patrickgoodenough

India’s Reluctance to Comply With Iran Oil Sanctions Draws Fire on Capitol Hill

2012-02-09T09:13:00.000+13:00

The Obama administration’s nominee to serve as ambassador to India assured lawmakers this week that concerns about India’s energy relationship with Iran will be among her “top priorities” if she’s confirmed. But after India’s foreign secretary held talks with senior U.S. officials the same day, the State Department’s readout of topics discussed made no direct reference to Iran. Read

Obama-Erdogan Partnership Comes Amid Rising Concern Over Turkish Policies

2012-02-08T09:43:00.000+13:00

A visit by Turkey’s foreign minister this week for high-level talks in Washington draws fresh attention onto the deepening relationship between the Obama administration and Turkey’s Islamist-leaning government at a time of rising criticism over its increasingly authoritarian policies. Read

Signs of Movement on Long-Stalled Japan-US Military Realignment Plans

2012-02-08T09:42:00.000+13:00

Almost six years after Washington and Tokyo finalized a painstakingly-crafted agreement aimed at easing tensions over the U.S. military presence on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa, there are signs that the long-stalled deal is about to inch ahead, in amended form. Read

State Dept. Sidesteps Opportunity to Criticize Palestinian Unity Deal: ‘An Internal Matter’

2012-02-07T09:17:00.000+13:00

The Obama administration stopped short Monday of condemning a deal that brings the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas into a “unity” government, in stark contrast to Israel’s prompt denunciation of the move. Read

U.S. Seeks New Alliance Outside U.N. to Hasten Departure of Syrian Leader

2012-02-06T10:22:00.000+13:00

Following Saturday’s U.N. Security Council showdown over Syria, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has raised the idea of like-minded countries uniting outside the U.N. to ramp up the pressure on President Bashar Assad to step down. Read

U.S. Military Aid to Egypt at Risk for First Time in Decades

2012-02-06T10:21:00.000+13:00

With more than a billion dollars in U.S. aid potentially in jeopardy, Egypt’s foreign minister claimed Sunday that the country’s military government has no control over the judiciary’s decision to crack down on foreign-funded, non-governmental organizations. Read

Banished: Shari’a Court Orders 3 Christian Pastors and Catholic Missionary Out of India's Kashmir

2012-02-03T09:36:00.000+13:00

India’s Christian minority has long faced harassment at the hands of militant Hindus, but in the Indian-controlled portion of Muslim-majority Kashmir the threat is coming from Islamic fundamentalists. Read

Arab Upheavals Leave Hamas Looking for New Home, Sponsors, Strategy

2012-02-02T08:56:00.000+13:00

Hamas’ Gaza-based leader, Ismail Haniyeh, is due to visit Iran on Friday, further fueling some of the heaviest speculation in years about shifts in the terrorist group’s alliances and strategies resulting from the political upheavals in the Arab world. Read

Iran-Venezuela Links Examined Amid Fresh Calls for Terror-Sponsor Designation

2012-02-02T08:50:00.000+13:00

U.S. lawmakers will turn a spotlight Thursday on the deepening links between Iran and leftist regimes in Latin America, at a meeting that will likely hear fresh calls for the administration to designate Venezuela as a state sponsor of terrorism. Read

State Dep’t Official Discusses Promotion of ‘Human Rights for LGBT People’ Around the World

2012-02-01T07:57:00.000+13:00

A State Department official adopted a cautious tone Tuesday while discussing the administration’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) foreign policy initiative, saying the focus was on advocating “human rights for LGBT people” rather than – as suggested by a questioner – promoting “gay rights.” Read

Clinton Accuses Assad of Setting Syrian Minorities Against Each Other

2012-02-01T07:56:00.000+13:00

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday accused the Syrian regime of a “divide-and-conquer strategy” aimed at setting the country’s religious and ethnic groups against each other. Read

Corzine on List of Top Obama 2012 Campaign Bundlers

2012-01-31T07:59:00.000+13:00

Democratic former New Jersey governor and head of the collapsed investment firm MF Global Jon Corzine features on a list of top fundraisers for Barack Obama’s re-election campaign, one of 61 “bundlers” who raised at least half a million dollars each. Read

Asked About Plight of Syrian Christians, State Dept. Erroneously Blames Regime

2012-01-31T07:56:00.000+13:00

Christians are under threat in Syria, but the Obama administration appears unaware of, or unwilling to acknowledge, the source of the danger facing the minority. Read

‘We Stand With You,’ Clinton Tells Syrian People Ahead of Security Council Meeting

2012-01-31T07:55:00.000+13:00

“We stand with you,’ Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a message to Syrian protesters as she prepared to join her British and French colleagues and the head of the Arab League in a concerted push Tuesday to secure a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning the Assad regime. Read

Panetta Admits There Are ‘Risks’ Associated With Military Cutbacks

2012-01-27T23:30:00.000+13:00

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta defended plans for a “leaner” U.S. military – including the shedding of 100,000 soldiers and Marines within five years – while acknowledging that the proposed cut-back budget will raise the level of risk for the U.S. and its allies. Read

Euthanasia ‘Must Always Be Prohibited,’ European Body Says

2012-01-27T23:29:00.001+13:00

Anti-euthanasia activists are praising the passage by a leading European governmental body of a resolution stating clearly that euthanasia “must always be prohibited.” Read

Obama’s SOTU Audience Continues to Shrink; Smaller Than Bush’s and Clinton’s Three Years In

2012-01-26T09:12:00.000+13:00

President Obama has attracted an increasingly smaller U.S. television audience to each year’s State of the Union address, with the estimated 37.75 million people who watched his speech on Tuesday not much bigger than President Bush’s smallest SOTU audience – 37.51 million in his final year in office. Read

U.N. Oversight Body Running Out of Time on Pledge to Post Audits by Month’s End

2012-01-26T09:10:00.000+13:00

The key United Nations oversight body has less than a week to begin posting its audits on its Web site, in line with a commitment made by its head and endorsed by the General Assembly in a resolution last month. Making the audits publicly accessible in this way reportedly faces resistance from some developing countries. Read

PLO to Pursue U.N. Recognition, But U.S. Says ‘No Shortcut’ to Statehood

2012-01-25T09:43:00.000+13:00

Undeterred by last year’s failure, Palestinian leaders plan to push ahead with their bid for U.N. recognition in 2012, but the U.S. government believes that its chances are, if anything, reduced by the new makeup of the U.N. Security Council. Read

Obama Touts ‘Renewal’ of American Global Leadership in State of the Union

2012-01-25T09:42:00.000+13:00

President Obama dedicated about one-tenth of his State of the Union address Tuesday to foreign affairs, using that section of the election-year speech to underscore his administration’s assertion that “America is back.” The comment was an implied criticism of his Republican predecessor’s policies abroad. Read

Egypt’s New Parliament Convenes Amid Concerns About Islamist Domination

2012-01-24T11:17:00.000+13:00

Egypt’s newly elected post-Mubarak parliament held its inaugural session on Monday, a meeting characterized at times by boisterous scenes as the Muslim Brotherhood cemented its dominance of the legislature even as it pledged to promote democracy. Read

Iranians Renew Threats to Close Key Oil Route After E.U. Embargo Decision

2012-01-24T11:09:00.000+13:00

Just days after Iran appeared to be backing away from a warning that it would close a strategic Persian Gulf waterway, two senior Iranian lawmakers renewed the threat, following a European Union decision Monday to impose an oil embargo on the Islamic republic. Read

Obama Administration Pledges to Keep Abusers Off U.N. Human Rights Council

2012-01-23T08:22:00.000+13:00

The Obama administration will step up efforts to prevent the election of human rights-abusing nations onto the United Nations’ top human rights agency, a senior U.S. diplomat has pledged. Read

Educate Yourself on Islam, CAIR Tells Santorum

2012-01-23T08:19:00.000+13:00

The Council on American-Islamic Relations says it will send Rick Santorum a copy of the Qur’an this week to help the Republican presidential candidate to “educate himself about Islam” after he was quoted as implying that Muslims do not worship the Judeo-Christian God. Read

Obama Claims Success in Bringing Int’l Community Together to Isolate Iran

2012-01-20T09:37:00.000+13:00

President Obama in a new interview says his administration has brought together the international community to stand against an “isolated” Iran. But continuing resistance by Tehran’s most powerful partners and its biggest oil customers calls the president’s assertion into question. Read

Nothing ‘Anti-Muslim’ About Gingrich’s Comments on Shari’a, Says Anti-Islamist Muslim Activist

2012-01-20T09:34:00.000+13:00

Newt Gingrich’s stance on Islamic law (shari’a) is not “anti-Muslim” as charged by some Islamic critics, an American Muslim activist said Thursday. Read

Gingrich’s Aversion to Shari’a Stems From His Concern About ‘Stealth Jihad’

2012-01-19T09:08:00.000+13:00

Newt Gingrich’s comments on shari’a, which drew Muslim objections Wednesday, are in line with his view that Islamists who use violence, and those who employ “stealth,” are both committed to the same goal – the radical imposition of Islamic law. Read

State Dept. Lauds Turkey After Perry’s Criticism, But Is Mum on Its Troubling Policies

2012-01-18T10:51:00.000+13:00

Republican presidential hopeful Rick Perry raised hackles with his harsh criticism of the Turkish government this week, but in defending Turkey, the Obama administration was silent on the troubling policies its Islamist-leaning leaders have pursued in recent years. Read

Ahmadinejad Says His Latin American Visit Bolstered Campaign Against ‘Global Hegemony’

2012-01-17T09:25:00.000+13:00

Fresh from his visit to four leftist allies in Latin America, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said this week that Iran and the countries he visited are part of the same front campaigning against “global hegemony, injustice, and unilateralism.” Read

U.S. and Israel Postpone Joint Missile-Defense Exercise--As Iran Boasts of 'Islamic Awakening'

2012-01-17T09:21:00.000+13:00

Amid speculation over the reasons for delaying the largest-ever joint United States-Israel missile defense exercise, originally scheduled for the spring, senior Iranian officials appear to be relishing the international spotlight resulting from the regime’s belligerent actions and statements. Read

South Africa Calls for U.N. Probe Into NATO’s Libya Mission

2012-01-06T10:12:00.000+13:00

Assuming the rotating presidency of the U.N. Security Council this month, South Africa has called for a U.N. investigation into NATO’s air campaign in Libya, complaining that it had exceeded its mandate by moving from enforcing a no-fly zone to promoting the downfall of the Gaddafi regime. Read

China Urged to Respond to U.S. Defense Cuts by Strengthening Long-Range Strike Capabilities

2012-01-06T10:10:00.000+13:00

China should respond to Washington’s new “leaner, meaner” national defense strategy by “unit[ing] with all possible forces” and “strengthen[ing] its long-range strike abilities” to deter the United States, a Chinese state media outlet said Friday. Read

New Leader, New Year, But Same Belligerence From North Korea

2012-01-05T10:48:00.000+13:00

South Korea’s conservative president is a “pro-U.S. fascist maniac,” Japan is “the laughing stock of the world,” and American “aggressor forces [are] the main obstacle to peace in the Korean peninsula.” Read

Nine of the Top Ten Religious Persecutors Are Islamic in Advocacy Group’s Annual Rankings

2012-01-05T10:47:00.000+13:00

North Korea tops a list of the world’s worst religious persecutors for the tenth consecutive year, but Islamic states dominate the rankings, accounting for nine of the top ten and 38 of the full 50-country list released Wednesday. Read

Administration Mum on Taliban’s Call for Release of Guantanamo Detainees

2012-01-04T09:44:00.000+13:00

The State Department Tuesday declined to comment on the Taliban’s call for the release of its members being held by the U.S. military at Guantanamo Bay, shortly after the Afghan group announced publicly for the first time that it has made such a request as part of a reconciliation initiative. Read

Terrorists Warn Christians to Leave Nigeria’s Muslim North

2012-01-04T09:40:00.000+13:00

As a three-day ultimatum by al-Qaeda-affiliated radicals for Nigerian southerners – mostly Christians – to leave the country’s predominantly Muslim north ran out Wednesday, police played down the threat while some politicians differed over how the government should respond. Read

Iowa: Romney 30,015; Santorum 30,007

2012-01-04T09:38:00.000+13:00

Mitt Romney won the Iowa Republican caucuses overnight, edging out Rick Santorum in a dramatic contest that saw the two presidential hopefuls run virtually neck-and-neck all night. In the end, Romney took the race by eight votes. Read

Bachmann Predicts Iran Will be ‘One of the Largest Issues of This Campaign’

2012-01-03T09:31:00.000+13:00

Ten days of naval war games, missile tests, claims of progress in its nuclear program and repeated threats to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz have pushed Iran far up the agenda for Republican presidential hopefuls on the eve of Tuesday’s caucus in Iowa. Read

As European Carbon Tax on Airlines Takes Off, Higher Air Fares Loom

2012-01-03T09:27:00.000+13:00

As the European Union on Sunday began charging all airlines entering European airspace for their carbon emissions, the German carrier Lufthansa became the first to warn that ticket prices will inevitably rise as a result. Read

Ron Paul: Iran Would be Justified in Closing Strategic Waterway in Response to Sanctions

2011-12-30T09:49:00.000+13:00

As Iran ratcheted up its rhetoric Thursday about closing the Strait of Hormuz, Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul revisited his earlier criticisms of Western policy towards Tehran, adding that Iran would be justified in cutting off the strategic waterway in response to sanctions. Read

U.N. Urged to Support Oppressed North Koreans After Flying Its Flag at Half-Staff During Kim’s Funeral

2011-12-29T09:23:00.000+13:00

As the world watched North Koreans’ televised pantomime of grief over the death of dictator Kim Jong-il Wednesday, the United Nations marked his bizarre state funeral by lowering its flag in New York and other centers to half-staff. Read

Puffing Up a Dead Dictator: N. Korean Media, Foreign Leaders Offer Effusive Praise for Kim

2011-12-29T09:18:00.000+13:00

Condolence messages and news reports carried by North Korean media in recent days reveal the regime’s efforts to bolster the late Kim Jong-il’s prestige – and the willingness of some leaders and organizations around the world to lend a hand. Read

U.S. Prods Karzai to Accept Taliban Office in Gulf State of Qatar

2011-12-28T09:38:00.000+13:00

The Afghan Taliban edged a little closer to international respectability this week with Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s announcement that his government would accept a Taliban liaison office in Qatar to facilitate peace talks with the fundamentalist militia. Read

Nigerian Attacks Deplored as ‘Un-Islamic,’ But Polls Show Millions of Muslims Do Not Reject Suicide Bombings

2011-12-27T09:23:00.001+13:00

Condemning the deadly attacks on Nigerian Christians on Christmas Day, Islamic organizations around the world called the atrocities un-Islamic, yet opinion polls tracking views on terrorism suggest that significant numbers of Muslims disagree. Read

Iranian Lawmaker: 'These War Games Are a Warning to the Western Countries'

2011-12-27T09:23:00.000+13:00

Iranian state and semi-official media lined up behind the regime this week in a show of nationalistic pride as Iran’s navy began 10 days of war games designed to showcase its “regional dominance” and display its ability to shut off the crucial Strait of Hormuz if threatened. Read

After Protests Over Stoning Sentence for Adultery, Iran May Hang Woman Instead

2011-12-27T09:21:00.000+13:00

An Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery may be hanged instead, an Iranian official said Sunday, triggering fresh uncertainty over the fate of the 44-year-old who has been on death row since 2006. Read

Third Christmas Behind Bars for Death Row Christians Asia Bibi and Youcef Nadarkhani

2011-12-23T14:19:00.000+13:00

As Christians celebrate their savior’s birth on Sunday, they are being urged to remember persecuted fellow believers unable to enjoy the day with their families, including death row prisoners Asia Bibi of Pakistan and Youcef Nadarkhani of Iran, both of whom will be spending their third Christmas behind bars. Read

Turbulence Ahead, As European Court Demands Climate Fee From U.S. Transatlantic Flights

2011-12-22T09:29:00.000+13:00

Expect to pay more in the future to fly to London or Paris. Europe’s highest court ruled Wednesday that U.S. airlines must comply with a European Union carbon emission trading scheme, triggering protests from the Obama administration, the aviation industry and free market groups – and raising fears of a costly trade war in coming year. Read

Iran Loses Support at U.N., But a Majority Still Unwilling to Denounce Abuses

2011-12-21T09:39:00.000+13:00

The U.N. General Assembly has passed an annual resolution condemning human rights abuses in Iran by the largest margin ever, although there are still fewer countries willing to vote in favor of the measure than those opposing it or not prepared to take a stand one way or another. Read

After Biden Says Taliban Is Not America’s Enemy, Taliban Lashes Out at U.S. ‘Occupation’ of Iraq

2011-12-21T09:35:00.000+13:00

As controversy greeted Vice President Joe Biden’s assertion that the Taliban “is not our enemy,” the militant Afghan movement on Tuesday launched a verbal assault against the United States, demanding that it pay compensation and that its leaders be put on trial for the “nine year occupation of Iraq.” Read

North Korea Sealed Its Border With China Before Announcing Kim’s Death

2011-12-20T08:53:00.000+13:00

During the two days that passed between Kim Jong-il’s death and the official announcement, the North Korean regime reportedly took steps to prevent a chaotic response to the news, apparently fearing a mass exodus across the border with China. Read

U.N. Adopts ‘Religious Intolerance’ Resolution Championed by Obama Administration

2011-12-20T08:52:00.000+13:00

The U.N. General Assembly on Monday adopted a resolution condemning the stereotyping, negative profiling and stigmatization of people based on their religion, and urging countries to take effective steps “to address and combat such incidents.” Read

‘Progressive’ Church Offers Christmas Billboard Showing Virgin Mary With Pregnancy Test

2011-12-19T10:43:00.000+13:00

liberal Anglican church in New Zealand has denounced as “Christian intolerance” the defacing of a large billboard it erected outside its premises to mark the Christmas season. The billboard shows an apparently shocked Virgin Mary examining a home pregnancy test kit. Read

Hezbollah Terrorist Handed Over to Iraqis by U.S. May Face Only Minor Criminal Charge

2011-12-19T10:42:00.000+13:00

One day after the United States handed over to the Iraqi authorities a Lebanese Hezbollah terrorist accused of killing at least five American soldiers, Iraqi officials were quoted as saying the prisoner will face criminal charges – for illegal entry. Read

Religious Tolerance Resolution Backed by Obama Administration Aligns With Islamic Bloc’s Interests

2011-12-16T09:30:00.000+13:00

The head of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has acknowledged that a U.N. religious tolerance resolution heavily promoted by the Obama administration has the same aims as the Islamic bloc’s annual “religious defamation” resolutions, which Western democracies have consistently opposed for more than a decade. Read

CNSNews Database: 104 Women, 33 18-Year-Olds Among Iraq War's Casualties

2011-12-16T09:28:00.000+13:00

Nearly 4,500 members of the U.S. armed forces paid the ultimate price during the war in Iraq, which Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Thursday formally declared over. Read

At 11th Hour, Senate Re-Authorizes US Religious Freedom Commission

2011-12-15T10:07:00.000+13:00

The Senate has quietly passed legislation reauthorizing the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, just days before the independent statutory watchdog would have been forced to shut down. Read

Clinton: Every Gov't Has Duty to Protect People From Discrimination and Intimidation Motivated by Religion

2011-12-15T10:00:00.000+13:00

Governments have the “duty” to ensure that citizens do not face violence, discrimination and intimidation because of their religion or lack of religion, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday. Read

Claims That U.S. Religious Freedom Commission Has Been Too Focused on Christians Don't Stack Up

2011-12-14T10:19:00.000+13:00

Even though Christians are the world’s most persecuted religious group, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom – which will close in days without urgent congressional action – has fulfilled its mandate of promoting religious freedom for all faiths, despite some claims to the contrary. Read

State Dept. Aims to Denounce ‘Offensive Speech’ While Upholding Free Expression

2011-12-13T09:43:00.000+13:00

The State Department on Monday launched three days of closed-door talks with representatives of international organizations and several dozen countries with the stated aim of promoting religious freedom and tolerance while ensuring that freedom of expression is not harmed in the process. Read

Iran Lodges Complaint With Interpol Over U.S. ‘Assassination Threats’

2011-12-13T09:42:00.000+13:00

The Iranian government has lodged a complaint with Interpol regarding comments made during U.S. congressional hearings last October, including calls to assassinate top figures in Tehran’s terror-sponsoring security apparatus. Read

War on Christmas Hits Korean Peninsula

2011-12-12T09:15:00.000+13:00

North Korea on Sunday made unspecified threats against plans by Christians in the South to illuminate giant steel Christmas “trees” near the world’s most heavily armed border, warning of “unexpected consequences” resulting from what the Stalinist regime views as a propaganda stunt. Read

GOP Rivals Don’t Dispute Substance of Gingrich’s ‘Invented Palestinian People’ Remark, But Question Its Wisdom

2011-12-12T09:14:00.000+13:00

Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich’s assertion that the Palestinians are an “invented” people continues to draw condemnation, but the former House speaker has not backed down from the provocative remark. Read

Putin Slams U.S. Over Election Criticism

2011-12-09T08:40:00.001+13:00

Six years after Vladimir Putin accused the United States of encouraging revolutions to topple pro-Russian regimes in former Soviet states, the Russian prime minister on Thursday made fresh allegations of U.S. political interference – this time in Russia itself. Read

Obama Administration Welcoming Islamic Group to Washington for Discussion on ‘Tolerance’

2011-12-09T08:40:00.000+13:00

The Obama administration says a meeting in Washington next week seeks to make progress in combating religious intolerance, but critics say the U.S. is pandering to an ideological agenda aimed at restricting speech critical of Islam. Read

Gingrich’s 1998 Jerusalem Visit a Reminder of Mideast Sensitivities Facing GOP Candidates

2011-12-08T09:27:00.000+13:00

As the Republican presidential candidates’ Middle East policies come into focus, a look back at a trip to Jerusalem by one of them 13 years ago provides a reminder of the sensitive ground they tread – and the hostility they can expect to confront in taking a strongly pro-Israel stance. Read

Global Campaign to Free Detained Chinese Activist Is Helping, U.S. Lawmakers Are Told

2011-12-07T10:00:00.001+13:00

Chinese authorities have slightly relaxed the house arrest restrictions placed on an activist who exposed extensive forced abortion and sterilization linked to the “one-child” policy, an American human rights advocate told U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday. Read

Religious Freedom Commission Prepares to Shut Its Doors

2011-12-07T10:00:00.000+13:00

Ten days before its temporary authorization is due to expire, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom on Tuesday moved ahead with preparations for a permanent shutdown, while expressing hope that its tenure may yet be extended. Read

Official: Applause, Hooting, Hollering After Clinton’s Plea for Gay Rights

2011-12-07T09:58:00.000+13:00

“Ninety-five percent” of the audience who heard Secretary of State Hillary Clinton deliver an unexpected plea for gay rights in Geneva on Tuesday stood up to applaud at the end, according to a senior State Department official. Read

Hillary Clinton: ‘Religious Beliefs’ Are ‘Standing in the Way of Protecting Human Rights of LGBT People'

2011-12-07T09:17:00.000+13:00

Religious beliefs and cultural values do not justify the failure to uphold the human rights of homosexuals, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the United Nations in Geneva on Tuesday. Read

U.N. Human Rights Chief Urged to Shun NGO Accused of Links to Gaddafi Regime

2011-12-06T10:29:00.000+13:00

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is delivering a speech on human rights at the United Nations complex in Geneva on Tuesday -- shortly after another event in the same building is co-hosted by a non-governmental organization associated with Libya’s Gaddafi regime. Read

Vietnam Benefiting From Closer Ties With U.S. Despite ‘Continued and Worsening Crackdown’ on Dissent

2011-12-06T10:27:00.000+13:00

As the Obama administration pursues its “Pacific century” vision, some critics worry that one country with which it seeks to develop a new partnership is continuing to get away with human rights abuses, despite some modest signs of improvement. Read

Obama Once Again Issues Jerusalem Embassy Waiver on a Friday, to Minimize Publicity

2011-12-05T12:35:00.000+13:00

The White House on Friday issued its most recent waiver to bypass U.S. law mandating that the American Embassy in Israel be moved to Jerusalem, choosing – not for the first time – to do so late on Friday, when news releases tend to receive relatively little media attention. Read

Critics See ‘Blame Israel’ Mindset in U.S. Envoy’s Remarks on Anti-Semitism

2011-12-05T12:34:00.000+13:00

The White House is distancing itself from remarks by an American ambassador and 2008 Obama campaign fundraiser suggesting that hatred of Jews was linked to Israeli actions, but some critics said the comments align with a “blame Israel” mentality in the administration. Read

Could Iran’s Terror-Sponsoring General Become Its Next President?

2011-12-02T08:01:00.000+13:00

Iran’s next presidential election is still 18 months away, but the prospect that arguably the country’s most dangerous general may run to succeed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has some Americans worried. Read

U.N. Agency That Deals With ‘Green Energy’ and ‘Green Industry’ Loses Another Major Funder

2011-12-01T10:59:00.000+13:00

A Vienna-based United Nations agency is pondering how to get by without one of its biggest donors, following a recent British government decision to withdraw from an organization which it said was ineffective and poorly run. Read

Palestinians Try to Resurrect a U.N. Resolution They Violently Rejected 64 Years Ago

2011-11-30T07:55:00.000+13:00

As the U.N. Tuesday marked its annual day of “solidarity” with the Palestinian cause, the Palestine Liberation Organization took the opportunity once again to promote a 1947 U.N. resolution that divided the territory between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River into a Jewish state and an Arab one. Read

2012 Presidential Hopefuls Urged to Sign a ‘Pledge for Religious Freedom’

2011-11-30T07:54:00.000+13:00

A religious freedom advocacy group is challenging all 2012 presidential contenders to sign a pledge committing themselves to promote religious freedom at home and to make it a foreign policy priority. Read

After Pakistan Closes U.S. Supply Routes to Afghanistan, Russia Warns About the Northern Route, Too

2011-11-29T11:03:00.000+13:00

Ratcheting up a dispute with Washington over plans for a NATO European missile defense system, a senior Russian official has warned that his country may stop cooperating with the alliance over a crucial supply link to Afghanistan. Read

WH: ‘Democratic Process’ More Important Than Islamists Winning in Arab Nations

2011-11-29T11:01:00.000+13:00

The Obama administration is again playing down concerns about the rise of Islamist movements in Arab countries in transition, even as developments in Tunisia, Libya, Morocco and Egypt indicate that the so-called “Arab spring” may leave Islamists in charge clear across North Africa. Read

Putin, Edging Closer to the Presidency, Warns Foreign Countries Not to Interfere

2011-11-28T08:17:00.000+13:00

Formalizing his long-nurtured plan to return to the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin on Sunday accepted “with gratitude” his United Russia party’s nomination as its candidate in next year’s presidential election – then warned the West against meddling in the political process. Read

Muslim Brotherhood Expected to Do Well As Egypt’s Complicated Election Process Begins

2011-11-28T08:15:00.000+13:00

Egyptians were going to the polls Monday -- the beginning of a three-phase, six-week-long parliamentary election process that is getting under way amid deadly violence. At least 40 people were killed in the past week as protestors in Cairo’s Tahrir Square called for an end to military rule. Read

Iran-UK Relations Hit New Low as Lawmakers Vote to Expel British Ambassador

2011-11-28T08:14:00.000+13:00

Just weeks after a new British ambassador arrived in Tehran following an eight-month hiatus, Iran’s parliament voted by an overwhelming margin Sunday to expel him and downgrade relations with London. Read

UNESCO Blasted for Reappointing Syria to Committee Dealing With Human Rights

2011-11-23T14:32:00.000+13:00

Already reeling from a recent U.S. funding freeze over its decision to admit “Palestine,” the United Nations cultural agency UNESCO is facing new criticism over a decision to reappoint Syria to a committee dealing with human rights. Read

Gingrich Says He's 'Prepared to Take Heat' for Allowing Some Illegal Aliens to Stay in U.S.

2011-11-23T14:28:00.000+13:00

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich delivered some effective lines during Tuesday evening's Republican presidential foreign policy debate, but the candidate currently leading in the polls also arguably took the greatest risk, defending views on immigration that many conservatives view as amounting to amnesty. Read

Of Top Ten U.S. Aid Recipients, Only One Voted for U.N. Resolution on Iran’s Human Rights Abuses

2011-11-22T09:15:00.000+13:00

A U.N. General Assembly committee has passed a draft resolution condemning the human rights situation in Iran by a larger margin than in past years, although there are still more countries either opposing the measure or abstaining than there are willing to vote in favor. Read

Obama Hails ‘Job-Creating’ Deals in Asia, As China Complains About Being ‘Encircled’

2011-11-21T08:41:00.000+13:00

President Obama headed home from a nine-day Asia-Pacific trip highlighting deals that he said would support nearly 130,000 American jobs, while Chinese state media complained about an ambitious trade agreement widely seen as designed to isolate China. Read

Ron Paul’s Comments on 9/11 and U.S. Foreign Policy Open to Dispute

2011-11-21T08:37:00.000+13:00

Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul’s assertion on Sunday that the U.S. closed down its military base in Saudi Arabia “immediately after 9/11” is not strictly accurate. Read

Don’t Let Religious Freedom Commission Die, Chairman Urges Lawmakers

2011-11-18T07:35:00.000+13:00

An eleventh-hour temporary spending measure passed by Congress Thursday provides a one-month reprieve for the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), but its future remains in doubt because of a Senate block on reauthorization legislation – a block reportedly unconnected with the issue of religious freedom. Read

Obama Calls Crocodile-Attack Insurance ‘Most Unique Gift I’ve Ever Received As President’

2011-11-17T09:45:00.000+13:00

Addressing Australian troops on Thursday, President Obama told them he had on his arrival in the rugged Northern Territory received "the most unique gift I've ever received as president" -- insurance against crocodile attack. Read

Despite U.S. Opposition, SE Asian Nations Reward Burma for Limited Reforms

2011-11-17T09:40:00.000+13:00

Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Thursday agreed to allow Burma to chair the 10-member bloc in 2014, overruling objections by the United States and others who argue that the move is premature. Read

Will the U.S. Fund a Palestinian Government That Includes Terrorists?

2011-11-16T10:19:00.000+13:00

Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah faction has agreed to form a unity government with Hamas that excludes Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, a U.S.-trained economist who has won praise from Western governments but is opposed by the terrorist group that controls Gaza. Read

As Iranian Students Stage ‘Pro-Nuke’ Rallies, Dissidents Urge Iran to Back Away From Bomb-Making

2011-11-16T10:17:00.000+13:00

Thousands of Iranian students reportedly formed a human chain around a nuclear facility in central Iran Tuesday in a show of support in the face of international condemnation, but there are signs that traditional support among reformists for the nuclear program may be splintering. Read

Indonesia Responds Warily to Obama Sending U.S. Troops to Australia

2011-11-16T09:43:00.000+13:00

The first regional response to President Obama’s announcement of a long-term deployment of U.S. troops in Asia has not been positive. Read

Tough on Iran, Wary of UN: Gingrich’s Foreign Policy in Spotlight at Tuesday’s GOP Debate

2011-11-15T07:55:00.000+13:00

As the Republican presidential hopefuls prepare for a foreign policy debate on Tuesday evening, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s poll surge following a string of strong debate performances will place him – and his foreign policy positions – at center stage. Read

Foreign Aid Is Investment in U.S. ‘Security and Prosperity,’ Say 5 Former Secretaries of State

2011-11-15T07:51:00.000+13:00

As some GOP presidential candidates call for U.S. foreign aid to “start at zero,” five former secretaries of state – four of them from Republican administrations – wrote to lawmakers Monday, strongly supporting funding for the State Department and foreign operations. Read

Israelis Consider Fallout of Military Strike on Iran Nukes

2011-11-14T10:00:00.000+13:00

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told cabinet ministers on Sunday that “the international community must stop Iran’s race to arm itself with nuclear weapons, a race that endangers the peace of the entire world.” Read

Senate May Force Shutdown of Religious Freedom Watchdog

2011-11-11T10:03:00.000+13:00

For more than a decade, an independent, statutory monitor has been advising the U.S. executive and legislative branches on international religious freedom, drawing attention to the persecution of people of faith under Muslim, communist and autocratic regimes from Riyadh to Rangoon. But by this time next week, it may have to close its doors. Read

Clinton: Despite Economic Hardships at Home, It's Not the Time to ‘Downsize Our Work Around World’

2011-11-11T10:01:00.000+13:00

Americans grappling with financial difficulties at home may question the wisdom of the U.S. choosing this time to expand engagement in the Asia-Pacific, but America cannot afford not to do so, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday. Read

Obama Administration Not Keen on Congressional Calls to Crack Down on Iran’s Central Bank

2011-11-10T09:53:00.000+13:00

Following the U.N. nuclear watchdog’s latest report on Iran, the Obama administration appears to be cool on some of the tougher steps members of Congress are proposing, such as bringing down the Central Bank of Iran. Read