Articles written by Frida Ghitis
By Frida Ghitis
19 Nov 2009 |
World Politics Review
Middle Eastern diplomacy has intensified enormously in recent months, but don't expect to see peace break out any time soon as a result of that new burst of activity. That's because the latest wave of diplomacy has surfaced in a most unlikely place: South America, which is fast becoming a proxy for the not-so-cold war between Iran and Israel.
By Frida Ghitis
12 Nov 2009 |
World Politics Review
President Barack Obama has managed to improve the popular standing of the United States in many countries previously hostile to it. Ironically, though, relations between Obama and the leaders of U.S. allies have turned rather frosty, particularly in Europe. If Obama's first foreign policy chapter was marked by engagement with America's foes, the next chapter may well require improving ties with its friends.
By Frida Ghitis
05 Nov 2009 |
World Politics Review
Before 9/11, no one could have predicted that attacks concocted in
remote, impoverished Afghanistan might have such a cataclysmic impact
on history. Now we know that we ignore such states at our own risk.
That's why remote and impoverished Yemen, a country by all appearances undergoing a slow-motion collapse, is likely to draw increasing
attention -- and cause increasing alarm.
By Frida Ghitis
29 Oct 2009 |
World Politics Review
One of the most reliable lessons one gleans from observing
intra-Palestinian politics is the need to always expect the unexpected.
Important events have a tendency not to unfold according to plan. We
should keep that in mind when considering Palestinian Authority
President Mahmoud Abbas' sudden call for new parliamentary and presidential elections to be held on Jan. 24.
By Frida Ghitis
22 Oct 2009 |
World Politics Review
The disturbances following last June's presidential election revealed one of Iran's great weaknesses: widespread
discontent with a regime of questionable legitimacy. Now that the
regime has suppressed the protests, however, the problem of internal
dissent has not ended. As it turns out, Iran has another Achilles'
Heel, one just as debilitating as its political rifts: its deep ethnic
divisions.
By Frida Ghitis
15 Oct 2009 |
World Politics Review
Turkey and Israel's relationship has long stood as a
unique model of pragmatic, strategic thinking in a region rife with
instability, tension, and identity-based alliances. In recent months, growing strains between the two countries have led some to believe
their decades-old ties could reach the breaking point. But a closer look at the relationship reveals that a break is highly unlikely.
By Frida Ghitis
08 Oct 2009 |
World Politics Review
RAMALLAH, West Bank -- Ramallah is experiencing an economic boom that looks deceptively like normalcy. Beneath the visible progress, however, signs are growing that the
months ahead could bring heightened tension. Ironically, one source of the possible turmoil is the expected signing on Oct. 25 of a reconciliation agreement between Fatah and Hamas.
By Frida Ghitis
01 Oct 2009 |
World Politics Review
JERUSALEM -- The latest developments surrounding Iran and its nuclear
program would seem, on the surface, to provide Israel with reasons for
even deeper worries about the threat from the Islamic Republic. Instead, the international reaction to
Iran's moves is providing Israeli leaders with a sense of reassurance that Washington and the rest of the world will not leave them to handle Iran on their own.
By Frida Ghitis
24 Sep 2009 |
World Politics Review
JERUSALEM -- History will record Tuesday's trilateral summit at the
Waldorf Astoria hotel as the moment when U.S. President Barack Obama
recognized that his initial strategy for bringing Israelis and
Palestinians to the negotiating table had become counter-productive.
Realizing he was on the wrong course, Obama began a gradual shift
toward a less dramatic, less public, and potentially more successful
route.
By Frida Ghitis
17 Sep 2009 |
World Politics Review
JERUSALEM -- Last Friday, Sept. 11, Katyusha rockets fired from
southern Lebanon landed near the town of Nahariya in northern Israel.
No one was hurt, but the incident brought to mind a mostly quiet
rivalry that has lain dormant, but could stir without warning inside
Lebanon: Hezbollah and al-Qaida despise one another, and in this part
of the world, hatred usually leads to bloodshed.
By Frida Ghitis
10 Sep 2009 |
World Politics Review
TEL AVIV, Israel -- The announcement that Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu plans to approve the construction of more housing
for Jewish settlers in the West Bank was interpreted by many Western observers as a snub,
in light of Washington's demands for a settlement freeze. In Israel,
however, some see the move as a sign that Netanyahu is preparing to
work with U.S. President
Barack Obama.
By Frida Ghitis
03 Sep 2009 |
World Politics Review
Concerns in the Middle East about U.S. policy for Iran have grown recently, partly due to statements
from administration officials about a possible new approach for
dealing with Iran's nuclear aspirations. If the administration intended
word of the plan to act as a trial balloon, it is
clear that regional players have popped it, sending it hissing
to the ground.
By Frida Ghitis
27 Aug 2009 |
World Politics Review
The Obama administration's plan to reshape the Midde East is well underway. Efforts to pry Syria from its tight alliance with Iran and persuade it to start working for regional solutions have made American officials regular visitors to Damascus. The results so far, however, are far from a resounding success. The much-anticipated harvest of peace remains a mirage.
By Frida Ghitis
20 Aug 2009 |
World Politics Review
The small piece of land on the eastern Mediterranean known as the Gaza strip has seen its share of violence over the decades, with a series of conflicts fought along its narrow alley ways and on its sandy beaches. The latest round of fighting, gun battles that left two dozen men dead last weekend in a mosque in southern Gaza , opened yet another chapter in Gaza 's troubled history.
By Frida Ghitis
13 Aug 2009 |
World Politics Review
Fatah, The party that dominates the Palestinian Authority, just held its first official gathering in 20 years and some reports claimed the conference produced a strong commitment to peace and reconciliation within a rejuvenated organization. The reality is not quite as rosy. Those who saw in the event an unqualified push to take the steps towards peace with Israel missed much of what transpired.
By Frida Ghitis
06 Aug 2009 |
World Politics Review
Latin America used to experience
golpes, or military coups, on a regular basis. Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez has invented a new version of the authoritarian takeover, acting gradually to achieve many
of the same goals of his
golpista forefathers.
His latest move, if successful, will now deal a deathblow to all
accepted standards of freedom of speech in that country.
By Frida Ghitis
30 Jul 2009 |
World Politics Review
Few countries engage in internal debates with the intensity that one finds in Israel. And no debate has engendered more intensity there than the one over how to achieve peace with the Palestinians. Which makes it all the more striking that Israelis have reached a quiet consensus on one key point: President Barack Obama needs to make urgent changes to his Mideast push for peace.
By Frida Ghitis
23 Jul 2009 |
World Politics Review
Six months after taking office,
President Barack Obama can point to a distinct new tone in American foreign
policy and the start of a discernible makeover of the country's image
around the globe. When it comes to specific achievements, however, the administration does not have much to
show, so far.
By Frida Ghitis
16 Jul 2009 |
World Politics Review
Ethnic disturbances in western China last week resulted in the deaths of at least 184 people, prompting President Hu Jintao to leave the G-8 summit in Italy. As for the rest of the world, the sense of alarm seemed rather muted. The international reaction demonstrates how
effective China's foreign policy strategy has proven in pursuit of its two paramount goals in the global arena.
By Frida Ghitis
09 Jul 2009 |
World Politics Review
Vice President Joe Biden lived up to his "talks before he thinks" reputation once again, when he told an interviewer that the United States would not stop Israel if it decided to attack Iran's nuclear installations. But despite a hasty "correction," the administration might be using Biden's reputation for
accidentally revealing the truth in order to communicate subtle
threats.
