http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15724404
Iran influenced Baghdad's decision to refuse to allow the US to keep troops in Iraq beyond the end of this year. The US must be out by December 31st. The US attempted to work towards a new agreement that would allow a small contingent of several thousand soldiers in Iraq that the government in Baghdad had refused. "Adviser Sa'ad Youssef al-Mutalabi says that while the decision had been Iraq's, Iranian sensitivities had played their part." However, Michael McClellan, who is the spokesman for the US embassy in Baghdad, said "We are not being pushed out and I don't think it's at the behest of Iran. Since 2003, our objective here has been to have an Iraq that is sovereign, stable and self-reliant. They are sovereign because they did make their own decision. We did not just come back at them and say: 'Sorry but we're going to keep our troops here anyway." There are around 30,000 soldiers still in Iraq but they all must be gone by the end of this year except the few that will remain to protect the embassy.
Tyler Coleman
TA: John 11:00AM
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Monday, November 14, 2011
Afghan- Pakistan Border Suspicions Regin
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/on-afghan-pakistan-border-suspicions-reign/2011/11/10/gIQAWj4PKN_story.html?hpid=z3
American soldiers were fired upon by people within the area of a Pakistani military checkpoint. The reasons for this are not known, but some possibly motives were to either provide cover for insurgents who were traveling, or there were insurgents who were firing upon the Americans who were simply utilizing a Pakistani military checkpoint. Though there is no proof for either of these theories, this is still a representation of the growing tensions between the American forces and Pakistan's involvement with insurgents. Their motives and loyalties have been called into question on many occasions, such as accusations that Pakistan was harboring insurgents. Due to the fact that many soldiers can reported being fired upon by forces on the Pakistani border, I think that a major conflict with Pakistan could possibly be in the United States' future. Do you think that these growing tensions will lead to another major conflict?
By: Marisa Gilna
TA: Ryan F(10-10:50)
American soldiers were fired upon by people within the area of a Pakistani military checkpoint. The reasons for this are not known, but some possibly motives were to either provide cover for insurgents who were traveling, or there were insurgents who were firing upon the Americans who were simply utilizing a Pakistani military checkpoint. Though there is no proof for either of these theories, this is still a representation of the growing tensions between the American forces and Pakistan's involvement with insurgents. Their motives and loyalties have been called into question on many occasions, such as accusations that Pakistan was harboring insurgents. Due to the fact that many soldiers can reported being fired upon by forces on the Pakistani border, I think that a major conflict with Pakistan could possibly be in the United States' future. Do you think that these growing tensions will lead to another major conflict?
By: Marisa Gilna
TA: Ryan F(10-10:50)
Monday, November 7, 2011
Cyberattacks
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-government-security-services-websites-down-in-suspected-cyber-attack-1.394042
Over the weekend several Israeli government websites crashed. They believe that this was cyberattack. The purpetrator name is anonymous (really original), and the reasoning behind this attack was upoladed in a Youtube message. Anonymous said that if the siege on Gaza continuous, and more flotillas are intercepted then the attacks will continue. In this case, only a couple of servers crashed for a short period of time, but what happens when cyberwarfare becomes more prevalent, and governments are faced with bigger ulitimatums from hackers. Do you guys think that cyberwarfare is a major or minor issue? How should countires address this issue moving forward?
Peter Gountanis
TA:Ryan Maness
POLS184
Friday-10AM
Over the weekend several Israeli government websites crashed. They believe that this was cyberattack. The purpetrator name is anonymous (really original), and the reasoning behind this attack was upoladed in a Youtube message. Anonymous said that if the siege on Gaza continuous, and more flotillas are intercepted then the attacks will continue. In this case, only a couple of servers crashed for a short period of time, but what happens when cyberwarfare becomes more prevalent, and governments are faced with bigger ulitimatums from hackers. Do you guys think that cyberwarfare is a major or minor issue? How should countires address this issue moving forward?
Peter Gountanis
TA:Ryan Maness
POLS184
Friday-10AM
Israel and Iran Create World Tension
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15617657
World War I was sparked by an event between two minor European powers who had the rest of Europe tied into the war through alliances. It is interesting to see a similar spark beginning to unfold between Israel and Iran. Israel has an unconditional ally, USA. Iran has two very strong allies, Russia and China. In this article Russia warns Israel that an attack on Iran would be a "very serious mistake fraught with unpredictable consequences", Russia's foreign minister has warned.
Israel wants to move in on Iran with a preemptive strike to prevent the development of Iran’s Nuclear program. Iran claims that it only wants to use nuclear power for commercial use. What will happen if Israel attacks Iran, and Russia steps in? World War III?
Chris Laskowski
TA: Maness
POLS 184
Friday - 9:00AM
World War I was sparked by an event between two minor European powers who had the rest of Europe tied into the war through alliances. It is interesting to see a similar spark beginning to unfold between Israel and Iran. Israel has an unconditional ally, USA. Iran has two very strong allies, Russia and China. In this article Russia warns Israel that an attack on Iran would be a "very serious mistake fraught with unpredictable consequences", Russia's foreign minister has warned.
Israel wants to move in on Iran with a preemptive strike to prevent the development of Iran’s Nuclear program. Iran claims that it only wants to use nuclear power for commercial use. What will happen if Israel attacks Iran, and Russia steps in? World War III?
Chris Laskowski
TA: Maness
POLS 184
Friday - 9:00AM
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Greek's prime minister to resign
http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/06/world/europe/greece-main/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
On the condition that the bailout deal is approved, the Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou will resign. I think this is a bad idea because the Eurozone will probably need his support in the future since the debt crisis isn't magically going to go away once it is passed. Greece still has a long way to go and other debt problems are arising in Italy. The Eurozone has a whole needs the leadership of Papendreou since he could help the countries that will be having problems shortly since he has already had to deal with a debt crisis.
I know that he is doing what the vast majority of Greeks do not want, but he was elected to make the hard decisions. The Greek citizens, as with citizens in all republics, do not have the time in their lives to get the full understanding of what needs to be done, which is why we elect people to these offices to do it for us since they will have the time necessary. His job is to do the right thing for his country even if it isn't necessarily the most popular. Truman, Eisenhower, JFK, and Johnson were all in a similar situation involving civil rights. Their positions were definitely not the most popular at the time, but they did what was right and necessary for the United States. Papandreou is doing the exactly what he was elected to do in my opinion: Make the hard decisions that no one else is able to make.
Brad Herrmann
Maness 10am
On the condition that the bailout deal is approved, the Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou will resign. I think this is a bad idea because the Eurozone will probably need his support in the future since the debt crisis isn't magically going to go away once it is passed. Greece still has a long way to go and other debt problems are arising in Italy. The Eurozone has a whole needs the leadership of Papendreou since he could help the countries that will be having problems shortly since he has already had to deal with a debt crisis.
I know that he is doing what the vast majority of Greeks do not want, but he was elected to make the hard decisions. The Greek citizens, as with citizens in all republics, do not have the time in their lives to get the full understanding of what needs to be done, which is why we elect people to these offices to do it for us since they will have the time necessary. His job is to do the right thing for his country even if it isn't necessarily the most popular. Truman, Eisenhower, JFK, and Johnson were all in a similar situation involving civil rights. Their positions were definitely not the most popular at the time, but they did what was right and necessary for the United States. Papandreou is doing the exactly what he was elected to do in my opinion: Make the hard decisions that no one else is able to make.
Brad Herrmann
Maness 10am
Thursday, November 3, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/04/world/europe/greek-leaders-split-on-euro-referendum.html?_r=1&hp
On Thursday Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou called off the public referendum that was set to decide whether Greece would accept the recently developed debt deal with the euro zone. This decision relieved some of the political tension that had escalated because of Greece's initial decision to hold a referendum. European Union leaders looking to keep the EU intact, primarily Germany and France, were appalled that the Greek public would decide whether or not to accept their debt deal. The agreement reached last week would write down Greek debt in exchange for austerity measures and a commitment to the euro as Greece's currency. News that the referendum was called off spurred an upturn in European markets as well as markets abroad. Prime Minister Papandreou faces a tough confidence vote this Friday which will have large implications on the fate of the Euro zone debt crisis.
Matt Russo
POLS 184
John 11:00AM Discussion Section
Matt Russo
POLS 184
John 11:00AM Discussion Section
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Kenya and the Somali al-Shabaab
Lamu, a small island off the northeastern coast of Kenya is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the country. It is a Swahili town surrounded by beaches and various other islands, offering sailing, snorkeling and culture to tourists from around the world. However, just 3 weeks ago a 66-year-old disabled French woman was kidnapped from her Lamu house and taken by boat back to mainland Somalia. This event drastically impacted the country, as Lamu and other Kenyan coastal areas thrive on the Christmas hustle of vacationers into Kenya. The US Embassy in Nairobi has advised all trips to the coast be canceled. The terrorists, as many Kenyans and international embassies think, are the al-Shabaab, a Somali group of militants linked to the al-Queda.
When the Kenyan military found out that one of the heads of the movement would be in Jilib, Somalia, they planned an attack on the camp to weaken their enemies. It was confirmed by the Kenyan military that 10 al-Shabaab fighters were killed, while another 47 were wounded. There are stories of 10 civilians also be killed, but the Kenyan government believes this is a sort of propaganda put into place by the al-Shabaab.
Threats and bomb attacks have also been placed through the city of Nairobi, a hot spot for tourists, as well as many of the International embassies. There have been two attacks in the city thus far, at a nightclub and a bus stop, leavening 1 dead and 29 wounded.
Many in Nairobi have been leift in a state of panic as many American parents are reluctant to let their children out of the house to visit with friends, or even attend school. It is the hope of Kenya, and several countries supporting Kenya that the situation will be able to be handled without any sort of war. Fighting would push Kenya into economic problems that a developing country would not be able to handle.
Rosalie Kapanga
POLS 184
Discussion: Friday at 11am
When the Kenyan military found out that one of the heads of the movement would be in Jilib, Somalia, they planned an attack on the camp to weaken their enemies. It was confirmed by the Kenyan military that 10 al-Shabaab fighters were killed, while another 47 were wounded. There are stories of 10 civilians also be killed, but the Kenyan government believes this is a sort of propaganda put into place by the al-Shabaab.
Threats and bomb attacks have also been placed through the city of Nairobi, a hot spot for tourists, as well as many of the International embassies. There have been two attacks in the city thus far, at a nightclub and a bus stop, leavening 1 dead and 29 wounded.
Many in Nairobi have been leift in a state of panic as many American parents are reluctant to let their children out of the house to visit with friends, or even attend school. It is the hope of Kenya, and several countries supporting Kenya that the situation will be able to be handled without any sort of war. Fighting would push Kenya into economic problems that a developing country would not be able to handle.
Rosalie Kapanga
POLS 184
Discussion: Friday at 11am
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