Arab Publics Prefer Light U.S. Footprint, Even in Syria

by Jim Lobe In contrast to some of their leaders, people across the Arab world prefer President Barack Obama’s efforts to reduce Washington’s military footprint in the Middle East to the approach favored by neoconservatives and other U.S. hawks, according… Continue Reading

Echoes of Lebanon in Syria

by Paul Pillar via The National Interest Expressions of angst over Syria have entailed several themes, one of which concerns possible “spread” of the Syrian civil war into nearby states. Lebanon, for reasons of physical and ethnic geography, is most… Continue Reading

Decade After Iraq, Right-Wing and Liberal Hawks Reunite Over Syria

by Jim Lobe via IPS News Ten years after right-wing and liberal hawks came together to push the U.S. into invading Iraq, key members of the two groups appear to be reuniting behind stronger U.S. military intervention in Syria. While… Continue Reading

Keller and Mindlessness

by Jim Lobe I’ll make this short. Twenty-four hours ago, we posted Amb. Robert Hunter’s analysis of the Syria question and his appeal to Obama to “keep his nerve (backed by the US military leadership) and continue resisting attempts to… Continue Reading

Syria: Pressure for US Military Action Rising Ominously

by Wayne White A sampling of the May 5 American Sunday talk shows demonstrated graphically the intense pressure mounting on the White House to move forward with potentially risky military options aimed at hastening the end of the crisis in… Continue Reading