The View from My Window: Pomerol’s Vineyards and More

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My colleague Daniel Levy and I have spent the last couple of days in the Village of Pomerol in the Aquitaine region of France discussing next steps in our Middle East policy work. September and October are going to be big roll out months for all of those engaged in the Israel-Palestine/broader Middle East quagmire….

This Just in: the 2004 CIA IG Report

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There will be much more on this in the days to come, but here is the heavily-redacted 2004 CIA Inspector General’s report on interrogation practices, scanned and posted by The Washington Independent and with commentary from Spencer Ackerman.

TWN in France: Strauss-Kahn Favored Socialist Candidate for 2012 Prez Election

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Dominique Strauss-Kahn is one of Europe’s premier political operators. Scandals and intrigue seem to add to his mystique, at least when it comes to French politics. A poll was released today in France indicating that among Democratic Socialists, Strauss-Kahn is favored by 33% of those questioned. Segolene Royal pulled 14%. Bertrand Delanoe 13%.

America Needs Australia Under Rudd

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(Australia Prime Minister Kevin Rudd speaking to New America Foundation foreign policy programs director Steve Clemons at Kirribilli House, Sydney, 16 August 2009; photo credit: Larry Irving) I have just finished a few days of meetings in Melbourne and Sydney under the auspices of the annual Australian American Leadership Dialogue, a significant track 2 dialogue…

Russia, Iran, and the United States

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Over at Stratfor, George Friedman has a very interesting piece on the possibility of closer ties between Russia and Iran. Friedman lays out in detail the key geopolitical factors that are shaping the Iran-Russia-U.S. triangle.