Peter Van Buren Peter is a 24 year veteran as a State Department diplomat and ended his service as leading an FOB ( forward operating base) during the Iraq war. The base was used to establish an American presence to spend millions on Iraqi community support. – Ed. Going forward, Trump is unlikely to pull…
Richard Silverstein As the October 15th deadline for President Trump to certify Iranian compliance with the P5+1 nuclear deal, the administration, through various media leaks made clear it will refuse to do so. His grounds for refusal are the flimsiest imaginable: Iran has engaged in objectionable behavior which the President wishes violated the deal, but…
Peter Van Buren [This article originally appeared at Reuters and is used with the author’s permission.] Is there hope for Iraq? It depends on what you are hoping for. It is becoming clearer that there is little hope of destroying the Islamic State in Iraq. Islamic State has no shortage of new recruits. Its fighters capture heavy weapons with…
Peter Van Buren [Originally posted at Reuters here] America’s new strategy for resolving the Sunni-Shi’ite crisis in Iraq? The Surge — again. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey sounds as if he were reading off the 2007 script, echoing the divide-and-conquer strategy that was the basis for the Surge: “If you can separate those [Sunni] groups,”…
The Contrary Perspective 