U.S.:Iran poses a major threat to regional stability

A top U.S. military commander says Iran poses a major threat to regional stability as it continues its nuclear program in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions.

General David Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East and Central Asia, told a Senate hearing Tuesday that if Iran were to obtain nuclear weapons capability, that would destabilize the region and likely spur a regional arms race. (more…)

Ford: U.S. sanctions won’t be dropped unless Syria stops supporting Hezbollah in Lebanon

The U.S. needs to deliver “straight talk” to the Syrian leadership on stabilizing Iraq and cutting links to Hezbollah in Lebanon, President Barack Obama’s nominee for ambassador to Damascus said today.

“Bad news just doesn’t flow upwards over there,” Robert Ford, a career diplomat, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at his confirmation hearing as he explained why the U.S. wants to send an ambassador for the first time in five years. (more…)

Israel rejects U.S. calls to halt construction in East Jerusalem

A day after trying to ease tensions, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday rejected U.S. demands to end the construction of new housing units in disputed East Jerusalem, leaving the two allies in the middle of an increasingly uncomfortable diplomatic feud. (more…)

US wants Israel to cancel building project

Israeli officials said Monday that the U.S. is pressing Israel to scrap a contentious east Jerusalem building project whose approval has touched off the most serious diplomatic feud with Washington in years. (more…)

Ahmadinejad, Gates trade barbs in Afghanistan

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Defense Secretary Robert Gates traded barbs on Wednesday during briefly overlapping visits to Afghanistan, where Washington has troops at war but Tehran has growing clout.

Ahmadinejad, who arrived as Gates was wrapping up a three-day visit, told a news conference alongside Afghan President Hamid Karzai that U.S. and Western troops would never defeat terrorism by waging war in Afghanistan. (more…)

American al Qaeda spokesman arrested in Pakistan

Adam Gadahn, an American spokesman for al Qaeda, has been arrested in Pakistan, a senior Pakistani government official source told CNN.

The official said Gadahn was arrested Sunday in Karachi.

Gadahn, also known as Azzam the American, routinely posts lengthy videos on Islamist online forums. He was born in California. (more…)

Turkey Criticizes US House Committee Vote on Armenian Genocide

Turkey’s foreign minister said Friday that the vote by the House Foreign Affairs Committee condemning the mass killing of Armenians early in the last century as genocide would damage ties with the Obama administration and set back reconciliation efforts between Turkey and Armenia. (more…)

Turkey pulls its ambassador in US over Armenia genocide bill

Turkey recalled its new ambassador to the United States Namik Tan Thursday after the US House Foreign Affairs Committee approved a resolution that labels as genocide the killings of ethnic Armenians by Ottomon Turks following World War I. (more…)

Rashad Hussain, a bridge between two worlds

“A lot is made about American misperceptions about Muslim communities, but there’s a lot of misperceptions that Muslim communities have about the United States,” says the new U.S. envoy to the Muslim world

US: Syria’s ties to Iran undermining its position in ME

Damascus’ close relationship with Iran is undermining Syria’s position in the Middle East, the US State Department said Thursday, as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited the Syrian capital.
State Department spokesman PJ Crowley told reporters that the United States has expressed concerns to Syrian President Bashar Al- Assad about his country’s relationship with Tehran. (more…)