James A. Lyons (Continuación)

MundoOriente Próximo

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s deplorable performance before the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 22 was not unexpected. His declaration that Iran would never recognize Israel’s right to exist - even if statehood were granted to the Palestinian people - should put to rest the common liberal thesis that if only the Israeli-Palestinian problem were resolved, peace and stability would reign in the Middle East. Nonsense. Aside from the fact that we do not know the outcome of the Arab Spring uprising, that thesis has always been misguided. Further, it should be clear that the Islamic jihadists will always find another cause for promoting their agenda of a world dominated by Islam.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo

With the outcome of the various uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East unknown at this time, there are some troubling developments. The intellectuals and liberal media are promoting the thesis that these revolts appear to be primarily secular in nature - but are they? It has been grudgingly acknowledged that al Qaeda and other Islamic extremists, including the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), are involved in the uprisings. Now Cairo appears to be moving to re-establish diplomatic relations with Tehran after 30 years, which would be a major political gain for Iran. Such a move by Cairo had to have the approval of the Egyptian Armed Forces with strong support from the MB.…  Seguir leyendo »

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The Obama administration continues to be behind the power curve on the evolving uprisings in the Middle East, particularly those in Libya and Iran. One of the worst despots in the world is the mercurial Moammar Gadhafi of Libya. He is followed closely by the rogue regimes of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Iran. Both governments have been leaders in state-sponsored terrorism. Both have more American blood on their hands than does Osama bin Laden.

Why the administration continues to equivocate on calling for the removal of these two rogue regimes is mind-boggling. It appears not to recognize that what's going on in the Middle East is a paradigm shift.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo

Had the opposition "green movement" been successful with its Feb. 11 attempt to flood the streets of Tehran with hundreds of thousands of protesters on the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, the illegitimate regime of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would have been dealt a severe blow.

However, this plan was crushed before it ever got started by the heavy security measures enforced by Mr. Ahmadinejad and the hard-line clerics. The Iranian theocracy has evolved into a classic dictatorship-police state. In so doing, it has revealed serious cracks in its so-called religious underpinnings as it continues its drive to achieve a nuclear-weapon capability.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAsia,

On a recent visit to Australia, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus downplayed the threat posed by China's rapid modernization of its military forces, highlighted in Australia's 2009 Defense White Paper. With no discernable threat, China's unprecedented force modernization program has grown at a double-digit rate for the past 10 years.

Though China professes that the modernization of its military forces threatens no one and is only for defensive purposes, it is classic Chinese subterfuge. Every new weapons system it has acquired or developed is designed specifically to target or intimidate U.S. military forces. For example, China's development of an anti-ship ballistic missile is designed to target U.S.…  Seguir leyendo »

Europa

The Obama administration has made a major attempt at renewing a cooperative relationship with Russia. At this point, it is less than clear that Russia shares the same "reset"-objective relationship, except on its terms. Trying to appease Russia by capitulating on missile-defense installations in the Czech Republic and Poland only compounds problems we have with Russia in other areas of major interest.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has suggested that Iran could be a litmus test for a renewed relationship. However, Russia's continued blocking, along with China, of any major economic sanctions against Iran because of Iran's development of a nuclear weapons program fails the test.…  Seguir leyendo »