US and EU sanctions on Russia: It’s not another cold war says Obama, yet Putin won’t thaw July 29, 2014 The US and Europe have joined forces to tighten the screws on Russia’s President Putin, as the spectre of downed Malaysia airlines flight MH17 continues to tug at the consciences of western leaders. As ambassadors in Brussels yesterday finally agreed a package of new sanctions designed to bring the Russian economy to its knees, Prime [...]
This Middle East tragedy will become a catastrophe if Obama missteps now July 14, 2014 My wife recently passed along to me an almost unutterably beautiful video from the Royal Shakespeare Company. In it, Camille O’Sullivan performs “Daughter, Dear Daughter” from the Bard’s moving The Rape of Lucrece, giving voice to the universal anguish of a parent burying a child. It ends with the harrowing plea, “Then live, sweet Lucrece, [...]
Obama requests $500m to arm Syrian rebels June 27, 2014 Obama has asked congress for $500m to arm and train “moderate” Syrian rebels, in an attempt to bolster defence against Bashar al-Assad's forces, the White House has said. If approved, they hope that the aid will also help to counter militant groups such as Isis, which has captured much of the northern part of Iraq, [...]
As Obama warns of spillover from the Iraq crisis, could it destabilise the whole region? June 23, 2014 Dr Simon Mabon, a lecturer in international relations at Lancaster University, says Yes. When ISIS forces seized Mosul earlier this month, a spokesperson for the group declared that this signalled “the beginning of the end of the Sykes-Picot agreement”, the deal that shaped the modern Middle East. This claim suggests that ISIS is looking to [...]
Obama to send military advisers to Iraq as Isis militants seize weapons store June 19, 2014 IRAQ plunged further into chaos last night after militants from the Islamic State of Iraq in the Levant (Isis) seized control of a chemical weapons facility containing a stockpile of Saddam Hussain’s old munitions. The news prompted US President Barack Obama to announce he will send up to 300 military advisers to train Iraqi forces in [...]
Scottish independence: Obama urges voters to say no – and tells the UK to stay in EU June 5, 2014 BRITAIN would be stronger if it remains united than if Scotland votes to leave in the summer referendum, US President Barack Obama said yesterday. In a joint press conference with David Cameron, Obama also urged Britain to stay in the EU. “We must make sure the UK stays united,” Obama said, while making clear it was a [...]
Trade deal must safeguard consumers, says Obama March 26, 2014 Barack Obama has been speaking this afternoon about the prospective trade deal between the US and EU, which would make it easier for the US to export gas to Europe. Having met with EU leaders in Brussels, the US president’s been addressing a news conference, trying to quell concerns he may support a transatlantic trade [...]
Forget sanctions: Lame duck Obama is burying Pax Americana March 20, 2014 AS AN old DC hand living in Berlin, I was kindly invited to hear Barack Obama speak there in 2008 by some of my old foreign policy frenemies in the Democratic Party. I was present when candidate Obama’s white-hot global fame reached its apogee. In front of an old Napoleonic war memorial stood the anointed [...]
Obama: Putin is fooling nobody March 4, 2014 BARACK Obama issued a stark message to President Putin yesterday, warning that Russia’s attempts to legitimise military intervention in Crimea are fooling nobody. The US President all-but accused Putin of violating international law, while US secretary of state John Kerry reiterated the threat of economic sanctions against the country if Putin does not withdraw his [...]
US tech giants face trouble if Obama fails to shut down internet snooping January 14, 2014 THIS Friday, Barack Obama will decide what he intends to do about the US National Security Agency’s (NSA) covert surveillance activities on the phone and internet records of the American people. He will do so having received a coruscating report from his own review panel, recommending that he shut it down. A bunch of hard-headed [...]