USA and Canada

Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump withe Chinese Vice Premier Liu He. Source: The While House.

US-China Trade Deal – The Show Isn't Over Yet

Viewpoint by Manish Uprety F.R.A.S. and Dr. Yiyong Liang*

NEW DELHI | BEIJING (IDN) – Trade wars are fascinating where not only the outcomes but also the tactics and strategy matter. Sun Tzu said: “All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.”

The world was waiting with a baited breath for easing out of tensions between the U.S. and China during the meeting of President Donald Trump with Vice Premier Liu He. The ongoing China-U.S. trade war resulted in profound consequences including contributing to conditions pushing the entire global economy to the edge of a possible recession in 2020. The accompanying contortions including contradictory reports and veiled criticisms alongside high rhetoric from both sides was not of much help either.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 17 January 2020

Photo: The ministers of foreign affairs of the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, France, China, the European Union and Iran meeting in Lausanne in March 2015, a few weeks ahead of the nuclear deal was struck in Vienna. Credit: U.S. Department of State.

Experts Plead for Foiling Collapse of the Iran Nuclear Deal

By Radwan Jakeem

NEW YORK (IDN) – Since U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned the JCPOA, also known as the "Iran nuclear deal", in May 2018, a widespread view is that the regime in Tehran is yearning for an atomic bomb.

Washington experts, however, maintain that while Iran’s violations of the JCPOA “are serious, they are reversible and they do not suggest, as some have alleged, that Iran is dashing to acquire a nuclear bomb“.

: UN Bureau; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 14 January 2020

Photo: John R. Bolton holds a meeting with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Moscow on 23 October 2018. CC BY 4.0

The Future of New START and NPT Hangs in the Balance

Viewpoint by Daryl G. Kimball

The writer is Executive Director of the Arms Control Association. The following is the text of his article published in January/February 2020 issue of Arms Control Today.

WASHINGTON, DC (IDN) – This year, the world will mark the 75th anniversary of the catastrophic atomic bombings of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the 50th anniversary of the entry into force of the indispensable but imperfect nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT).

: Arms Control Association; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 11 January 2020

The US-Iran War Continues Though Current Crisis Is Averted

Viewpoint by John Feffer

The writer is the director of Foreign Policy In Focus, which first carried it on 8 January. He is the author of several books and numerous articles. He has been an Open Society Foundation Fellow and a PanTech fellow in Korean Studies at Stanford University. He is a former associate editor of World Policy Journal.

WASHINGTON, DC (IDN) – The United States has been in a 40-year cold war with Iran.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 09 January 2020

Photo: Denise Butler (right) embraced Nelima Sitati Munene on January 4 in Brooklyn Park as they celebrated a new federal law giving Liberians in the U.S. a path to citizenship. Credit: Evan Frost | MPR News

Liberians Rejoice Over A Promised Path to U.S. Citizenship

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – As the Trump administration turns down an ever-growing number of applications for asylum, it surprised many that some 5,000 Liberians in the United States have been granted a path to citizenship.

In fact, it was the product of decades of effort by the Liberian community and its allies.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 08 January 2020

Photo: UN chief Guterres told the noon stakeout for correspondents at UN Headquarters in New York on January 6, that a “cauldron of tensions” could lead countries to unpredicted decisions with unpredictable consequences. Credit: United Nations.

Guterres Calls For De-escalating 'Dangerous' Geopolitical Tensions

Iran Ambassador Meets With UNESCO Chief Amid Trump Threats

By Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN | NEW YORK | PARIS (IDN) – “Stop escalation. Exercise maximum restraint. Re-start dialogue. Renew international cooperation.” This is the four-point message of UN Secretary-General António Guterres spelling out what needs to happen now, in capitals across the world, to de-escalate geopolitical tensions, which he described as being “at their highest level this century” as the new decade dawns. RUSSIAN

: Ramesh Jaura; UN INSIDER; 07 January 2020

Photo: Asked, 'Which country do you think is the greatest threat to peace in the world today?' international respondents overwhelmingly chose the United States. Credit: Staff Sgt. William Tremblay / U.S. Army / Creative Commons)

‘U.S. Is Greatest Threat to World Peace’

By Jamshed Baruah

NEW YORK (IDN) – American philosopher and political activist Noam Chomsky has criticized Washington's policies on Iran and referred to polls from prestigious centres, which show that America is the biggest threat to world peace. According to Iran Press/America, he told a New York school on January 4 that the former Republican Party had now become a "radical rogue" that has abandoned any parliamentary policy.

"They may succeed in raising sanctions and even secondary sanctions on other countries, and may take other measures to keep Iran out of agreement with the United States," Chomsky added.

: Jamshed Baruah; OPINION; 06 January 2020

Photo: Protestors gather outside Trump Tower to demonstrate against US/Middle East relations in Chicago. Credit: Grack Hauck, USA TODAY

U.S.-Iran Conflict: Iraq President Concerned – Young Americans Alarmed – Trump Has Put Millions at Risk

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – While Iraq President Barham Salih is worried about U.S.-Iran conflict since the killing of Iranian General Qassem Suleimani, young Americans are alarmed and speak about World War III, and an OpEd says Congress failed to act to prevent Iran war. The British-educated Kurd Salih, who spent years representing his party in Washington, was elected President of Iraq in 2018 said in a Q&A with the New Yorker’s Robin Wright:

: Santo D. Banerjee; THE WORLD; USA and Canada; 05 January 2020

Photo: Indian President Ram Nath Kovind (left), Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (centre) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 17 February 2018 in New Delhi. The three-day “substantive and productive” talks helped boost cooperation in areas of defense and security, trade and investment, and energy. Rouhani and Modi also deliberated on regional situations in their wide-ranging talks. Credit: media.mehrnews.com

Iran Turns to China and India In the Face of US Sanctions

Viewpoint by Mohammad Soltaninejad

Mohammad Soltaninejad is Assistant Professor of Middle East studies at the University of Tehran. This article appeared in the most recent edition of East Asia Forum Quarterly, ‘Economics and security’, Vol. 11 No. 4.

TEHRAN (IDN-INPS) – In the face of the United States withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal and adopting a ‘maximum pressure’ policy against Iran, Tehran is turning to China and India to circumvent US sanctions. In response, the United States is trying to deny Iran’s access to Chinese and Indian resources to pressure Iran into returning to the negotiation table.

: Asia Editor; OPINION; 30 December 2019

Photo: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, in Tel Aviv, on 29 April 2018. (State Department photo by Ron Przysucha / Public Domain).

Pompeo Accuses the ICC of ‘Unfairly’ Targeting Israel

By J C Suresh

WASHINGTON, DC (IDN) – U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo has expressed opposition to International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda’s announcement that she “has concluded her preliminary examination into the so-called ‘situation in Palestine’ and asked the ICC judges” to confirm that the Court may exercise jurisdiction over the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza.

“By taking this action, the Prosecutor expressly recognized that there are serious legal questions about the Court’s authority to proceed with an investigation,” said Pompeo.