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Hamas looks to Hezbollah's inspiration
The similarities between the Israeli attack on Hamas in Gaza and its invasion
of Lebanon in 2006 against Hezbollah are striking. And just as Israel was
unable to destroy Hezbollah, despite a massive military operation, it won't be
that easy to eliminate Hamas, given its grassroots popularity. - Sami Moubayed
(Jan 5,'09)
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A setback for Obama's plans
United States president-elect Barack Obama has made Israeli-Palestinian peace
negotiations a top priority "from day one" of his administration come January
20. But the longer Israeli operations in Gaza continue, the higher the regional
stakes rise and the prospects for Obama's initiative diminish. - Jim Lobe
(Jan 5,'09)
South Asia gets a makeover
Within the space of a week, three comforting prospects appeared in the midst of
the darkening South Asian security scenario. Taken together, the elections in
Jammu and Kashmir and Bangladesh and the Sri Lankan government's capture of the
rebel stronghold of Kilinochi dealt a severe blow to the growing threats of
terror and religious fundamentalism. - M K Bhadrakumar
(Jan 5,'09)
Voters snub separatists in Kashmir
A record number of voters in India's sensitive state of Jammu and Kashmir
defied heavy snowfall and a boycott call by separatists to take part in
surprisingly smooth elections. Although hailed as a "victory for democracy",
the high turnout is no unity nod to Delhi - rather it's a rejection of
militancy at a time when ordinary Kashmiris are in greater need of better
governance, schools and roads. - Sudha Ramachandran
(Jan 5,'09) |
 SPENGLER
Overcoming ethnicity
The decisive divide in today's world lies between nations that
have a future, and nations that do not. Samuel Huntington, who died last
December 27, reintroduced this radically tragic dimension into geopolitics, but
statesmen have yet to embrace it. The great question that Huntington left open
is why some civilizations are condemned to clash. (Jan
5,'09)
In China, Bush nostalgia
Many will celebrate the departure of US President George W Bush, the world's
favorite scapegoat, from the White House. But in Beijing there will be
nostalgia for an administration that helped China's rise as a world power by
turning a blind eye to its currency manipulation, human-rights abuses,
questionable forays into Africa and significant military expansion. - Kent Ewing
(Jan 5,'09)
Asia on the global warming boil
Meteorologists in the global warming camp are puzzled that 2008 was cooler than
the previous year, confounding dire predictions of melting ice caps and extreme
weather patterns. But 2008 was still the tenth-warmest year in 150 years,
reports the United Nations' weather watchdogs, and higher temperatures bought
on by climate change could affect the lives of millions across Southeast Asia.
- Nick Cumming-Bruce (Jan 5,'09)
South Asia descends into
terror's vortex
With New Delhi and Islamabad digging in after the Mumbai attacks, United States
president-elect Barack Obama will have a hard time balancing the US's regional
policy. Washington is more interested in restraining India than in arm-twisting
Pakistan - and Delhi is fast running out of options. A new government will take
office in Delhi by next May, and it is bound to re-evaluate the "strategic
partnership" with the US. - M K Bhadrakumar (Dec
24,'08)
SPENGLER
Waking from Lever-Lever Land
The financial crisis has been a wake-up moment for America's Peter Pan
generation as baby-boomers discover that fairy dust no longer entitles them to
fly. Now they are struggling to put something aside for a retirement that they
never may be able to afford. Harnessing the productivity of the world's young
people is the challenge for next year and the next decade.
(Dec 24,'08)
Pakistan's spies reined in
After several failed attempts, Pakistan is taking steps to clip the wings of
the powerful military dominated Inter-Services Intelligence, which has
consistently been accused of dragging its feet in prosecuting the United
States-led "war on terror". At the same time, the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization is trying to clear the path for its surge in Afghanistan. - Syed
Saleem Shahzad (Dec 24,'08)
MUJAHIDEEN BLEED-THROUGH, Part 4
Palestine and Israel: A ring
of terror tightens
What for many years has been an unimaginable goal for al-Qaeda and other Sunni
militants - a stronger presence in Palestine and Israel and an ability to
attack inside Israel - now seems within reach thanks to the westward-bound
jihad highway to the Levant unintentionally created by the United States-led
war in Iraq. - Michael Scheuer (Dec 24,'08)
This is the concluding article of a four-part series.
 Part 1:
Syria: Terror's
made-to-order milieu
Part 2:
Lebanon: Last stop on
a jihad highway
Part 3:
Jordan: Al-Qaeda
clouds the future
Illusory dollars for a real
crisis
With all those dollars being thrown at the financial crisis, global poverty
could have been fought, the worldwide scourge of HIV could have been addressed
- and so on. Except that none of that "cash" is real money. It has been a year
of deceptions, illusions and belated education - plus for many, a considerable
amount of real pain. - Julian Delasantellis (Dec
24,'08)
The highs and lows of Sino-US relations
The year 2008 brought relations between the United States and China to a new
level, highlighted by senior-level dialogue on security and economics and
modest progress in military-to-military ties. That's not to say there weren't
hiccups as well. Indeed, President George W Bush is leaving the Barack Obama
administration a relationship that is as stable as it is complex, ripe with
both challenges and opportunities. - Jing-dong Yuan
(Dec 24,'08)
Why Pakistan's military is gun shy
The Pakistan military has been outmaneuvered by the government over having a
group linked to the attack on Mumbai declared a front for a terror
organization. But the military remains bitterly opposed to a realistic
crackdown on militants, and it has compelling reasons for this that go to the
core of the country's survival. - Syed Saleem Shahzad
(Dec 23,'08)
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David P Goldman
(Jan 4, '09)
Given the spectacular increase in the Fed’s balance sheet, the overall market
impact is alarmingly small ...
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Diamond
cartel meltdown
The global downturn is helping to hasten the parting of ways between De Beers
and Russia's diamond miner Alrosa. Wishful thinking may soon be all that
remains of the once-glittering partnership. - John Helmer
SPEAKING FREELY
Gulf takes wrong currency path
Moves by the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council towards establishing a common
currency are misplaced. An alternative based on the Swiss credit system and the
Internet peer-to-peer business model would allow the oil-rich area to lead the
world towards a less embattled future. - Chris Cook
Monetarism enters bankruptcy
The US Federal Reserve era under Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke, with their
belief that central bank monetarist measures can indefinitely perpetuate the
business-cycle boom phase, proved only that mainstream monetary economists read
the same books. As the world is discovering, Milton Friedman's mantra that
"only money matters" turned out to be a very dangerous slogan. - Henry C K Liu
This is the first article in a two-part report.
CREDIT BUBBLE BULLETIN
Just the facts
A late spurt in equities did little to mask a year that was disastrous by most
every financial and economic measure, possibly tarnishing the US economic model
to an extent that may undermine Washington's ability to influence global
events.
Doug Noland looks at the previous week's events each Monday.
FROM THE BLOG
Sovereign disaster
Emerging market sovereign debt remains vulnerable to the effect of the US
Treasury's enormous funding requirements. The Treasury's coat-tails look a
better ride. - David Goldman
 Silver
lining to garbage
The use of silver to help clean up foul-smelling garbage trucks is an
indictment of those stupid slugs too slow to buy into the shining stuff, and
another testament to the value of the beautiful and increasingly precious
metal.
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[Re South Asia descends
into terror's vortex Dec 24] India seems to be pressurizing Pakistan
into cracking down on the mullahs so the ensuing civil war could lead to
justification ... of a seizure of [its] nuclear assets and potentially the
breakaway of Balochistan or North-West Frontier Province. A big game is in play
here. A dangerous game in a very dangerous neighborhood that could have
unforeseen consequences.
Aziz Rashid
Houston, TX
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| Go
to Letters to the Editor |
On The Edge
Israel has already lost this fight. On just the propaganda front it's a total,
irrevocable public relations disaster of the first magnitude ... As far as
Israel's military planning and objectives are concerned, it appears it has
learned absolutely nothing from its previous operations in Lebanon against
Hezbollah.
Robster
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to the readers' forum topic,
World Outrage Continues To Mount
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ATol Specials
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VIDEO
Taliban's new breed of leader
(May '08) |
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The
Gates
Inheritance
By
Roger Morris
(June '07) |
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Syed Saleem Shahzad reports on
the Afghan war from the Taliban side
(Dec '06)
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How
Hezbollah defeated Israel
By
Mark Perry and
Alastair Crooke
(Oct '06)
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Mark
Perry and
Alastair Crooke
talk to the 'terrorists'
(Mar '06)
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China:
The
Impossible
Revolution
By
Francesco Sisci
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The Coming
Trade War
By Henry C K Liu
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A series
by Henry C K Liu
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Sinoroving
Pepe Escobar in China
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Money, Power
and
Modern Art
A series by Henry C K Liu
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Andre Gunder Frank on Uncle Sam and his
shrinking dollar
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By Pepe Escobar with
photographs by Kevin Nortz
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Nir Rosen goes inside the Iraqi
resistance
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Nir Rosen rides with the US 3rd
Armored Cavalry in western Iraq
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