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When
5+1 = 1+1 in the Iran equation
Despite accusations from the right-wing in the United States that Iran duped
the Barack Obama administration into serious concessions at last week's nuclear
talks, bilateral Iran-US dialogue, unencumbered by the influence of third
parties, remains the clearest path to easing nuclear tensions. - Kaveh L
Afrasiabi (Oct 8, '09)
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Heads or tails, Obama loses
Proponents in the United States of an increased counter-insurgency (COIN) in
Afghanistan want more troops. Those favoring a focus on counter-terrorism want
to maintain force levels while stepping up special operations. President Barack
Obama will be damned whichever option he chooses; perhaps he'd best flip a
coin. - Jim Lobe (Oct 8, '09)
INTERVIEW
The 'perfect' quake this way comes
The 7.9-magnitude earthquake that struck the west coast of Sumatra island on
September 30 and killed more than 1,000 people was nothing compared to the
mammoth quake scientists predict for the area in the relatively near future.
The geological deck is stacked against the region, explains Sumatran tectonics
expert Richard Briggs, and local government apathy isn't helping. - Charles
McDermid (Oct 8, '09)
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Confucianism a vital string in China's
bow
A revival of interest in Confucianism, within China and beyond, is helping
Beijing to develop the "soft power" it needs if the country is to become a true
world power. Some modernization of the 2,500 year old system of thought would
help. - Jian Junbo (Oct 8, '09)
Cambodia's monarchy quietly
evolves
King Norodom Sihamoni, 
since replacing his colorful and controversial father, has withdrawn the
monarchy from the turbulent world of Cambodian politics, positioning it as a
symbol of national reconciliation. At the same time, the dominant Cambodian
People's Party is squeezing royalist political parties out of existence. - Sebastian
Strangio (Oct 8, '09)
Yemen: A slogan and six wars
The Zaydi rebellion in northern Yemen is not a proxy ideological war between
Saudi Arabia and Iran nor a response to state-sponsored suppression of
Shi'ites. The slogan "Death to America" is integral to the rebel movement,
illustrating how fierce anti-United States sentiment in the Middle East is
creating new insurgencies. - Khaled Fattah (Oct
8, '09)
THE ROVING EYE
Stuck in Kabul, with Saigon blues
again
What is now being performed for Washington galleries is the dance of the
generals by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, National
Security Adviser retired General Jim Jones and top man in Afghanistan General
Stanley McChrystal. The Pentagon and its experts argue the US should
"Afghanize" the war - but the staggering financial black hole is just getting
bigger as the US slouches towards "Chaos-istan". - Pepe Escobar
(Oct 7, '09)
Syria, Saudi Arabia plot peace path
Saudi King Abdullah's first visit to Damascus since assuming the throne in 2005
signals a rebirth of the historic friendship between Syria and Saudi Arabia. A
mutual dislike for Iraq’s prime minister and Syria's warming ties with the
United States have helped bring the countries together, and to position them to
map out the future of the Middle East. - Sami Moubayed
(Oct 7, '09)
Obama trapped behind wall of
containment
United States President Barack Obama's troubles in the Middle East are not
caused primarily by "bad guys" such as Iran, nor by Israel's supposed power or
that of the domestic "Israeli lobby". Instead, he's trapped in the conundrum
that's built into US containment strategy. No matter what other nations do or
don't do, everything that looks like it might be a solution only turns out to
create new problems. - Ira Chernus (Oct 7,
'09)
Leaked Iran paper exposes IAEA rift
Excerpts of an internal draft report reveal that the International Atomic
Energy Agency has only suspicions - not real evidence - that Iran has been
working on nuclear weapons. This contradicts the agency's earlier claim that
was based on leaked documents, and there is now a fierce struggle in the
nuclear watchdog about whether the leaked material is genuine or fake. - Gareth
Porter (Oct 7, '09)
US public skeptical - and hawkish -
on Iran
The results of a new poll showing that the majority of Americans believe
diplomatic engagement with Iran will fail and that Washington should be
prepared to use military force to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear
weapon clearly play into the hands of the hawks pressuring President Barack
Obama. Other elements of the poll, though, show support for the president's
policy of dialogue. - Jim Lobe (Oct 7, '09)
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Follow the money
For US$200 million of public money we could take a walk in the footsteps of
Jesus Christ, curing millions of leprosy. Or we could just give Hank Paulson a
tax break. Then ask what else could have been done with the $4 trillion the US
government has committed to Wall Street and its already hugely rich denizens. - Matt
Bivens (Oct 7, '09)
China torn over Internet freedoms
 Following
a spate of titillating but fallacious stories posted on the Internet about
high-profile personalities, such as television hostess Fang Jing, many of
China's Internet users want the government to clamp down, even as Beijing
realizes the advantages of promoting free speech in cyberspace. - Stephanie Wang
(Oct 7, '09)
Tortillas taste just great in zero
gravity
Space food has evolved since the toothpaste-tube purees of the early days, with
Japanese noodles, Chinese "moon cakes", Indian curries, and popularly,
tortillas on offer to astronauts. But the 21st-century versions do little to
ease the difficulties of eating in zero gravity, according to the world's first
celebrity space chef. - Raja Murthy (Oct 7,
'09)
Pakistan goes for militants' jugular
The pieces are all in place for Pakistan to launch an all-out attack on the
Pakistani Taliban and al-Qaeda in the Waziristan tribal areas on the Afghan
border. The formerly reluctant military is fully on board, the United States is
actively assisting with intelligence, and most important, the financial
lifeblood of the militants is being squeezed as never before. - Syed Saleem
Shahzad (Oct 6, '09)
US stands right beside Islamabad
The Barack Obama administration now believes that the Pakistani Taliban have
effectively over-reached and that Pakistan's elite, including the army, has
come to see it and its al-Qaeda allies as a much greater threat to the country
than ever before. - Jim Lobe (Oct 6, '09)
Give and take on North Korea
North Korea's Kim Jong-il on Tuesday promised visiting Chinese Premier Wen
Jiabao that Pyongyang will return to the six-party talks that the North has
previously spurned. Beijing will take credit for arm-twisting the recalcitrant
North Koreans, while Kim will believe he has played his cards just right. - Donald
Kirk (Oct 6, '09)
More power to Afghan warlords
The West's strategy of promoting 
democracy in Kabul while taking on the Taliban in the field with unproven
Afghan troops and overstretched allied forces has left it staring at defeat in
Afghanistan. The plan ignores an alternative that succeeded spectacularly in
2001: arming tribal warlords and turning them loose on the Taliban. - Richard M
Bennett (Oct 6, '09)
India plays down Chinese incursions
Reports of Chinese incursions into Indian territory are on the rise, with
alleged firefights, air space infringements and graffiti. But New Delhi has
downplayed them, saying there are diplomatic mechanisms for such issues. At the
same time, the Indian military is making its own assessment. - Priyanka Bhardwaj
(Oct 6, '09)
China's satellite diplomacy shifts a gear
China offers satellites to developing countries at bargain-basement prices,
however, accurately calculating the exact cost of these satellite projects is
difficult because rarely, if ever, is anything done in the open. - Peter J Brown
(Oct 6, '09)
Ghost of Thaksin's past visits
Abhisit
Even as Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva works hard to assure foreign investors
and diplomats that Thailand's recent turmoil is no cause for concern, he is
struggling to control his unwieldy and scandal-tainted coalition. Whether
Abhisit can maintain his clean image while in league with coalition partners
and party members who seem bent on self-enrichment may determine his political
future. - Seth Kane (Oct 6, '09)
Payback time
Efforts to cut back on the vast rewards to United States bankers whose
activities undermine society as a whole could be bad news for girls happy to be
named on the school "slut list" in up-market New Jersey - unless their folks
actually work for Goldman Sachs. - Julian Delasantellis
(Oct 6, '09)
THE BEAR'S LAIR
How to disarm the liquidity bomb
Policymakers in the United States talk of reversing the unprecedented liquidity
pumped into the financial system while signaling that interest rates will
remain near zero for some time to come. Yet it is essential to raise rates
before removing the liquidity. The other way around won't work. - Martin
Hutchinson (Oct 6, '09)
 SPENGLER
Obama's permanent depression
The toxic cocktail of fiscal stimulus combined with near-zero interest rates in
the United States allows financial institutions to profit while further
depressing the productive economy. The resulting deteriorating jobs market is
now instilling panic in Barack Obama's White House. The parallels with Japan in
1989 are uncanny. Japan, though, had one advantage: it knew how to export. - Spengler
(Oct 5, '09)
Manmohan's smile masks Indian woes
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's rare relaxed manner at the Pittsburgh
Group of 20 summit reflected well his own and India's growing international
stature. At home, there is less to cheer, with vital mega-buck industrial
projects bogged down amid opposition from marginalized citizens and Maoist
militants. - Santwana Bhattacharya (Oct 5,
'09)
Seeds of change in Iraqi Kurdistan
Leaders from Iraqi Kurdistan's upstart political opposition, the Movement for
Change, say the party's departure from traditional clan-based politics led to
its unprecedented success at recent regional elections. The group is part of an
unexpected democratic progress that has forced Turkey, Iran and Syria into a
strategic rethink. - Derek Henry Flood (Oct
5, '09)
Iraq's Maliki gathers his forces
Hard on the heels of the formation of a new Iraqi party comprising Shi'ite
heavyweights to contest January's elections, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has
unveiled his own new coalition, which he touts as cross-confessional and
secular. This it might be, but it comprises mostly political lightweights. - Sami
Moubayed (Oct 5, '09) |
Sex and security in Afghanistan
Apart from rollicking romps at the United States Embassy in Kabul, allegations
have emerged of private security contractors in Afghanistan frequenting
brothels notorious for housing trafficked women. - David Isenberg
(Oct 5, '09)
 CHAN
AKYA
Double or quits
As the employment picture in the United States grows ever more bleak, Keynesian
economists are producing their standard calls to government - spend more, and
the good times will come. This after seeing vast amounts already poured into
rescuing the economy come to little effect. It is the cry of despair of a
failing gambler. (Oct 5, '09)
US storms troops into the
Philippines
About 3,000 United States Marines are due to arrive in the Philippines for
training and humanitarian missions in the wake of recent floods there. That's
the official line, anyway. With extremists having recently killed two US
soldiers on war-torn Sulu island, the marines might have another mission in
mind. - Al Labita (Oct 2, '09)
October surprise in US-Iran
relations
The meeting on Thursday between Iran and the six countries dealing with its
nuclear case resulted in agreement for a follow-up encounter, in itself an
important development, given the heated atmosphere in the lead-up to the talks.
As significant, the United States and Iran made an initial direct contact,
raising hopes of a real breakthrough. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi
(Oct 2, '09)
CHAN
AKYA
One man's terrorist ...
Behind the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka and the
killing of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud are stories of countries
creating bands of terrorists to do things that were impossible for those in
power to be seen to be doing directly. In this dangerous game, blowback is
inevitable. (Oct 2, '09)
THE ROVING EYE
Jumpin' Jack Verdi, it's a gas,
gas, gas
Washington wants reluctant Europeans to wean themselves off Russian gas and do
more to protect Pipelineistan - that network of real and virtual routes
intended to channel from the planet's most fractured political landscape the
lifeblood of the world's richest industrial area. It's a new great game, and
it's still the Cold War. It's pure opera, on a grand, grand scale. - Pepe
Escobar (Oct 2, '09)
 BOOK
REVIEW
Named and shamed
Bailout Nation by Barry Ritholtz with Aaron Task
The United States government has thrown billions of dollars at rescuing
companies and their officers who should have been bankrupted, exposed as
charlatans, in some cases jailed, argues Ritholtz in a compelling and
devastatingly accurate indictment of the financial and political establishment.
- Muhammad Cohen (Oct 2, '09)
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David P
Goldman
(Oct 7, '09)
[Want the last ticket?] Whoever is carrying the most cash will get it, and that
will be the price ...
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Dollar
exit for
oil trade?
A further shadow has been cast over the future of the US dollar on reports that
Arab oil producers and customers including China and Japan may soon use other
means of settling their huge fuel accounts. - F William Engdahl
Currency fiddlers
wrong to cry foul
China and other countries seeking an end to the US dollar's status in global
commerce should stop crying foul as the dollar's value slides. Instead, they
should abandon currency manipulation and let their populations purchase more US
goods and services. - Peter Morici
SPEAKING FREELY
China's electric car revolution
In a world in which market mechanisms determine consumption patterns, it seems
unlikely that clean cars will be able to make significant inroads until the
last drop of oil is sucked out of the ground. But just maybe, China's market
and subsidized rush for electric vehicles could help it mass manufacture
environmentally-friendly autos for the rest of the world. - Ryan Rutkowski
Rural India set to ring in 3G
The expansion of faster mobile-phone services to India is expected to help
transform business practices, boost growth and add another dimension to
education in rural areas.
FROM THE BLOG
We always had gold ...
What's the correct price of gold? What's the price elasticity given the limited
mining output? How badly do you need that ticket out of Paris if the Germans
come marching in ...? - David Goldman
 Dry
guide
to 'recovery'
United States legislators, woefully ignorant of how the financial system works
and how it got the world into the present mess, need only a glance at the
exotic-sounding Baltic Dry Index to find out how strong the so-called recovery
is - it isn't. (Oct 6, '09) |
CREDIT BUBBLE BULLETIN
No way to fix a collapse
Credit bubbles are fundamentally about a confluence of undisciplined behavior,
from monetary system management, through lending and investment, to spending
throughout the economy. The consequences of increasingly bold policy activism
include a more unbalanced economic structure, as witnessed today.
(Oct 5, '09)
Doug Noland looks at the previous week's events each Monday.
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[Re Ghost of Thaksin's past visits
Abhisit, ATol, Oct 6] "The facts (and they are facts) in this summary
are well-known to those who follow Thai matters. For those who don't, and wish
to update themselves on Thai politics, this article is hard to beat." - Jim the
Moron
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ATol Specials
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By Syed Saleem Shahzad
(Jan '09) |
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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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All material on this
website is copyright and may not be republished in any form without written
permission.
Copyright 1999 - 2009 Asia Times Online
(Holdings), Ltd.
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Office: Unit B, 16/F, Li Dong Building, No. 9 Li Yuen Street East,
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