Middle East

Il s'en est fallu de peu pour que la conférence internationale sur la Syrie n'échoue avant même d'avoir commencé. Le plus surprenant est que cet obstacle de dernière minute est venu de Ban Ki-moon, le secrétaire général des Nations unies, qui doit présider au lancement de ce processus de négociations, baptisé « Genève 2 », mercredi 22 janvier à Montreux, en Suisse, en présence d'une quarantaine de pays.

In Montreaux Switzerland, Syrian peace talks have begun towards the so-called Geneva II process. Nobody thinks the conference will lead to peace. Even optimists call it a "possible first step" to ending three years of appalling civil war. President al Assad has gained strength by giving up chemical weapons and fighting extremists, despite charges that he's a war criminal. Will the US have no choice but to deal with him, rather than ending his rule-if only to gain a temporary ceasefire for humanitarian reasons?

A last-minute decision by the United Nations to invite -- and then disinvite -- Iran to this week's widely-anticipated Syrian peace conference threatened to unravel the entire diplomatic effort on Monday. The invitation, delivered by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, exposed a rare fault line between Ban and Secretary of State John Kerry, two close allies who have been working together for months.

Jordan takes over the U.N. Security Council presidency on Wednesday, the first day of its two-year stint on a 15-nation body struggling to cope with conflicts in Syria, South Sudan, Central African Republic, Mali and elsewhere.

Read the full Reuters article here

Turbulence in the Arab world and crisis in North Africa. The Middle East peace process on life support at best. Oil and food prices rising, causing global economic stresses and hardships. Mounting concerns about the sustainability of our growth. In the world’s dominant power, economic doldrums exacerbated by political gridlock; in Europe, policy confusion depressing growth. A competitor power rising, testing America’s weaknesses, probing for vulnerability.