Bush in indebted to Iran's Ahmadinejad

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calling for Israel to be "wiped from the map" could not have come at a better time -- for George W. Bush -- and at a worse time for Iran.

The Hariri report and dangers of isolating Damascus

DAMASCUS is about to feel the heat of a joint US-French initiative at the United Nations to force the Assad regime to cooperate with the investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.

Syria's spring is fading fast

Syrian President Bashar Assad is going to face growing pressure from the international community with sanctions imposed on Syria as a result of its implication in the assassination of Rafik Hariri unless it cooperates.

Iran a clear and present danger

Fears over Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's election to the presidency of the Islamic republic was justified by his call on Wednesday for Israel to be "wiped off the map."

Iranian intelligence agents in U.S

Iranian spies have entered the United States to spread disinformation, according to the Iran Policy Committee, a group composed mostly of former U.S. government officials who are lobbying the Bush administration for regime change in Teheran

What's in store for Syria

The falloout from the U.N. report on the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri are causing shockwaves in Damascus. "Assad is trapped," said a high-ranking Western diplomat in Washington, commenting on the 56-page report drafted by Detlev Mehlis, the U.N.'s German prosecutor investigating the assassination of Hariri.

Regime change is the order of the day

More catching than avian flu in Washington these days is the call for regime change.

UN Report: Hariri's assassination a terrorist act

It started with a meeting in Damascus between former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and President Bashar Assad on August 26, 2004. From there it appears to have gone down hill.

Syria under pressure

The Bush administration is taking new diplomatic steps against Syria, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Washington, indicating that regime change was not out of the question. Rice said the United States was using diplomacy to urge change in Syria's behavior, but did not rule out military force.

They came in peace -- the Marines in Lebanon

Quite unlike the invasion of Iraq, the U.S. Marines came to Lebanon came in peace This Sunday, Oct. 23, will mark the 22nd anniversary of the bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut where 241 U.S. servicemen, mostly Marines, lost their lives.

At 6:22 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 23, 1983, a lone terrorist driving a yellow Mercedes-Benz stake-bed truck loaded with explosives accelerated through the public parking lot south of the 24th Marine Amphibious Unit Battalion Landing Team headquarters building, detonating about 12,000 pounds of hexogen. According to the official Department of Defense commission report, the force of the explosion ripped the building from its foundation. The building then imploded upon itself and almost all of the occupants were crushed or trapped inside the wreckage.

Saddam's day in court

The trial of Saddam Hussein starts later this week in Baghdad's so-called Green Zone, the heavily fortified enclave where the Iraqi government and U.S. officials live and work.

After the disaster

CALL out President George W. Bush's new secret weapon, the one meant to convince the sceptic Arab and Islamic world of America's good intentions. Send the super diplomat post haste to the Pakistani regions devastated by Saturday's mega-earthquake

Breeding ground for Jihadis

Unless the West acts very fast, areas of rural Pakistan affected by last Saturday's devastating earthquake will turn into breeding grounds for Islamist recruiters looking to sign up jihadis from among the hundreds of thousands of victims.

Is it the begenning of the end for Assad?

Is the suicide of Syria's Interior Minister Ghazi Kenaan the start of somehting bigger to come in SYria? Is it the beginning of the end of Assad's regime?

It's a bird, it's a plane...it's Karen Hughes

The devastating earthquake that killed more than 30,000 people offers President Bush's new under secretary for public diplomacy and public affairs, Karen Hughes, a rare opportunity to convince the skeptical Arab and Islamic world of America`s good intentions.

Pakistan's worst disaster kills 30,000 +

Seismic experts believe the devastating earthquake that hit Pakistan was caused by the same mechanism that created last December's tsunami.

The Huns are at Europe's gates

THIS is the second time the Austrians have tried to stop the Turks from entering Europe: the first time was in 1683 at the gates of Vienna and the second time was on Oct.3, 2005 at the gates of Luxembourg. The Austrians, however, were far more successful in their first attempt, as it kept the Turks away for about 300 years.

The Huns at the gates

THIS is the second time the Austrians have tried to stop the Turks from entering Europe: the first time was in 1683 at the gates of Vienna and the second time was on Oct.3, 2005 at the gates of Luxembourg. The Austrians, however, were far more successful in their first attempt, as it kept the Turks away for about 300 years. The second attempt worked less than 3 days.

Syria worries over U.N. findings in Hariri rreport

Lebanon and Syria are nervously expecting the release of the Detlev Mehlis report into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The report, expected at the end of October, will undoubtedly ruffle feathers in Damascus.

Madame president of the United States?

ABC's new political drama starring Geena Davis as the first female president in American history is a great show to address the nation's political daydreaming.

Austrians hold up Turks for 2nd time

Austria has managed to stop the Turks from entering Europe twice: The first time at the gates of Vienna in 1683, and the second time at the gates of Luxembourg on Oct. 3, 2005.

Turkey says "No" to Europe's no

Talks due to open Monday in Luxembourg over Turkey's entry into the European Union. For Turkey this is the beginning of a long road to Brussels.