Sinai attack reverberates across region
The ease with which militants overran an Egyptian border post and rode an
armored personal carrier into Israel before the suicide-vest laden passengers
were killed by an Israeli ground-and-air operation underlines the Sinai's
increasingly fraught security situation. It also threatens delicate relations
between both countries and Hamas in the Gaza Strip - but could prompt Egyptian
and Israeli forces to work more closely than ever on security. - Victor Kotsev
(Aug 7, '12)
THE
ROVING EYE Bomb Iran fever
Well-informed Israelis know striking Iran's nuclear program will only delay it
by six months, while no solution exists to Israel's lack of fly-over rights,
bunker-busters and intel. As the United States is also well aware of the risks,
the only reasons behind the "bomb Iran" mantra seem to be Jerusalem's regional
ambitions and Washington's desire to revive a Persian satrapy. - Pepe Escobar
(Aug 7, '12)
COMMENT A tale of a missed opportunity
A standout in the past decade of failed nuclear openings between Iran and the
West is Tehran's decision in 2006 to cease applying the International Atomic
Energy Association's Additional Protocol. By accepting the voluntary safeguards
standard, Iran could wrong-foot its adversaries and secure compelling IAEA
assurances. Its refusal to do so suggests the country has lost all faith in
IAEA impartiality.
- Peter Jenkins (Aug 7, '12)
China bares claws in
maritime dispute
In the past, though Beijing was determined to strengthen its claims in the
South China Sea, it was just as serious about calming jangled nerves in
Southeast Asia, insisting that its intentions were peaceful. Now Beijing is
more aggressive on the issue, and Southeast Asian unity has suffered as a
result.
- Ian Storey (Aug 7, '12)
Love-hate thy neighbor in
Vietnam
While it needs to maintain strong trade relations with China, the Communist
government in Hanoi also wants to shore up its political credibility at home by
cashing in on anti-China sentiment fueled by Beijing's increasingly aggressive
stance on the Spratly Islands dispute. The dilemma means the Vietnamese regime
is all at sea over what to do with anti-China protesters.
- Simon Speakman Cordall (Aug 7, '12)
India extends Malacca Strait reach
India is keeping a beadier eye on the strategically important waters around the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands with the commissioning of a naval air station, INS
Baaz. As the southernmost base of the Indian armed forces and overlooking the
world's busiest shipping lanes in the Malacca Strait, Baaz (meaning "hawk" in
Hindi) and upgrades to other bases fit the policy of countering Chinese
strategic moves on India's eastern flank.
- Sudha Ramachandran (Aug 7, '12)
SPEAKING FREELY The end of ASEAN centrality?
Cambodia's decision to relent to Chinese pressure and challenge Southeast Asian
unity over maritime issues is ironic given the role diplomacy played in
securing Cambodia's release from Vietnamese occupation. China also needs to
remember that its soft power and influence in the region depends on it
supporting, not undermining, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
- Amitav Acharya (Aug 7, '12)
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China, Japan stretch peace pacts
Japanese threats that force could be used to defend contested East China Sea
islands against Chinese aggression are a significant - and dangerous -
departure from the terms of non-aggression pacts keeping the peace between the
Asian giants. Boasting the world's second-strongest destroyer fleet and
cutting-edge command and control systems, Tokyo's navy presents a much more
formidable foe than Beijing's rivals in the South China Sea.
- Kosuke Takahashi (Aug 6, '12)
Politicking curbs Bo family punishment
Charges against Chinese lawyer Gu Kailai for her impending murder trial suggest
her husband, disgraced Politburo member Bo Xilai, will not later be accused of
corruption-related offenses. That says a lot about Beijing's renewed
determination to put stability and "harmony" ahead of political and legal
reform as it strikes deals to preserve a facade of unity before the pivotal
18th Party Congress.
- Willy Lam (Aug 6, '12)
Patriots and protests in Hong Kong
A mandatory "national education" course scheduled for the upcoming
primary-school curriculum is widely seen as Communist Party propaganda imposed
by Beijing, which is increasingly impatient with the thousands of "disloyal"
protesters regularly crowding Hong Kong's streets. Far from mollifying the
city, the move has sparked even more protests.
- Kent Ewing (Aug 6, '12)
Pakistan says goodbye to Afghan
refugees
Pakistan has incensed many of the three million long-term Afghans now living in
refugee camps by saying they are a threat to law and order. It also risks
angering the UN if it forcibly sends them back over the border. Yet when their
refugee status expires at the end of the year, they will have to leave.
Afghanistan is ill-prepared for the mass influx.
- Zofeen Ebrahim (Aug 6, '12)
INTERVIEW Iran eyes role as post-Arab
Spring 'anchor' Iran
is pursuing "linkage diplomacy" in its foreign policy approach, viewing issues
such as insecurity in Iraq, tensions in the Persian Gulf and chaos in Syria -
as well as its own nuclear standoff with the West - as a series of connected
crises that need to be dealt with in tandem, Dr Abbas Maleki, former deputy
foreign minister of Iran, tells Asia Times Online.
- Kaveh L Afrasiabi (Aug 6, '12)
'Occupy' with Chinese characteristics
Thrilling demonstrations of people power in China create a new challenge for
foreign observers who view protests through the prism of the Tiananmen Square
uprising and of US-adoring and democracy-worshipping dissidents. As the heated
battle last month in Qidong over alleged pollution shows, a new generation is
embracing its own kind of "Occupy" activism, and the Communist Party hasn't
quite figured out how to handle it. - Peter Lee
(Aug 3, '12)
<IT WORLD> Outlook brighter
Microsoft has called it a day for Hotmail, in spite of its still strong user
base, in the hope of recouping market share lost to Google's Gmail. The new
Outlook.com service will prove popular if at least it can handle spam and the
other evils of modern communications. (Aug 3, '12) Martin J Young surveys the week's developments in computing, gaming and
gizmos.
THE ROVING EYE Obama does Syriana
As Western media finally confirm that the floodgates of US assistance to
Syria's rebels have opened, the conflict is becoming a redux of the 1980s'
Afghan jihad, with Saudi Arabia and Qatar playing the role of Pakistan, the Not
Exactly Free Syrian Army as glorious mujahideen "freedom fighters" and US
President Barack Obama as Ronald Reagan. Similarly disastrous blowback looms
large. - Pepe Escobar (Aug 2, '12)
THE ROVING EYE Where is Prince Bandar?
Saudi Arabia's Prince Bandar "Bush", the presumptive orchestrator of "Damascus
Volcano", the failed attempt to obliterate Bashar al-Assad's inner sanctum, has
dropped off the radar. Has Syrian intelligence bumped him off? Or did the
Iranians get their man in a tit-for-tat bombing in Riyadh, where the prince was
newly crowned head of Saudi intel? As the rumor mills hit overdrive in Syria,
the House of Saud is cloaked in silence. - Pepe Escobar
(Aug 1, '12)
Rare earths
bankroll North Korea's future
Signs of affluence in Pyongyang are remarkable given North Korea's economic
isolation. The secret to its present and future wealth lies below the country's
mountains, particularly in the form of increasingly pricy rare earth metals. - Leonid
Petrov
Pyongyang serves itself
North Korea's latest led to resolve its two-decade-long food shortage appears
foredoomed. While some of the reforms make sense, they are concentrated around
the capital, Pyongyang, already a bubble of relative prosperity and
development, while the provinces struggle for survival. - Yong Kwon
THE BEAR'S LAIR Value-added electioneering
Election-time economic posturing need not always be superficial, as the
detailed plans of political opponents can at times set out a correct diagnosis
of society's ills. If their solutions are misguided, one's own plans can at
least address the ills they have identified. - Martin Hutchinson
Israel a role model for Japan
Japan's failure to rescue itself from years of stagnation is in marked contrast
to the economic success of Israel since its own desolate period in the 1980s.
The answer may be for Japan's would-be innovators to get out, get rich, and
feed back. - Takahiro Miyao
CREDIT BUBBLE BULLETIN Wacky and wackier
The euro crisis can still produce wacky moments, such as European Central Bank
chief Mario Draghi warning against shorting the currency or the Bank of Estonia
claiming its vote matches that of the Bundesbank. At least the German bank
knows better. Doug Noland looks at the previous week's events each Monday.
TONY ALLISON (1953-2012)
Asia Times Online's Editor-in-Chief Anthony Allison died on June 20 after a
short illness. We extend our sympathy to Tony's family for their tragic and
premature loss. Obituary Tributes
Chinese
warships in the Mediterranean
With the Syrian situation hotting up, Beijing couldn’t have chosen a curiouser
moment to show the flag in the Eastern Mediterranean...
- M K Bhadrakumar
If the average American were half has critical as the average Israeli, our
country would be far better off. Lester Ness
Kunming
China
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THE
ROVING EYE
To submit to
Speaking Freely 
Charges against Chinese lawyer Gu Kailai for her impending murder trial suggest
her husband, disgraced Politburo member Bo Xilai, will not later be accused of
corruption-related offenses. That says a lot about Beijing's renewed
determination to put stability and "harmony" ahead of political and legal
reform as it strikes deals to preserve a facade of unity before the pivotal
18th Party Congress.
Iran
is pursuing "linkage diplomacy" in its foreign policy approach, viewing issues
such as insecurity in Iraq, tensions in the Persian Gulf and chaos in Syria -
as well as its own nuclear standoff with the West - as a series of connected
crises that need to be dealt with in tandem, Dr Abbas Maleki, former deputy
foreign minister of Iran, tells Asia Times Online.
Thrilling demonstrations of people power in China create a new challenge for
foreign observers who view protests through the prism of the Tiananmen Square
uprising and of US-adoring and democracy-worshipping dissidents. As the heated
battle last month in Qidong over alleged pollution shows, a new generation is
embracing its own kind of "Occupy" activism, and the Communist Party hasn't
quite figured out how to handle it. - Peter Lee
(Aug 3, '12)
