International Relations News

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Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:10:00 GMT

Karzai pledges NATO pullout timeline

Opening his second term as Afghanistan's leader after a controversial election, Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced a target date for the withdrawal of NATO troops, saying the country's army should take responsibility for national security within
Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:10:00 GMT

Hillary Clinton talks to U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan in Kabul

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (C) talks to U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry (L) and other foreign dignitaries at the ambasador's residence in Kabul November 19, 2009. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:09:00 GMT

Foreign Ministry summons Egyptian ambassador to convey Algeria's "great concern"

ALGIERS- Egyptian ambassador to Algeria was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday where Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci asked him to convey to the authorities of his country 'the incomprehension and great concern' of the Algerian
Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:08:00 GMT

Briefing Skipper: Kabul, IAEA, Bosworth, Cuba, Honduras

In which we scour the transcript of the State Department's daily presser so you don't have to. Here are the highlights of Thursday's press briefing by Department Spokesman Ian Kelly : Secretary of State Hillary Clinton finished up her visit to Kabul
Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:07:00 GMT

On heels of Obama's Asia trip, new report details extent of Chinese censorship

President Obama's trip to China gave Chinese citizens a window into the views and vision of the new American leader, but it also gave the world a window into the censorship and information control still practiced every day by the Chinese Communist Party.
Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:07:00 GMT

What happened to containment of North Korea?

By Jamie Fly  In 1947, after George Kennan, writing under the pseudonym "X," published his famous article on "The Sources of Soviet Conduct" in  Foreign Affairs , he quickly found that his concept of "containment" was distorted in the public
Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:05:00 GMT

Colvin won't lose job over testimony: MacKay

Defence Minister Peter MacKay said the Conservatives will not try to remove Richard Colvin from his post in Washington, even though they question the credibility of his testimony on Afghan prisoners. MacKay, speaking at a news conference at the opening
Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:03:00 GMT

Sarkozy, Ban Ki-moon to attend Commonwealth meet

Port-of-French President Nicholas Sarkozy and UN chief Ban Ki-moon will be attending the Commonwealth of Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in the Trinidad and Tobago capital Nov 27-29 as special guests, Prime Minister Patrick Manning said. Danish Prime
Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:56:00 GMT

Ban welcomes appointment of new European leaders

– Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today voiced the hope for increased cooperation between the European Union and the United Nations following the appointment of Herman van Rompuy as the first EU President and Catherine Ashton as EU High Representative
Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:46:00 GMT

Bad Paper

(November 20) Ar Are British reporters better at covering foreign news than their American counterparts? John Judis thinks so But this isnt the case with the Financial Times, which also covered Well, the FTs angle may be more interesting, writes Mother
Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:42:00 GMT

PM Vlad Filat: Moldova is not going to join NATO

The Republic of Moldova is not planning to accede to NATO, and all media stories concerning such a plan are but inventions, Moldovan Prime Minister Vlad Filat stated in his interview with Russia's official ITAR-TASS new agency, adding that during the
Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:39:00 GMT

You learn something every day

Pakistan's top female squash player hails from Waziristan . She has had to defy the Taliban to play. Photo: Defense.Pk
Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:38:00 GMT

The Fort Hood shooter: How the Army dropped the ball

This exchange from a Senate hearing yesterday about how and why the Army dropped the ball on the Fort Hood shooter is worth reading: Sen. Lieberman: . . . . General Keane, do you -- and obviously this is speculation but the military is most sensitive of
Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:38:00 GMT

The greed of the generals (II): two questions

I'm interested that in all the e-mails I've gotten, and responses posted on this blog about triple-dipping retired generals getting paid to "mentor" the active duty military while at the same time working in the defense industry, and also collecting
Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:38:00 GMT

The latest news on Health Care, Housing, Nuclear Weapons, Rights of the Child, Pakistan, Iran, and Select Op-Eds.

FAITH IN THE NEWS US Christian leaders urge Obama, "build, don’t destroy" in Afghanistan “Over a dozen church leaders in the United States are urging a new strategy for Afghanistan on President Barack Obama, based on a "a humanitarian and development
Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:31:00 GMT

IRAN: Offer to process fuel abroad ‘unique’ opportunity, IAEA says

UN nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei has said that Iran was missing a "unique and fleeting" opportunity after it rejected an IAEA offer on Wednesday to process nuclear fuel abroad. Major world powers met in Brussels Friday to plot their next move
Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:23:00 GMT

Ambassador and Embassy Staff Visit Local Orphanage - June and July, 2009

Ambassador Allen leads the children in a game of musical chairs. Ambassador Allen leads the children in a game of musical chairs. Ambassador Bernadette Allen, Deputy Chief of Mission Eric Whitaker, and many other Embassy colleagues visited a local
Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:21:00 GMT

Canada in talks with U.S. officials to take over security for diplomats: MacKay

HALIFAX, N.S. - Defence Minister Peter MacKay says he's had talks with the Americans about taking over security for Canada's diplomats and development officers in Kandahar. MacKay met with U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates in Halifax today. The
Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:15:00 GMT

Jihad Watch seeks realistic handle on terrorism

An author and terrorism expert believes there is an increasing gap between government and media elites and common-sensed Americans when it comes to the approach on how to confront the threat of Islamic terrorism. In the wake of the November 5th massacre
Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:12:00 GMT

In other news, gravity still exists

As Peter Feaver observed over at Shadow Government , there's an ever-increasing number of leaks coming from the Obama administration on foreign policy.  Beyond the drip-drip-drip on the Afghan strategic review, the foreign policy community is now agog
Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:09:00 GMT

Sally Quinn on Sarah Palin --- Versus Reality 11/17/09: Civil Trials for Jihadists and Obama's Third World Vision for America 11/13/09: More White House Economic Baloney 11/10/09: Suicidal Political Correctness

It seems the mainstream media's favorite pastime is to ridicule Sarah Palin. Of all the screeds I've read, I don't think any are snarkier than The Washington Post's Sally Quinn's 'On Faith' blog post 'Sarah Palin's 'rogue' Christianity.' Do we need
Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:37:00 GMT

South Korea: No Renegotiating U.S. Trade Deal

SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korea's foreign minister ruled out Friday additional negotiations with the United States over a free trade agreement, a day after presidents of the two countries vowed cooperation to push the stalled deal forward. The
Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:37:00 GMT

Report on Kazakhstan presidency in OSCE to be presented in Moscow

Kazakhstan, Astana, Nov. 20 / corr. Trend News K.Konirova The joint presentation of the 'Kazakhstan's presidency at OSCE' report will be held in RIA Novosti office in Moscow on Dec. 9. The report was prepared by Russian experts and considered with
Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:35:00 GMT

British ambassador forced to apologise after Royal Navy ship 'used buoy painted colours of Spanish flag for target practice'

Britain was embroiled in a diplomatic row today after the Royal Navy was accused of using a Spanish flag as a machine-gun target. Giles Paxman, the UK's new ambassador in Madrid, was forced to apologise after sailors fired at a red-and-yellow flag
Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:34:00 GMT

Council On Foreign Relations Urges Stronger National Security Council Oversight On US Conflict Prevention Policy

'The United States has considerable influence and resources at its disposal to carry out various forms of preventive action. What it lacks are effective organizational arrangements to make the most of this latent capacity and help overcome some of the
Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:24:00 GMT

United Nations: Following Another 'Painful Year' in Middle East, Secretary-General Tells Meeting on Palestine Refugees 'We Need to See Two States Living Side by Side in Peace'

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's message, delivered by Bader Al-Dafa, Executive-Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees
Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:23:00 GMT

World powers meet over Iran nuke plan

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, left, greets IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei in Tehran in October. STORY HIGHLIGHTS Six world powers and EU meet in Brussels to discuss Iran nuclear deal Tehran has apparently rejected deal to send uranium abroad for
Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:17:00 GMT

Ambassador: U.S.-China relations more focused on global issues

relations more focused on global issues - News - SINA English Fri, November 20, 2009 & World Ambassador: U.S.- relations more focused on global issues 2009-11-20 15:46:43 GMT2009-11-20 23:46:43 (Beijing Time) Xinhua English BEIJING, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) --
Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:04:00 GMT

Signs of jihadists next door

WASHINGTON -- The latest warning signs of a potential homegrown Muslim jihadist? Loves to kill -- and loves playing paintball and rafting. That was the warning from a top-ranking NYPD official yesterday, who cited that kind of group activity as a warning
Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:56:00 GMT

Advisory: United Nations International Day of Solidarity with the people of Palestine

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation together with the Embassy of Palestine in South Africa and the Office of the United Nations in South Africa will be hosting the annual event to celebrate United Nations International Day of
Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:54:00 GMT