Whither Syria and Lebanon? AND: Profiles on Ellen Bork, Foreign Policy Initiative, and more
Edited By Michael Flynn | Posted: January 19, 2011
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FEATURED ARTICLE
The Case for Syria
By Samer Araabi
The continuing influence of Syria, which has been reflected in the recent power struggles in Lebanon, clearly demonstrates that U.S. attempts to isolate Damascus have failed. Syria occupies an important strategic position in the Levant, and it sits at the crossroads of a number of U.S. interests. Despite efforts by rightwing “pro-Israel” groups in the United States to prevent rapprochement with Syria, direct and honest engagement is the only way to satisfy U.S. foreign policy goals, rein in violent extremism, and encourage political reforms. Read full article.
SEE ALSO:
Lebanese Government Collapse Adds to Obama Problems
By Jim Lobe
The collapse of the Hariri-led government in Lebanon adds to the list of policy challenges the U.S. faces across the Middle East. Read full article.
FEATURED PROFILES
Bork, a project director at the Foreign Policy Initiative and the daughter of former Supreme Court justice nominee Robert Bork, has helped foster the time-honored neoconservative tactic of organizing elite public sign-on letters to pressure public figures.
A former military intelligence officer and defense industry executive with a track record of advancing hawkish U.S. defense policies and supporting neoconservative campaigns, Jackson now advocates reevaluating the former Soviet republics’ integration into NATO.
Jamie Fly, a former adviser to the George W. Bush administration, is the executive director of the Foreign Policy Initiative (FPI) and a blogger for the Weekly Standard.
Goldberg, often accused of bolstering efforts to push the United States into conflict in the Middle East, is now calling for restraint on Iran, arguing that a military attack on the country would prove counterproductive.
The former Cheney advisor helps direct the Foreign Policy Initiative and is a fellow at Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.
The Foreign Policy Initiative, a premier neoconservative pressure group in Washington, has had surprising success in getting credible human rights groups to collaborate with them on advocacy campaigns, repeating a tactic that was used to great effect by war hawks during the lead up to the 2002 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
The Progressive Policy Institute, the associated think tank of the Democratic Leadership Council, has promoted a militarist foreign policy agenda, including a hardline on Iran.
The Philanthropy Roundtable aims to foster rightist causes and assist the “war on terror” by helping shape conservative charitable giving.
Project on Transitional Democracies
The Project on Transitional Democracies, a successor group to the U.S. Committee on NATO, promotes reforms in post-Soviet states and has pressed a get-tough approach to Russia.
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The war in Afghanistan has been touted as a vital to countries across the globe, but NATO seems to have taken on the lead role in the campaign there mainly in order to help justify its own existence.
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