Obama charts new world order

(Mike Hanna | Al Jazeera English | 23 September 2009) — US president, Barack Obama, outlined his vision of a new world order in which the US would participate fully – during his first address to the UN General Assembly meeting in New York. His vision was rooted on four basic principles: Non proliferation and disarmament, the promotion of peace and security, the preservation of the planet, and a global economy that advances opportunity for all people. Among the speakers that followed was the leader of Libya – Muammar Gaddafi, and the UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-Moon.

Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna reports from New York on the days events.

U.S., Iran: So much to talk about

Upcoming discussions with Iran should address its nuclear program and its awful human rights record.

(LA Times | Editorial | 19 September 2009) – The Obama administration has agreed to direct talks with the government of Iran, along with the other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany, at a meeting scheduled for Oct. 1. Now the question is: What will they talk about? Read the rest of this entry »

Conditioning a U.S.-Iranian Dialogue

Talks between the United States, Iran, and world powers are scheduled for October 1, but analysts are deeply divided over whether gathering around the negotiating table will prove fruitful.

(Greg Bruno | Council on Foreign Relations | 15 September 2009) - President Barack Obama has confirmed a willingness to press ahead with negotiations to try to end the standoff over Tehran’s nuclear program. Talks between the United States, Iran, and world powers are scheduled for October 1, possibly in Turkey (Reuters). And while the Islamic Republic may not be interested (PDF) in dwelling on its nuclear activities, U.S. and other Western negotiators clearly are. “It will be part of that discussion,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs promised this week. But analysts are deeply divided over whether gathering around the negotiating table will prove fruitful. Iran’s disputed presidential election changed the calculus, these observers say. Read the rest of this entry »

Rethinking our Iran strategy

The Islamic Republic’s revolution may be at a crossroads. It’s a possible opening for the U.S.

(Robin Wright and Robert Litwak | Los Angeles Times | 13 September 2009) - Three decades of assumptions about Iran — including the premises behind Washington’s recent outreach to Tehran — have been transformed by its stunning uprising. It’s time for a policy rethink. Read the rest of this entry »

Exclusive: Read Iran’s New Proposal for Nuclear Talks

(Dafna Linzer | ProPublica | 10 September 2009) - The Iranian government has told the Obama administration and its Western allies that it is ready to hold “comprehensive, all-encompassing and constructive” negotiations on a range of security issues, including global nuclear disarmament. Read the rest of this entry »

Iran’s new nuclear talks plan

Many observers see Iran’s new proposal package as a way to freeze the clock on further sanctions. Will Tehran in the end bow to growing international pressure? Would sanctions work? And will the proposal help end Iran’s isolation?

(Al Jazeera English | Inside Edition | 10 September 2009) - Manouchehr Mottakir, Iran’s foreign minister, has submitted his government’s latest proposals to the envoys of the six countries involved in nuclear talks. The proposal comes as Tehran has been threatened with harsher sanctions over its nuclear ambitions. Diplomats will be studying the Iranian message for signs that Tehran is really interested in taking up the offer of economic and political concessions in return for a halt to its uranium enrichment programme.  The proposal is not expected to lead to a breakthrough in the nuclear dispute.  Many observers see Iran’s new proposal package as a way to freeze the clock on further sanctions. Will Tehran in the end bow to growing international pressure? Would sanctions work? And will the proposal help end Iran’s isolation?

This episode of Inside Story airs from Thursday, September 10, 2009 at 1730GMT and 2230GMT, with repeats on Friday at 0430GMT and 1030GMT.

Inside Story: The Role of New Media in Iran

(Al Jazeera English | Inside Story | 5 July 2009) - Social media played an important – maybe even historic – role in Iran’s post-election debacle. But in the process, did it bite off a chunk of conventional media authority? And have rules of journalism been irreversibly bent to open the way for new media?

Think Again: Realism

(Paul Wolfowitz | Foreign Policy | 24 August 2009) - Amid war and recession, Americans are in a no-nonsense, matter-of-fact mood. But that, says a leading architect of George W. Bush’s foreign policy, is no reason to adopt a misguided doctrine.

“We’re All Realists Now.”

No. Pragmatists maybe, but not “realists.” Barack Obama’s election as U.S. president delighted many people, especially the self-described foreign-policy “realists” who accused his predecessor, George W. Bush, of denying reality in favor of dangerous idealism. Obama has praised the realpolitik of Bush’s father, George H.W. Bush. And a White House official recently told the Wall Street Journal, “[Obama] has really kind of clicked with that old-school, end-of-the-Cold-War wise-men generation.” The elder Bush’s national security advisor, Brent Scowcroft, called Obama’s election a rejection of the younger Bush “in favor of realism.” Read the rest of this entry »

Iran’s Presidential Election Shifts Its National Politics

Hamid Dabashi, professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, talks with Steve Inskeep about the political shifts in Iran.

(NPR | Morning Edition | 27 August 2009) – Morning Edition has focused this week on Iran’s nuclear ambitions and what they mean for U.S. policy. Iran’s presidential election two and a half months ago threw the country into turmoil. The fallout could change how Iran proceeds with its nuclear program, and how it approaches negotiations with the West. Hamid Dabashi, professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, talks with Steve Inskeep about the political shifts in Iran.  (Listen to the program) Read the rest of this entry »

Iran Prompts Debate Over Mideast Defense Umbrella

Secretary of State Clinton implicitly acknowledged the possibility that the U.S. may not be able to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.  She also suggested a potential response: the extension of the U.S. defense umbrella to friends and allies in the Middle East.

(Mike Shuster | NPR – Morning Edition | 26 August 2009) – Iran’s leaders say the country’s nuclear program exists only for the purpose of generating electricity. Western intelligence agencies say the Islamic republic aims to produce nuclear weapons and intimidate its neighbors. How close is Iran to getting the bomb? How might it be stopped? And what are the implications for the United States and the rest of the world if Iran succeeds? This week, NPR looks at Iran and its suspected nuclear weapons programs in a series. (Listen to the story | Read the transcript) Read the rest of this entry »