U.S. Foreign Policy Archive

WASHINGTON — Much of the controversy surrounding a congressional committee’s approval of a resolution condemning as genocide the massacre of Armenians during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire has focused on the action’s geopolitical ramifications. But a key question remains unanswered: How did the world’s most powerful body of lawmakers come to feel compelled to register a position on an event that happened almost a century ago? By some accounts, the answer is simple: lobbying. Others, however, contend that the power of the Armenian lobby in the United States has been exaggerated and that the genocide resolution has gotten traction […]

JERUSALEM — With Condoleezza Rice in town and multiple meetings between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators in recent weeks, there is little doubt that the season of peace has come again to the Middle East: Peace, as in peace process. Few people, however, seem persuaded that an end to the decades-old conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is at hand. In fact, the word one hears more often these days is “Intifada” — as in Palestinian uprising; as in a new outbreak of deadly violence between the two sides. That may seem odd, considering that top-level government officials from the United States, […]

NEW YORK — As the government of Taiwan revives its multifaceted push for recognition as an independent state, Washington faces a crucial test of its international credibility on the issue of democracy. The Taiwan Straits is one of the world’s deadliest flashpoints, with more than 900 Chinese missiles aimed at Taiwan, which the Chinese Communist Party calls a “renegade province.” The United States is, perhaps understandably, wary of supporting Taiwan’s desire to hold a referendum or seek independence, which it fears could trigger an armed conflict with China. But by failing to clearly voice its support for Taiwan, the United […]

BOGOTÁ, Colombia — When Natalia Rodrigues was 15, Marxist guerrillas invaded her family’s apartment building and took nine residents hostage, including her, her father and an uncle. For more than three years, the three were held captive in guerrilla jungle camps, never knowing when they would be freed — or whether their captivity would end at all. “There were moments in which one became desperate,” she said. “Everything was very monotonous, every day you did the same thing, the same rules, sit down, eat, sleep, and kill the hours,” Rodrigues, now 21 and a university student, recalled. During that time, […]