Expert Analyst: International Politics, Middle East & Nonviolent Action
The muted reaction of Clinton administration officials on the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to two human rights activists from East Timor is not simply due to the seeming obscurity of that small Southeast Asian nation. No choice could have been more embarrassing for the United States government.
The cease-fire agreement in Lebanon is widely depicted as a triumph of Israeli military force and American diplomacy. In reality, however, it represents the failure of both.
A LITTLE-NOTICED policy shift by the Clinton administration on Jerusalem has implications beyond the fate of one city in the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. It marks a retrenchment in the American commitment to international law and the authority of the United Nations.
THE timid opposition in Congress to the Bush Administration’s announced sale of 72 highly sophisticated F-15E jet fighters to Saudi Arabia shouldn’t have come as a surprise to anyone.
THE assassination of Meir Kahane brings on mixed emotions for most Americans familiar with his career. First of all, many acknowledge the tragedy of taking any human life, particularly for political purposes; it is yet another unfortunate manifestation of the easy availability of handguns; and it is another depressing reminder of the increasing violence in the clash between Israeli and Palestinian nationalism.
DESPITE the euphoria resulting from independence in Namibia and prospects for negotiations in South Africa, another conflict in that region continues – and the United States is fanning the flames. The US government continues to arm UNITA, a rebel organization seeking to overthrow the Angolan government.
WHILE the Bush administration and many pundits see the defeat of the Sandinistas in Nicaragua as simply a continuation of the democratic trend sweeping Eastern Europe, the circumstances are quite different. Failure to make such a distinction, in fact, could be disastrous for US foreign policy.
THE incoming Bush administration has an opportunity to score an early diplomatic victory should it choose to actively throw its support behind United Nations sponsored negotiations for a peaceful settlement to the war in Western Sahara. To do so would be a departure from the Reagan administration which, despite diplomatic successes in Namibia and elsewhere, has chosen not to play a similarly constructive role in northwest Africa.