US-Europe Analysis: What Now for NATO's Nukes? (Futter)

Those expecting a radical change of NATO nuclear policy, or even an agreement to withdraw the 200 US tactical nuclear weapons in Europe, are likely to be disappointed.  But this not equate to lack of "progress": to the contrary, modifying its nuclear declaratory policy, NATO will begin moving towards a position where these weapons can be removed or at least ensure that its policy is broadly supportive of the international non-proliferation regime and the quest for a nuclear free world.

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US Foreign Policy: Why Obama's Outreach to Muslim World is Still Valuable (Lynch)

President Obama's visit to Indonesia this week has received relatively little attention in the US. While --- somewhat ironically --- opponents such as Bret Stephens and Charles Krauthammer have hailed the Obama speech in India for promoting the free market and an alliance to "face the common threat of radical Islam and the more long-term challenge of a rising China", the President's address in the country with the largest Muslim population in the world came and went.

Marc Lynch, writing in Foreign Policy, tries to fill in the gaps and provide a wider context for the Obama speech....

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Afghanistan Hearts-and-Minds Update: US Military Bulldozes Through Kandahar Farms and Houses (Gilbert)

The U.S. military has destroyed hundreds of Afghan civilian homes, farm houses, walls, trees and plowed through fields and buildings using explosives and bulldozers in war-torn Zhari district, a practice that has begun to anger Afghan villagers.

The much anticipated third phase of the Kandahar campaign, called Operation Dragon Strike, has U.S. troops from the 2nd brigade, 101st Airborne Division pushing into a dangerous swath of once-Taliban dominated territory from Highway 1 to the Arghandab River.

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Iran Document: Director Jafar Panahi in Court "This is the Trial of Artists of This Country"

This is not my trial only. It's the trial of the art and artists of this country. The witnesses to any country's history are artwork and the way artists are being dealt with. Therefore any sentence that will be given by the court will be a sentence against all the artists, particularly the filmmakers of this country. And even a sentence for the Iranian society that has been for years the audience of that art. My sapling and the saplings of all the artists of Iran have their roots in the soil of this country and the fruit of our art tree is the result of the beauties and ugliness of this land. Therefore, any sentence that you give for my thought is a sentence against the people of this country.

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Iran Analysis: Why "Human Rights"-Based Sanctions Threaten Tehran (Pakravan)

By regularly calling attention to and sanctioning Iranian officials for human rights abuses, the Obama Administration hits an issue upon which the Iranian government has demonstrated its relative “weakness” and tendency to make concessions.  As such, through the September 29 sanctions, the Obama Administration may be gaining a strategic advantage over the Iranian government, which could be more useful in future nuclear negotiations than economic sanctions used in the past.

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Jordan: Another Failed Election in the Middle East? (Daragahi)

The only suspense surrounding parliamentary elections here and in other Arab countries for many years has been over how many seats the opposition would be allowed to win.

But in Jordanian elections Tuesday, even that question was put to rest beforehand. The main Islamic opposition group and other parties boycotted — not because the vote was rigged against them, but because they say parliament has become pointless.

"There is a conviction that political reform through the elections is useless," said Zaki Bani Arshid, a leader of the Islamic Action Front, the country's main opposition movement.

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George Bush's Torture: Taking Apart the President's Claims

He’s back. He's unrepentant. He's proud.

President George W. Bush, re-emerged into the media spotlight to plug his memoirs, has made headlines with his justification of waterboarding as an interrogation tool. “Damn right,” said Bush when asked to approve the waterboarding of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the planner of the 9-11 attacks. His argument, which the media has repeated with varying degrees of skepticism, is that it isn’t torture, it worked, and it saved lives.

Let’s take a look at these one at a time.

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George Bush's Torture: History's Road --- The US and the Philippines (Cullinane)

For many people, torture is “cruel and unusual punishment”, an act expressly outlawed by the 8th Amendment of the US Constitution.  However, according to George W. Bush, in his November 8 interview with NBC television, torture is a technique that has saved the lives of Americans at home and fighting abroad, an act he is proud to have authorised and would do so again.

Bush’s legal rationale for torture remains less than compelling --- “because the lawyers said it was legal” --- but he does have more powerful backing: that of historical precedent. More than a century ago, the US Government and military, in the name of civilising progress abroad, embraced the techniques that the 43rd President still promotes.

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Iran Snapshot: Is It a "US Victory" over Tehran on Women's Rights?

The big Iran story in The New York Times this morning is of Iran's failure to win a seat on the executive board of the new United Nations organization on women's rights.

The Times story hails American organisation of "a global diplomatic effort to block Iran from the board, with its ambassadors approaching dozens of foreign ministries" as part of "the broader American strategy to isolate Iran". US Ambassador Susan Rice was beaming afterwards, "[Iran] lost, and they lost handily,” she added. “The slate that was selected, including the late candidacy of Timor-Leste, is one that is largely comprised of countries that are committed to women’s rights and have a good record of support of women’s rights and human rights.”

Indeed, the tone is so effusive that I wonder if there may a backlash over the American gloating beyond the Iranian delegation's claim that the US was playing "childish" political games. It has been noticed that Saudi Arabia's candidacy for the board was unchallenged; Rice said defensively, “I am not going to deny that there were several countries that are going to join the board of UN Women that have less than stellar records on women’s rights, indeed human rights.

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The Latest from Iran (11 November): "The Safest Country in the World"

1440 GMT: Cartoon of Day. Nikahang Kowsar portrays the rejection of Iran's candidacy for the Execution Board of a new UN agency on women's rights --- the UN says to a disguised Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, "Sister! You Don't Look Much Like A Woman."

1435 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Tabriz student activists have protested the ongoing immunity of Iranian officials from prosecution over the post-election abuses and killings at the Kahrizak detention centre.

The demonstration took place on the anniversary of the death, in mysterious circumstances, of Ramin Pourandarjani, a physician at Kahrizak.

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