wouldn't know good news if their lives depended on it. Read as well to get some facts on the specifics of the impending Iraqi-American agreement that counter the current spin that has Iraq serving as the latest addition to the American "empire." Andrew Sullivan has been on a particular tear recently, denouncing the incipient imperial ambitions of the United States. One hopes that someone passes along a copy of the editorial his way so that he could perhaps be educated on how things are really developing between the United States and Iraq.
Posted in Foreign Affairs | Iraq | The United States — Comments (2)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 1:02am on Apr. 8, 2008 The Case For A Free Trade Deal Between Colombia And The U.S.
By Pejman Yousefzadeh
Courtesy of the Secretary of State. This is the most important story you have never heard of. It behooves us to pay more attention to it and for there to be more pressure on Congress to pass the trade agreement.
Posted at 3:15pm on Feb. 17, 2008 Foreign Policy Makes A Comeback As An Issue
By Pejman Yousefzadeh
The state of the American economy is a big deal in the upcoming election, but it isn't as if foreign policy should take a back seat as an issue. To say the least, there is a lot going on in the world today and the next President of the United States is going to have quite the full plate to deal with. Including this:
Kosovo's parliament has unanimously endorsed a declaration of independence from Serbia, in an historic session.
The declaration, read by Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, said Kosovo would be a democratic country that respected the rights of all ethnic communities.
The US and a number of EU countries are expected to recognise Kosovo on Monday.
Serbia's PM denounced the US for helping create a "false state". Serbia's ally, Russia, called for an urgent UN Security Council meeting.
It will be interesting to find out what Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton think of the American stance on Kosovar independence. They promise us that they will conduct a foreign policy that will win respect and affection around the world. Will that include respect and affection from Russia, which bitterly opposes this move? And how will they respond to Russian demands Abkhazia and South Ossetia, two Russian enclaves in Georgia, be recognized in response to Kosovo's independence?
Posted in Foreign Affairs | Kosovo | Presidential Campaign Reactions | Russia | Serbia | The EU | The United States — Comments (4)/ Email this page » / Read More »
