Bipartisan Task Force on Torture Calls for U.S. Redemption George Gao WASHINGTON, 16 Apr (IPS) - Former U.S. Republican Congressman Asa Hutchinson hopes his country can redeem itself after torturing an unknown but certainly large number of detainees. more...   Defusing the "Three Against Two" Nuclear Pentagon Johan Galtung KYOTO, 15 Apr (IPS) - It has not been this bad since the 1950-53 Korean War. October 1962, the Cuba-USSR-U.S. crisis, comes to mind. There were horror visions of mushroom clouds. A proud Cuba, with a strong leader-dictatorship, a social revolution in the near past, was denied a normal place in the state system, bullied by the U.S. and some allies with sanctions and boycotts into isolation, which has lasted more than 50 years. more...   High Stakes for Engaging Morsi's Egypt Joe Hitchon WASHINGTON, 13 Apr (IPS) - Women and minorities should be a top priority in U.S. policy toward Egypt and its Muslim Brotherhood government leaders, experts here said on Friday, despite increasingly unfavourable public views towards Egypt. more...   Libya Intervention More Questionable in Rear View Mirror Jim Lobe WASHINGTON, 5 Apr (IPS) - While the tenth anniversary last month of Washington’s invasion of Iraq provoked overwhelmingly negative reviews of the adventure except among its most die-hard neo-conservative proponents, a more recent - albeit far less dramatic and costly - intervention has faded almost completely from public notice. more...   Report Calls to Engage Iran’s People While Preventing Nuke Jasmin Ramsey WASHINGTON, 4 Apr (IPS) - The U.S. should not only focus on the short-term goal of “suspending or delaying” Iran’s alleged quest for a nuclear weapons capability, but also on “curtailing Iran’s other worrisome activities in the region while encouraging - or at least, not derailing - a better relationship with the citizens of the pivotal state,” according to a report released Thursday by the Washington-based Atlantic Council. more...   BOOKS Afpak Insider Dissects Obama's Policy Missteps Robert E. Hunter WASHINGTON, 3 Apr (IPS) - Publication this month of Vali Nasr’s "The Dispensable Nation: American Foreign Policy in Retreat" is well-timed. more...   Escalating Korea Crisis Dims Hopes for Denuclearisation Jim Lobe WASHINGTON, 3 Apr (IPS) - With all sides seeming to climb further up the escalatory ladder over the last several days, defusing the ongoing crisis on the Korean Peninsula -- let alone persuading Pyongyang to give up its nuclear arsenal as it once promised to do -- looks daunting. more...   Iranian People Caught in Crossfire of Dueling Messages Farideh Farhi HONOLULU, Hawaii, 27 Mar (IPS) - Since Barack Obama became president of the United States, messages marking the Iranian New Year – Norouz - celebrated at the onset of spring have become yearly affairs. So have responses given by Iran’s Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei from the city of Mashhad where he makes a yearly pilgrimage to visit the shrine of Shi’i Islam’s eighth imam, Imam Reza. more...   Iran’s Nuclear Activities Go On Despite Sanctions Jasmin Ramsey WASHINGTON, 26 Mar (IPS) - While the U.S.-led sanctions regime on Iran has produced substantial economic hardship, analysts here are increasingly pointing out that Tehran’s controversial nuclear activities have continued unabated. more...   As Iraq Anniversary Fades, “Strategic Narcissism” Stands out Jim Lobe WASHINGTON, 23 Mar (IPS) - After a week of retrospectives on the tenth anniversary of Washington’s ill-fated invasion of Iraq, the most compelling consisted of a retrospective of the retrospectives. more...