Topic: Saddam Hussein

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8 reasons America is not in decline

As many as 70 percent of Americans believe that the United States is in decline. And who can blame them? High unemployment. Crushing debt. Political gridlock. For all the unrelenting gloom, Old Dominion University political science professor Steve Yetiv explains that America remains strong in key areas, unlikely to be superseded by another country anytime soon. He urges readers to consider these 8 facts:
5 ways Americans and Iranians are surprisingly similar

Despite escalating US-Iran tensions, remarkable similarities between their peoples have prompted some to suggest that the US and Iran could one day be powerful ‘natural’ allies.
Correspondent reflections: The 10 news events that shaped 2011

In this special section, we look at the year’s biggest stories, and seven staff correspondents reflect on events in hot spots from Latin America to the Libyan front.
Who's who in Iraq after the US exit?

The next year is probably going to be the most crucial for determining the future of Iraq since the US-led invasion of 2003. Here are a few of the major players.
Five ways 9/11 has transformed the US military

The attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, fundamentally transformed the way the United States military wages war, forcing the Pentagon to rethink some of its basic tenets. Here are the Top 5 changes since 9/11.

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Memorial Day: Among post-9/11 veterans, deepening antiwar sentiment

This Memorial Day the Iraq war is over and the Afghanistan war is winding down, but they're weighing heavily on post-9/11 veterans, 33 percent of whom said they weren't worth the cost.
A race to shore up the ancient walls of Babylon

After two failed bids, archaeologists seek to establish Babylon as a UNESCO World Heritage Site despite damage from Saddam Hussein and US troops. Those are just its latest encounters with conquerors, they argue.
Iran nuclear talks: Are sanctions on the table?

A senior Iranian figure stated that Iran's 'minimum expectation' for the upcoming negotiations was a lifting of some sanctions, but sanctions are notoriously hard to remove.
François Hollande – no more 'Mr. Pudding'?

Style – more than policy differences on austerity – separated Socialist winner François Hollande from Nicolas Sarkozy in the French presidential elections. France may have simply preferred Hollande, dubbed 'Mr. Pudding,' over bombastic Sarkozy. But Hollande may not be so soft.
Iraq's unity tested by rising tensions over oil-rich Kurdish region

As Iraqi Kurdistan ramps up oil production that could soon surpass Libya's output, Kurdish leaders have warned they may seek independence if disputes over oil revenues, power-sharing aren't resolved.
Is the Palestinian Authority really a 'fig leaf' for Israeli occupation?

That's the charge of Yossi Beilin, Israeli architect of the Oslo accords. In an interview with the Monitor, he defends his recent call for the PA to be dissolved – 19 years after he helped set it up.
Backchannels
After Formula One scrutiny, Bahrain hires a fan of Saddam Hussein to improve its image

Well, nothing else is working.
The case for military intervention in Syria

Former US ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker argues that the West should not wait for a single mass atrocity before it intervenes in Syria, as it did in Bosnia. What is the magic number of deaths that will prompt the international community to act? We've already passed 9,000.
Beyond Kony 2012, child soldiers are used in most civil wars

Kony 2012 campaign calls for plastering posters everywhere tonight. But the use of child soldiers goes far beyond warlord Kony and his LRA. It is the norm in most civil wars. Governments, too, use children to fight. One way to stop it: Deny military aid to these governments.
Iran nuclear talks: Why the trust gap is so great

Part of the reason for Iran's distrust lies in the CIA's infiltration of a UN weapons inspection team in Iraq in the 1990s.
Political dynasties (Romney, Bush, Kennedy) betray basic American values

Families like the Kennedys, Bushes, and Romneys will likely ever seek political power – and the public may well respond with a certain star-struck awe. But hereditary ambition and home-grown royalty run counter to the American Revolution premise ‘that all men are created equal.
Why Iran got huffy about a certain locale for next nuclear talks

The exact words were, 'Iranian officials are not interested in Turkey as the host.' The declaration masks a mountain of Persian hurt over the Turks and their shifting diplomacy in the region.
Omar Suleiman, Mubarak's no. 2, enters Egypt's presidential race

Many Egyptians loathe Omar Suleiman, a former intelligence chief whom rights advocates blame for decades of abuse and torture. But others see him as a man who can restore stability in Egypt.
Backchannels
Weapons flowing from Iraqi Sunnis to Syria's rebels?

So says a fairly credible CNN report.
Real triumph of Arab League summit: That it happened at all

The Arab League took little action to address Syria crisis, deferring to UN. But the summit, held in a renovated marble palace with gold-encrusted dates for dessert, still marked a triumph for host Iraq.
Arab leaders stay away from Baghdad summit

The turnout in Iraq by regional leaders wasn't very high for Thursday's meeting. But those who did show up appealed to the Syrian government to stop the violence.
Arab leaders call on Syria to end violent crackdown

Even before Arab heads of state began their Thursday summit in the Iraqi capital, Syria sharply rejected any measures they take. A Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Jihad Makdessi, said Damascus would 'not deal with any initiative' that might come out of the 22-member Arab League.
Iraqi community perplexed, wary after slaying of Iraqi-born mother

Officials are cautioning residents in El Cajon, Calif., against jumping to conclusions while the death of Shaima al-Awadi, an Iraqi immigrant, is investigated. She died after a brutal beating last week in her home. Police have not ruled out a hate crime.
Iraq Arab League summit opens with eyes on Syria

Baghdad, hosting its first Arab league summit since 1990, is hoping to show the region Iraq has put its troubles behind it. But nervous eyes are focused elsewhere, on Syria.
Backchannels
Iraq's ominous trendline of violence

Terrorism is up in Iraq, as are political tensions.
Amid bombings, Iraqi family celebrates a wedding and good grades

The Methboub family, which the Monitor has followed for a decade, has reasons for hope after dark days during which a son was wrongly imprisoned and a daughter's marriage collapsed.
Terrorism & Security
Spate of bombings in Iraq undermines stability ahead of Arab summit

A series of bombings across Iraq today belie Iraq's efforts to portray itself as a stable, resurgent power as it prepares to host the annual Arab League summit for the first time since 1990.
Why Syria's Assad could hang on for a decade or more (+video)

Despite defiant talk from fighters vowing to oust him, Syria's Assad is in a much stronger position than was Libya's Qaddafi.
To strike Iran's nuclear facilities or not to strike? Why polls differ.

Two recent surveys seem to conflict over how Americans would prefer to handle the threat of a nuclear Iran.
Vox News
'Game Change': How accurate is the movie about Sarah Palin?

Words have been flying between supporters of Sarah Palin, who charge the ‘Game Change’ filmmakers with a smear job, and the producers, who insist they’re committed to accuracy.