Geopolitics of Energy Initiative

Different Clinton, More Painful Bill (Guardian Unlimited - UK) Flynt Leverett says in the U.S. magazine National Interest that the U.S. should be seriously concerned about this so-called "axis of oil" because it has the potential to exert the same sort of financial and monetary pressure on the U.S. as Washington put on Britain and France in 1956. "Half a century after Suez, there is growing potential for a coalition of major energy exporters - disproportionately… more

Last week, the assassination of Benazir Bhutto marked the failure of an ill-conceived U.S. attempt to orchestrate the return of a deeply divisive political exile, discredited by allegations of corruption and incompetence, to take power in Pakistan. The Bush administration's aim was to install a leader who would simultaneously "democratize" and secularize her country, fight terrorist groups, and make peace with Israel. Instead, the sad event of Bhutto's murder has exposed the strategic bankruptcy of the administration's Pakistan policy. But… more

The intersection of ongoing structural shifts in international energy markets with strategic trends in global financial markets poses the most profound challenge to American hegemony since the end of the Cold War. In 2006, Pierre Noël and I wrote in these pages about an "axis of oil" -- a loose and shifting coalition of energy-exporting and -importing states, anchored by Russia and China, that is emerging as a counterweight to the United States (so far, most notably in Central Asia… more

'On Point' radio program interviewed Flynt Leverett on Iran and the politics of nuclear intelligence. Check out the On Point website:

When America's spy agencies issued a National Intelligence Estimate two weeks ago stating that Iran shuttered its nuclear weapons program in 2003, it was a blockbuster like few can recall.

The sigh of relief in Washington and around the world was audible. Only recently, President Bush had said a nuclear Iran might ignite "World War III."

But behind the scenes,… more

In the wake of the new National Intelligence Estimate on Iran's nuclear program, Democrats and others are criticizing President Bush for again having "hyped" a nuclear weapons threat. This criticism, while deserved, does not address the critical policy question: What do we do now?

Clearly, the United States cannot ignore Iran. Tehran may have suspended the purely weapons-related aspects of its nuclear program, but it continues to master uranium enrichment, with no agreed limits in place. And Iran is well… more

The latest National Intelligence Estimate on Iran's nuclear program raises questions once again about the Bush administration's veracity in describing a nuclear threat. But President Bush's worst misrepresentations about the Iranian nuclear issue do not focus on whether Tehran is currently pursuing a nuclear weapons program or when Bush knew the U.S. intelligence community was revising its previous assessments. Rather, the real lie is the president's claim that his administration has made a serious offer to negotiate with the Islamic… more

The BBC's Peter Marshall reported on 'the tensions and rows that have marked the Bush administration's policy towards Iran.' The report included an interview with Flynt and Hillary Leverett. Flynt worked for the Administration and is director of the Geopolitics of Energy Initiative with the American Strategy Program at the New America Foundation. Please follow this link to listen to his and Hillary's BBC interview.

It was the brightest burst of news from the Middle East in a long time: Iran, it turned out, was nowhere near getting the bomb. But for the White House it was a political bombshell, tossed directly into the Bush-Cheney bunker.

The revelation this week of the latest National Intelligence Estimate, concluding that Iran halted its covert nuclear weapons program in 2003, upended a long-running rhetorical campaign by the president and vice president. Just six weeks prior, in a signature… more

On Nov. 7, 2007, Dr. Flynt Leverett, Senior Fellow and Director of the Geopolitics of Energy Initiative at the New America Foundation, testified before the U.S. House of Representative's Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs,

In his opening remarks, Leverett declared:

It is becoming increasingly clear that the Bush Administration’s refusal to pursue comprehensive, strategic engagement with the Islamic Republic of Iran is profoundly misguided, and is imposing real costs on American interests in the Middle East and the… more

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has held only one hearing on Iran this year; its House counterpart has held five. ...

The hearings that have been held have exposed lawmakers to some alternative views of Iran’s intentions. Ray Takeyh of the Council on Foreign Relations, for example, told House Foreign Affairs that Iran might want nuclear weapons to deter attacks and enhance its power rather than to actually use them, and that its support of Shiite militias has historical roots and… more