Special to WorldTribune.com Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says that missiles, not negotiations, are the key to his country’s future. Khamenei’s remark, posted on his official website on March 30, came as Western powers called for the UN Security Council to consider possible action in response to Iran’s […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler NEW YORK — Former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates slammed both the Obama Administration and the presidential primary candidates calling for long-term realism in America’s fight against the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) terrorism. “I think that the president has all along underestimated ISIS, has underestimated the degree […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — President Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address, the annual speech to a joint session of Congress, has emerged as more of a political pep rally than a clear overview of America’s standing in the world both domestic and foreign. The address was touted as […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Sol W. Sanders President Barak Obama repeatedly refers to the end of his time in office and claims he is no longer campaigning. There is more than a little ambiguity there, however, for his modus operandi is a permanent campaign – even when it is for more limited objectives than the […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler NEW YORK — It’s time to consult the crystal snow globe for a look at both the likely and unexpected events which will shape the New Year. Serious strife both in the Middle East, and Africa to a lesser extent, have expanded leading to a culture of conflict […]
John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — “The rise of the South is unprecedented in its speed and scale…when dozens of countries and billions of people move up the development ladder as they are doing today, it has a direct impact on wealth creation and broader human progress,” cites the glowing introduction to the UN Development […]
John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — It’s long been an economic truism that the United States pays the lions share of the UN budget. Moreover the European Union (EU) countries contribute the largest bloc of dues of the 193 member organization. Well, there’s good and bad news. The USA’s budget assessment is no longer as […]
John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Regions of a vast landlocked country, remote but strategic, has fallen under the control of Al Qaida terrorists and fundamentalist forces. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled a regime which persecutes women, imposes stringent Sharia law, and desecrates and destroys ancient towns and even mosques. The outside world […]
John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — One year ago the renowned author, playwright, and former President of the Czech Republic Vaclav Havel died at age 75. In tribute to this extraordinary European Renaissance Man, I’m reissuing my column in the spirit of memory and the season. “Havel’s career as literary figure, intellectual and a political […]
John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — First, the good news. The United States has been re-elected to the UN Human Rights Council along with Germany and Ireland. So too have been South Korea and Japan. Now fasten your seat belts for the rest of the eighteen new selections to the 47 member Geneva-based Council which […]