Today, violations of medical neutrality constitute a war crime under the Geneva Convention. Yet, as an international norm, the principle has had minimal influence mitigating violence in the Syrian conflict.
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What doctrine constitutes Obama’s foreign policy thus far? What options are left to Obama in his final two years to complete foreign policy goals and strengthen American power abroad? And what will be Obama’s legacy in foreign policy?
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Just as Putin has demonstrated his seriousness to the West, Europe and the United States must stand resolutely, in total lock-step, against this brazenly aggressive move by Russia. On its own, the US can and should pass targeted sanctions against Russia, and the White House should also coach its leader to not wear jeans during a critical phone call in full view of the world stage.
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Christians and Muslims may pray to the same God, but can this God protect both peoples? Jordan’s Christians hope they never have to find out.
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The traditional balance of power of the entire region is shifting. Saudi Arabia’s authority is based solely on its robust oil exports to the US, and thus its power is beginning to wane in face of America’s shale oil revolution and Iran's rapidly-increasing oil exports
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"Afghanistan has been in a state of war since 1979. Outside powers have inflicted great chaos in an already lawless territory. Tribes have exploited gains with both anti-Taliban and Taliban forces. But I am fully assured that Afghanistan’s future has to rest with the Afghani people themselves."
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There remains, however, a single and constant truth in the conflict; the West—in particular, the United States—has suffered one of the most dire strategic losses in its foreign policy over the past thirty years.
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These powerful developments emanating from the Middle East demonstrate a region constantly disturbed by sectional interests and polarizing ideologies. Is there a solution?
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The face of Walid al- Moallem, Syria’s foreign minister, appears on television: “Syria always keeps its promises,” he says to Ban Ki-moon. The scene cuts out, and immediately cuts back into an image of Syrian warplanes raining hellfire down upon the Syria landscape. Explosions, smoke, and misery ensue.
Read MoreIn the end, Syria will only be able to move on once Assad is gone. Most opposition fighters, extremist or moderate, refuse to consider a future in which Assad rules any part of Syria. Simply put: as long as Assad survives, war will persist. And as long as war persists, extremism will spread.
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Reworking the Strategy towards Iran. Netanyahu is becoming infamously impatient, and the reactors keep spinning (despite false claims to the contrary last week; I doubt we’ll ever really know what is actually going on in those nuclear plants). The current strategy cannot continue.
Read MoreFor those dying daily in Syria, all of our talk of bringing freedom to the world is illusory. The rhetoric only works if we act exceptionally, and right now America has a long way to climb.
Read MoreA real plan for Syria is to consider the following: What is the cost of the fall of regime? Who would be left in power? Will there be a Syrian state?
Read MoreImpotent or not, Orwell teaches me, it is writing about the hard topics, speaking out on Syria, that automatically breathes life into my words. Political purpose, it turns out, is nothing less than a writer’s very oxygen.
Read MoreIf anything, our track record in Libya is cause to never support rebel factions again. Overthrowing a tyrant like Qaddafi is something to be proud of, to be sure, but our work in Libya helped create a far larger mess.
Read MoreCertainly an organization representing a global unified body would have the most legitimacy. The UN was formed with the core principles of peace and security in mind, but a lack of unity of member states only allows magnifies the problems on the ground.
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Fighting has spread to Damascus, the capital, and to the largest city, Aleppo. This is not just sporadic gunfire, but real, bloody, daily fighting. Border crossing stations are being seized by the rebels, letting more lethal weapons seep through the porous Turkish border. Hundreds of defectors join the resistance every day. On all fronts, the rebels are advancing.
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The SNC, which claims to be leading the uprising from outside Syria, is battling between leading an opposition movement against Assad’s authoritarian grip and gaining credibility among its civilian population and the Western world.
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Today we are able to sit with our laptops and tablets and watch the horrors of a regime slaughtering its own people. But despicable as this inaction is, posting filmed clips on YouTube has become one of the only viable means for the Syrian people to call out for help.
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