“When is a cyberattack an act of war?”

The Washington Post’s Ellen Nakashima examines the question of what constitutes war if the trigger point originates in cyberspace: Deciding what amounts to an act of war is more a political judgment than a military or legal one. International law avoids the phrase… Continue Reading →

NATO’s Arms to Syria Conundrum

Amidst UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi’s attempts to achieve a temporary Syrian ceasefire, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this week announced a boost in American non-lethal assistance to the Syrian rebels.  Meanwhile, Russian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Nikolai Makarov declared… Continue Reading →

Ledeen Begins his Pivot

Michael Ledeen, a neoconservative polemicist and long-time Iran hawk who joined the Foundation for Defense of Democracies after leaving the American Enterprise Institute in 2008, is being honest when he reminds us here that he has opposed direct US military intervention in Iran. For Ledeen, Iranian-regime… Continue Reading →

Khamenei Likely to Hold Onto Weakened Ahmadinejad

By Yasaman Baji via IPS News Amid growing and increasingly harsh criticism of his handling of the economy, talk of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s removal has regained momentum in Iran in recent weeks. But, according to most observers, Iran’s supreme leader,… Continue Reading →