Iran: War Games?

Iranian foreign ministry has confirmed that Iranian Air Force fighter jets fired on a U.S. drone last Thursday, but says they only did so after the drone enter Iranian airspace. The Pentagon has disputed the report, stating that the drone was actually in international airspace nearby Kuwait. Alongside the foreign ministry's acknowledgment of the event came a statement from an Iranian military general stating "Iran will use all its capabilities, including the relevant international agencies, to follow up on this case ... " So the question is, are the Iranians playing war games with America? 

The answer to that question isn't so clear. In response to Iran's "aggression" in going after a U.S. surveillance drone, a Pentagon press secretary told CNN "The United States has communicated to the Iranians that we will continue to conduct surveillance flights over international waters, over the Arabian Gulf, consistent with longstanding practices and our commitment to the security of the region. The reality is that we have a wide range of options, as I said before, to protect our assets and our forces in the region, and we'll do so when necessary."

The U.S. seems unwilling to back down, but has also been content to continue allowing Iran free reign in the area — not making a firm statement in this drone instance and not making a firm statement regarding their nuclear program. So perhaps Iran is playing some kinda of war games. May be they are not direct war games, but they are testing the waters to see how much a firm stance they can make against the American position and the U.S. not put their foot down. 

Into the Demilitarized Zone: The Golan Heights

Syria has broken a ceasefire truce lasting more than 40 years by driving three tanks into the demilitarized zone of the Golan Heights — part of what many considered the "Occupied Territories" under the control of Israel since the "Six Day War." Israel, constantly under threat by many Arab countries, has already filed a complaint to United Nation peacekeepers in the area and plans to make an appeal to the United Nations headquarters in New York City. According to the Jerusalem Post, it seems the tanks were heading towards a Syrian settlement. Many bystanders reportedly overheard heavy exchanges of fire between the tanks and what appeared to be opposition forces.

Although Israel does not feel the violation is a direct attack against itself, it does draw up concerns about peace in an area embroiled with conflict. Many are fearful that Syria's civl war is boiling over to a regional conflict, and for a good reason. Just last month, exchanges of mortar fire occurred between Turkey and Syria after a stray shell hit a village in Turkey — killing five women and children. Turkey has since come out and reinforced a point that they are prepared to go at war with Syria if necessary. But that isn't the only incident in the area. Also just a few weeks ago, a car bombing occurred in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. The bombing killed a prominent Lebanese official who was outspokenly against the regime of Bashar Al-Assad, drawing conclusions that the attack was somehow connected. The Syrian conflict has split the population of Lebanon into those who support Assad and those in opposition of him — inducing random firefights on the Syrian-Lebanese border. It is becoming more and more clear that if the international community does not do anything to find a peaceful solution that the Middle East will once again become engulfed in the flames of war.

The Foreign Policy Debate: What did we learn about U.S. Foreign Policy?

If you watched the third and final debate of the 2012 Presidential Election, then you saw some primary sourcing for what U.S. foreign policy has been over the past four years and what it might become in the next four, but what did we actually learn? A major talking point of the debate was the Arab-Israeli conflict in the Middle East. Candidates were asked if an Iranian strike against Israel would be equivalent to a strike on the United States itself. Both candidates were able to walk around the question by stating they will stand with Israel in such a case, but never directly answer if it would be considered an attack against America. Mitt Romney was also asked the strange question of how he would react to an Israeli surprise preemptive strike against Iran, which he quickly refuted was not possible because our allies in Israel would under almost no circumstances authorize a preemptive strike without consulting to the U.S. first.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the debate was the portion dedicated to the Obama administration's use of drones in the Middle East. Basically the Obama administration has eliminated hundreds of Al Qaeda and Taliban operatives through the use of predator drone strikes — playing the role of judge, jury, and executioner. When asked about the U.S. predator drone program, Romney almost couldn't contain his support for the President's use of drones — warranting the question, will the American people even have a say in the uses and practices of this covert warfare in the future? The likely answer to that question, and what we have presumptively learned from the debate is no. The final call on drone strikes for now will be left to the one and only commander-in-chief. And from the position the two possible candidates took, it seems the commander-in-chief's use of drone warfare is likely far from over.

Missouri Honor Medal Recipient: Umar Cheema

I was fortunate enough to sit in on a lecture at the Missouri School of Journalism by Missouri Honor Medal Recipient Umar Cheema. Cheema is a an investigative journalist for a newspaper in Pakistan, reporting on corruption, the government, and foreign affairs. He has won serve internationally-based awards for his work — including a 2011 International Press Freedom Award. Cheema has been kidnapped, threatened, and even almost killed, but refuses to leave his home country of Pakistan to practice journalism elsewhere. Even to this day he is unaware of his potential safety in Pakistan.

Cheema says the media plays a very important role in the Pakistani society. It is up to the media to voice or address the problems of the people — particularly those who have been wronged by injustices. Journalists in Pakistan are looked at in similar fashion to lawmakers in the United States, part of legislation being passed is for journalists to present the problem to the Pakistani judiciary system.

On September 4, 2004, Cheema was kidnapped by the Pakistani Intelligence agency after publishing a story about the corruption in their system. The Intelligence Agency arrested Cheema, stripped him naked, and then beat him repeatedly before dropping him off on the side of the road outside Islamabad. They told him to no longer write stories about the agency, and that if he told someone about what they did to him then they would kill him next time.

Despite the horrifying experience, Cheema continues to practice journalism and writing stories about the intelligence agency's corruption. After visiting the U.S., Cheema says he is a huge advocate for our First Amendment — and wishes the same would be implemented not only in Pakistan, but be drafted into international law, becoming a basic human right recognized by the United Nations.

Felix Baumgartner and the Impact of "Stratos"

One man's fall has spurred the rise of something incredible. Millions watched live as Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner leapt out of space pod 24 miles above the earth's surface. Using a specialized space suit designed by funding from the energy drink company Red Bull, Baumgartner traveled at speeds of over 800 miles per hour as he plummeted towards earth. There were a few scary moments where Baumgartner couldn't control his spinning, experiencing up to 3.5 G's (which result in excessive blood-rush to brain and unconsciousness), but he eventually stabled out and was able to complete the massive jump successful and safely.

This was huge moment in human technological development for several reasons, but most importantly, because it is one of the few times a private company has funded 100 percent of a space technology project. Red Bull codenamed the project "Stratos" (for Strarosphere jump), and there was absolutely zero funding from the government of our country or any other. I think this indicates a major change in the development of technology. I think as we continue to progress on this technological road we will see many more companies like Red Bull hiring their own scientists and building new technologies with less government oversight and control. These companies could possibly sell these technologies to multiple countries, very different from the way the "space race" played out in the mid 1900s. 

Syria: Turkey Border Conflict and the Iranian Hostages

A "stray" mortar might be all it takes to turn a civil war into a regional conflict. After a mortar from Syria shot across the Turkish border and killed two women and three children on Thursday, the Turkish parliament passed a resolution to authorize the use of military power within Syria. The incident also caused Turkish military to return mortar fire across the border, killing members of the Syrian army.

Anti-war protests in Istanbul erupted on Friday after the Turkish Parliament's decision to authorize war powers. Many citizens have become critical of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's support for the Syrian opposition, and although he said the authorization of military force was a deterrent to prevent further cross-border incidents — fresh cross-border shelling has already been reported on Friday. 

To add to the growing negative image of the Syrian opposition in Turkey, an unverified video has surfaced on YouTube showing a Syrian opposition leader stating he is going to kill a group of 48 Iranian pilgrims if Tehran and Damascus do not satisfy the rebels conditions. Those conditions require the government to free all rebel POWs, stop their assaults on cities such as Aleppo, and for President Bashar al-Assad to relinquish his authority to the opposition groups. 

From the lastest cross-border conflict and hostage situation, it is safe to say the situation in Syria has grown more than out of hand. Without any sort of unity or action on the part of the international community, it has become clear that the bloodbath that is the Syria civil war will spill over into a regional conflict. In my opinion it is not longer an "if" it will happen, but "when" it will happen. When it does and Turkey finally goes to war with Syria, the U.S. will have to provide military assistance under NATO stipulations. The major question now is what sort of regional implications will a Middle Eastern war have on the area, and how will major players like Iran and Russia react to a western intervention.

Netanyahu: The Red Line

If you missed what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had say about the red line for Iranian uranium enrichment, then check this out. Now that you're back, what do you think about the crude simple but effective drawing? Do you agree that is where the U.S.'s red line should be as well? Should we even have a red line?

This subject is one that has been difficult for all of the countries involved. On the side of the Iranians, they feel like they are being denied their rights as a sovereign nation when other nations (particularly western ones) tell them they are not allowed to produce nuclear energy. From an outside perspective it can be easy to see that all the "big kids" have them, and if Iran wants to play with the big kids then they need to have them.

From the perspective of Israel and other western countries, Iranian officials have repeatedly threatened the existence of Israel. So from that perspective it's pretty simple to see that an Iran with nuclear power could be dangerous for Israel and the region in general — not to mention Iran's very intense anti-U.S. (and anti-western) sentiment. From that perspective it seems that Iran acquiring nuclear power would not be in the best interest of the rest of the world.

As to where the U.S. should draw the red line, I would have to say Netanyahu's diagram would seem to correlate with the Obama administration's — allowing room and time for diplomacy until the very last moments where a military intervention could be successful in stopping their enrichment of uranium.