Highlights from the PRA Right Web Program

At A Crossroads with Syria
Interview by Daniel Luban | Posted August 12, 2008
Middle East expert Joshua Landis describes U.S. policy on Syria as the “fulcrum between the remaining neoconservative influence in Washington and the rising tide of realists.” In an interview with Right Web, he talks about how opportunities for piloting peace in the Middle East are slipping by as the Bush administration watches from the sidelines, how the White House’s “stubborn, counterproductive” policy on Syria is endangering U.S. soldiers in Iraq, how the neoconservatives have “failed miserably”—and what the best way forward is.

Peace Not Near on Middle East’s “Time Horizon”
By Leon Hadar | July 30, 2008
The Bush administration’s symbolic concessions on Iran may be a smokescreen for plausible deniability, and recent diplomatic steps taken by various Middle Eastern players should not be confused with a search for peace. The Middle East is a place where nothing is what it seems to be, where yesterday’s enemy is tomorrow’s ally, where commitments are made to be broken, and where “peace” is nothing more than a long cease-fire.

North Korea: Hand-Wringing over Success
By John Isaacs | July 24, 2008
President Bush’s announcement in late June that the United States was taking North Korea off the sponsors of terrorism list thanks to Pyongyang’s progress in dismantling its nuclear weapons program was the culmination of a shift in administration policies that has astonished the world. The shift toward diplomacy has also infuriated many of the administration’s erstwhile supporters who, in John Bolton’s words, have begun to bemoan the “final collapse of Bush's foreign policy.”

Blackwater: The Real “Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy”?
By Ali Gharib | July 18, 2008
Businessmen with ties to the GOP and right-wing ideologies and pedigrees are not uncommon. What makes Erik Prince special is the confluence of his core beliefs—militarism, right-wing Christianity, and privatization—in his controversial mercenary business, Blackwater Worldwide. At the center of a heated scandal over abuses committed by private military contractors in Iraq and elsewhere, Blackwater has begun to expand its business into intelligence gathering and a host of other security-related services. Its success is helping fill the coffers of some of the country’s most influential conservative political figures and prompting some observers to call it the “future of war.”

Iran Sanctions Bill Could Undermine Diplomacy
Analysis by Carah Ong | July 10, 2008
With pressure on both houses of Congress to pass legislation imposing more sanctions against Iran, and without key opposition from the oil lobby, the Iran Sanctions Act of 2008 could be passed yet in the Senate. But the act could harm diplomacy not only with Tehran, but also with Moscow, thanks to provisions that are opposed by the Bush administration as well as several senators.

PNAC: Please Contact the Billing/Support Department
By Alexander Zaitchik | June 23, 2008
The website of the Project for the New American Century went offline last month, spurring conspiratorial rumors regarding the once-prominent neoconservative group, which had been a vocal proponent of regime change in Iraq before and after 9/11 and had displayed a knack for coalition-building across the political spectrum. Though its former executive director says the dead website is due to a forgetful accountant, PNAC’s loss of support reaches beyond the technical.

Pentagon Reined in Cheney’s Plans for Iran Strikes
Analysis by Gareth Porter | Posted on June 9, 2008
A proposal by Vice President Dick Cheney to strike Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps bases last summer was apparently thwarted by the Pentagon because of concerns that it could spark an all-out war. But that was before Adm. William Fallon was dismissed as head of Central Command and replaced with Gen. David Petraeus, a Cheney ally.

Bush Visits His “New” Middle East
Commentary by Leon Hadar | May 23, 2008
President George W. Bush sought the sunshine of the Middle East, hoping that the images of his five-day excursion to the region would help salvage his personal and political legacy. But it is doubtful that the president’s journey will produce anything more than photo ops. If anything, his visit helped to highlight the gap between his grand designs for the Middle East and the depressing reality on the ground.

Embedding the Analysts: Modern-Day Propaganda?
Commentary by Bill Berkowitz | May 8, 2008
An investigative exposé by the New York Times has revealed part of the Pentagon’s “information dominance” apparatus, through which it manipulated perceptions about the conflict in Iraq. Throughout the Iraq War, the Bush administration gave private briefings to selected military retirees, who then made public appearances as independent military experts. The brains behind this program belong to former Pentagon public affairs officer Victoria Clarke, who now works for one of the same TV networks that had been hoodwinked by her program.

Time for a Diplomatic Surge
Analysis By Carah Ong | April 29, 2008
The Bush administration seems to have placed the symbolic mantle of Enemy No. 1 on Iran’s shoulders, displacing al Qaeda from that position. But although the administration and various pundits paint a good guys-bad guys narrative to sell conflict to the American people, reality is far more muddled. Rather than demonizing Iran, the United States should focus on a diplomatic surge that includes direct, comprehensive, and unconditional talks not only on Iraq, but also on the range of outstanding issues between the two countries. What the Bush administration refuses to acknowledge is that when it comes to Iraq, U.S. and Iranian interests converge.

Bush’s Two-Man Song and Dance
Commentary by Ali Gharib | April 15, 2008
Last week David Petraeus and Ryan Crocker were trotted out before Congress and television talk shows to give a progress report on "the surge." They defended the high troop levels as necessary if things go well—and if they don't. What Petraeus and Crocker—as well as any of the like-minded war supporters in and out of the administration—failed to do was clearly define U.S. goals in Iraq, which makes sense because Washington has consistently failed to accomplish any of its goals since the war began. Clearly, solutions to fixing the mess in Iraq are not to be found in the hands of those who made it.