Search results for

How will stability and peace be achieved in the Middle East? We'll talk with Israel's ambassador to the UN about her country's role in the region.

Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, selected to lead U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, has deep experience in secretive special operations. But his new job will require diplomacy in dealing with coalition partners and the Afghan government. McChrystal faces confirmation hearings in the Senate on June 2.

A few years ago, Spain's National Court was given the power to investigate torture and other serious crimes anywhere in the world, even if no Spanish citizens were involved. The ruling has triggered a flood of international suits, including two cases regarding Guantanamo detainees.

In an effort to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts, the Obama administration is calling for a halt to expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank. But settlers insist that diplomatic efforts won't deter them. And Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new government is not inclined to impose a moratorium.

Pakistan's ambassador to the U.S., Husain Haqqani, says his country is determined to win its war with the Taliban. Haqqani tells Steve Inskeep that international aid is needed to lure displaced civilians away from militant aid groups. He pledged that the aid money will not free up Pakistan's government to spend its own money on an expanded nuclear arsenal.

American freelance journalist Roxana Saberi was released from an Iranian prison Monday and reunited with her parents after her sentence for espionage was reduced on appeal, ending a four-month ordeal for the reporter that strained relations between Tehran and Washington.

Journalist and author John Allen talks with Renee Montagne about Pope Benedict's trip to Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories. Pope Benedict will try to mend fences with Muslims and Jews. He also wants to draw attention to the diminishing number of Palestinian Christians.

The Obama administration on Wednesday immersed itself in high-stakes diplomacy with the leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan, seeking more cooperation against Taliban militants. At the outset, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton publicly apologized for a U.S. bombing strike that the Afghans said killed dozens of civilians.

Next year's planned withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq has injected a new urgency into some long-running disputes in the area. Turkey, for instance, is working hard to reach new understandings with the Kurdish regional government in northern Iraq, and with the central government in Baghdad. The diplomatic shift is raising both hopes and fears within Turkey's Kurdish community.

Journalist Thomas Lippman writes in his book Arabian Knight about how Franklin D. Roosevelt become the first U.S. president to meet a Saudi king. Roosevelt met King Abdul Aziz during World War II on the deck of a Navy cruiser. Lippman talks with Steve Inskeep about the long-standing relationship between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia.