Archivo etiqueta «Irán»
By Trita Parsi, head of the National Iranian American Council and the author of the book A Single Roll of the Dice: Obama’s Diplomacy With Iran (THE WASHINGTON POST, 14/01/12):
Just 13 minutes into his presidency, Barack Obama indirectly reached out to Iran in his inaugural address, offering America’s hand of friendship if Tehran would unclench its fist. After eight years of the George W. Bush administration’s ideological contempt for diplomacy with America’s foes, it was a bold move born out of necessity, not desire.
But Obama’s diplomacy has fallen short. After two rounds of talks in October … Seguir leyendo
By Ray Takeyh, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (THE WASHINGTON POST, 14/01/12):
The perennial conflict between Iran and the West has entered a dangerous new phase, with tensions rising in the Persian Gulf since Iran has threatened retaliation for last week’s assassination of a chemical engineer linked to the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program. What accounts for Iran’s behavior? Behind all the sound and fury, Tehran is diligently pursuing a three-track policy that involves provocation of the international community and making noises about diplomacy as it relentlessly marches toward the bomb.
In recent months, the Islamic … Seguir leyendo
Por Mariano Marzo Carpio, catedrático de Recursos Energéticos en la Facultad de Geología de la Universidad de Barcelona (EL PAÍS, 13/01/12):
La escalada de tensión suscitada en torno al desarrollo del programa nuclear iraní, sospechoso de ocultar finalidades militares, crece por momentos. Frente a las sanciones comerciales impuestas por Estados Unidos, que podrían endurecerse en breve, y al inminente embargo petrolero acordado por la Unión Europea, Irán amenaza con bloquear el estrecho de Ormuz, un paso vital para el transporte mundial de crudo, combinando su habitual agresividad verbal con maniobras militares intimidatorias.
El “arma del petróleo” vuelve a ser … Seguir leyendo
Por José Ignacio Torreblanca (EL PAÍS, 13/01/12):
Barack Obama recibió de su predecesor, George W. Bush, una herencia bélica envenenada. Aunque distinguiera entre Irak como una guerra “elegida” y Afganistán como una guerra “necesaria”, en ambos casos prometió la retirada.
La primera retirada ya ha tenido lugar, y seguramente ha sido mucho más honrosa de lo que Obama jamás pudo imaginar. La retirada de Irak no salva el desastre que fue la invasión ni convalida la pérdida consiguiente de vidas, como tampoco deja detrás una democracia estable, pero permite pasar una difícil página, reducir costes presupuestarios en época de crisis … Seguir leyendo
By Ilan Berman, vice president of the American Foreign Policy Council (THE WASHINGTON TIMES, 09/01/12):
Last weekend, amid deepening tensions between his regime and the international community, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad commenced a high-profile diplomatic tour of Latin America. The foreign visit, which will take the Iranian president to Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba and Ecuador, is the latest sign of Iran’s growing interest in, and intrusion into, the Western Hemisphere – a phenomenon with grave implications for U.S. security.
Iran’s contemporary presence in the region centers on its strategic partnership with Venezuela. Since Hugo Chavez became Venezuela’s president in 1999, alignment with … Seguir leyendo
By Anne-Marie Slaughter, a former director of policy planning in the US State Department (2009-2011), and professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University (Project Syndicate, 09/01/12):
The West and Iran are playing a dangerous game. In the past ten days, Iran threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz and warned the United States against sending an aircraft carrier back into the Persian Gulf. The US predictably responded that its aircraft carriers could and would patrol wherever necessary to promote freedom of navigation. Iran then announced that it would conduct naval exercises in the Strait.
In the game … Seguir leyendo
By Stephen Blank, a professor for the Strategic Studies Institute at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pa. The views expressed here do not represent those of the U.S. Army, Defense Department or the U.S. government (THE WASHINGTON TIMES, 07/01/12):
Iran’s capture of an American drone compels us to revisit some difficult, unwelcome but fundamental security issues. If Iran downed a sophisticated U.S. drone, as it claims, that would represent a monumental Iranian intelligence coup in learning how to override the drone’s command-and-control system and then guide it safely down to earth. That conclusion, if true, would … Seguir leyendo
By Alireza Nader, a senior policy analyst at the RAND Corporation and James Dobbins, a former U.S. assistant secretary of state and director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center at RAND (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 06/01/12):
Iran’s threats to close the Straits of Hormuz in response to the latest American-led sanctions may be empty posturing. Still, Iran’s slow march toward a nuclear weapons capability has dramatically increased tensions between Washington and Tehran. The Obama administration has not taken the option of a military strike off the table, and one must assume that the Iranians have … Seguir leyendo
By Stuart W. Holliday, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Security Council (THE WASHINGTON TIMES, 05/01/12):
As the world finished celebrating the holidays of peace, the Iranian mullahs appeared again to be planting seeds of conflict in the Middle East. They have threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, vital to global energy supply, as part of a military exercise. In doing so, Iran continues its high-stakes game of chicken with civilized countries around the globe.
While the United States can’t always stop foreign regimes from acting irresponsibly or irrationally, our lack of a comprehensive national energy … Seguir leyendo
By Frederick W. Kagan, a resident scholar and director of the Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research (LOS ANGELES TIMES, 04/01/12):
Iran’s threat to close a vital international waterway if stricter sanctions are imposed on Iranian oil exports is more than just bellicose and provocative. It is also a test of U.S. will and commitment in the Persian Gulf at a time when our role in the region is changing.
The world has grown used to chest-thumping by Tehran, and there was nothing particularly noteworthy about the exercises conducted by Iranian armed forces … Seguir leyendo
By Ilan Berman, vice president of the American Foreign Policy Council in Washington (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 03/01/12):
The past two weeks have seen a dramatic escalation in Iran’s war of words with the West.
Last Wednesday, Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi told Iran’s official news agency, IRNA, that new economic pressure currently being contemplated by the West would come at a steep cost. According to Rahimi, “not a drop of oil” will pass through the Strait of Hormuz — a key strategic waterway that serves as a conduit for as much as a third of the … Seguir leyendo
By William Luers, who served as U.S. ambassador to Czechoslovakia from 1983 to 1986 and as president of the United Nations Association from 1999 to 2009 and Thomas Pickering, undersecretary of state for political affairs in the Clinton administration and U.S. ambassador to Russia, Israel, Jordan and the United Nations (THE WASHINGTON POST, 31/12/11):
“Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed.”
— Archibald MacLeish, 1945,preamble to the Constitution of UNESCO
The American people hear from government officials and presidential candidates nearly every … Seguir leyendo
By Janice Kephart, a former 9/11 Commission counsel and an expert witness in Havlish v. Iran (THE WASHINGTON TIMES, 30/12/11):
On July 23, 2001, a former senior Iranian intelligence officer,Abolghasem Mr. Mesbahi,learned that Iran’s plan to strike the United States had been activated. Mr. Mesbahi knew it was important and real because he had worked on this plan previously, when he had helped set up Iran’s intelligence service, the MOIS, as far back as the mid-1980s. Mr. Mesbahi – known outside Iran as one of a core of “Assassins”- told German intelligence, which had given … Seguir leyendo
By Retired Adm. James A. Lyons, commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet and senior U.S. military representative to the United Nations (THE WASHINGTON TIMES, 21/12/11):
Now that the last U.S. troops have withdrawn from Iraq, the question of how to deal with Iran’s aggression and its drive to develop a nuclear weapon remains less than clear. At the White House meeting on Dec. 12 between President Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, only passing recognition was given to these two issues.
Mr. Obama warned Iran not to meddle in Iraq. I am … Seguir leyendo
Por Norman Birnbaum, catedrático emérito en la Facultad de Derecho de la Universidad de Georgetown. Traducción de Jesús Cuéllar Menezo (EL PAÍS, 19/12/11):
A primera vista, Israel y EE UU están unidos en su oposición a los supuestos planes de desarrollo de armamento nuclear iraní. Oficialmente, Estados Unidos considera inaceptables las intenciones de Irán y no descarta un ataque militar. Las acciones secretas de EE UU contra ese país (“secretas” pero descritas ante multitud de periodistas de probada lealtad imperial) siguen en marcha. A los aliados de Estados Unidos no se les deja de instar a ampliar las sanciones … Seguir leyendo