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Pakistani
Taliban has its work cut out
If Hakeemullah Mehsud, the leader of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, did indeed
die in a United States drone attack last week, there is a ready replacement for
him in a young battle-hardened commander with a set agenda: to continue the
relationship that Mehsud's group forged with al-Qaeda as a component of its
regional plans.
- Syed Saleem Shahzad (Feb 3, '10)
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US's strike threat catches China off
guard
The United States' plans for a "Prompt Global Strike" system that could launch
a conventional weapons attack on anywhere in the world within an hour are
unsettling China. The US combat strategy has traditionally relied on nuclear
might, and this change is seen by Beijing as a maneuver in America's quest for
domination of the world and of space. - Peter J Brown
(Feb 3, '10)
Taliban raid showcases new battle
tactics
With tactics similar to an earlier assault on Kabul, heavily armed Taliban
suicide bombers attacked important buildings in Lashkar Gah, Helmand's
provincial capital. The Taliban say the focus on urban targets has been forced
on them by the increased presence of troops. - Mohammad Ilyas Dayee
(Feb 3, '10)
US, Karzai split over Taliban talks
Differences between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and key officials of the
administration of United States President Barack Obama over the issue of talks
with the Taliban came to a head at last week's London conference. Peace
negotiations are embedded in a deeper conflict over US war strategy, which has
provoked broad anger and increasing suspicions of US motives among Afghans -
and especially with Karzai. - Gareth Porter (Feb
3, '10) |
Obama expectations revised in
Indonesia
Confirmation that United States President Barack Obama will make a much-awaited
visit to his childhood home of Indonesia has had a mixed reception. Fading
hopes that Obama will upgrade Jakarta's strategic importance in Washington
mirror discontent with Indonesia's own president, raising doubts whether
Obama's visit will benefit the Indonesian leader. - Sara Schonhardt
(Feb 3, '10)
US ups the ante in Iran nuclear
game
By expanding its missile defense systems in the Persian Gulf, the United States
is sending its strongest message yet to Iran over the stalemate in talks over
Tehran's nuclear program. The move can also be seen as a sign that
neo-conservative voices are being heard in Washington. - Mohammed A Salih
(Feb 3, '10)
Brinjal a political hot potato in
India
The battlelines are drawn in India's 
brinjal wars between proponents of the introduction of a variant as the
country's first commercial genetically modified vegetable, who say it will cut
pesticide use, and those who say it is harmful. The government stumbled late
into the debate over the crop, also known as eggplant, and has a tough decision
to make. - Neeta Lal (Feb 3, '10)
Taliban take on the US's surge
The Taliban, rather than demand that all foreign troops be pulled out of
Afghanistan before negotiations begin with the United States or any other
country, have proposed that if the US stops its surge of 30,000 troops,
dialogue can start immediately. In addition, the Taliban say they will take
measures to reduce hostilities. The dilemma for the US is how desperate is it
to take the Taliban's word. - Syed Saleem Shahzad
(Feb 2, '10)
South Korea marks a painful centenary
Northeast China, March 26, 1910. 
A Korean nationalist is executed for pumping four bullets into Hirobumi Ito,
architect of the Meiji Restoration and Japan's colonial administrator for
Korea. The shots fired by Ahn Jung-geun ushered in a 35-year Japanese
occupation of Korea marked by killings, "comfort women" and a merciless
"Japanization". They also rang out across Northeast Asia, raising questions of
Pan-Asian unity that remain unanswered to this day. - Ronan Thomas
(Feb 2, '10)
Geomancer loses in battle of the wills
A case that has mesmerized money-obsessed Hong Kong ended on Tuesday with a
court deciding a charity run by the family of Nina Wang, Asia's richest woman
when she died over two years ago, is the rightful heir to her estimated US$4
billion fortune. A rival will produced by her feng shui advisor and
self-professed lover was ruled a fake. - Olivia Chung
(Feb 2, '10)
Turkey changes course on Armenia
Though there has been much criticism of the Turkish government wanting to
initiate a commission to look at the evidence relating to the 1915 killing of
more than one million Ottoman-Armenian civilians during World War I, it's an
important step as Ankara tries to move away from the country's traditionally
dogmatic view of its official history. - Caleb Lauer
(Feb 2, '10)
A 'black chapter' closes in
Bangladesh
After executing five of the 12 army officers who in 1975 killed Bangladesh's
founding father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Dhaka has vowed to bring to justice the
six remaining suspects. The bloody events of 35 years ago ushered in an era of
bitter upheaval and martial law; many Bangladeshis say that finally their
nation has been purged of its stains. - Farid Ahmed
(Feb 2, '10)
Tomb warriors battle in China
The battle between ancient warlords Cao Cao and Liu Bei has been renewed in
death. As archaeologists seek recognition that they have identified their final
resting places - the one in Henan province, the other in Sichuan - truth and
authenticity are being overshadowed by officials' hunger for increased tourism
revenue. - Kent Ewing (Feb 2, '10)
Temasek and Thaksin lost in
space
A corruption case against exiled former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra is
overshadowing Shin Satellite, which he sold before being ousted from power.
Singapore's Temasek Holdings, the present owner, faced with the prospect of a
canceled tax holiday, may find it best to get rid of its stake, but attracting
a buyer for the debt-burdened, loss-making unit could be tough. - Peter Brown
(Feb 2, '10)
Iran caught up in China-US spat
China has reacted to news of the United States' proposed US$6.4 billion arms
package for Taiwan by warning that diplomacy involving the US's efforts to get
Beijing's backing in the nuclear stand-off with Iran could be damaged. By
playing spoiler, though, China risks sending Washington further down a
confrontational path with Tehran. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi
(Feb 1, '10)
 SPENGLER
Profits, not principals,
move the age
What brought United States and other Western banks down was not speculative
bets in volatile markets but the necessary pursuit of profit in what appeared
to be ultra-safe investments. The sources of the crisis remain unchanged: the
industrial world's need to fund the greatest retirement wave in history.
(Feb 1, '10)
Obama losing control of Iran policy
Now that the United States Senate has passed a bill that will punish companies
that aid Iran's gas industry, analysts say US President Barack Obama's
administration is fast losing support for its foreign policies. Unless the bill
is amended, the sanctions could be viewed as a potential checklist item on a
path to military confrontation. - Ali Gharib (Feb
1, '10)
Dialogue seeks a middle ground
The Taliban, unable to deliver a decisive military blow to oust the government
in Kabul, know they will never rule Afghanistan as they once did, while foreign
forces up against an intractable foe cannot expect counter-insurgency to
succeed anytime soon. Straight talking, however, could give each side in the
conflict much of what they seek. - Brian M Downing
(Feb 1, '10)
DISPATCHES FROM AMERICA
Seven days in January
On his return flight after visiting South Asia, where he was blindsided, United
States Secretary of Defense Robert Gates watched Seven Days in May, a
Cold War-era film about an attempted military coup in the US. With congress
recently approving a US$626 billion Pentagon budget, the US military is so
ascendant that it has no need for real-life coups. - Tom Engelhardt
(Feb 1, '10)
China's US spending passes
landmark
Chinese businesses last year invested more in United States entities than was
invested in the other direction. Such cash flows can benefit the American
economy at large; if politicians mishandle matters, the Chinese funds will go
elsewhere. - Benjamin A Shobert (Feb 1, '10)
Methane is laughing gas for
oligarchs
Evraz, whose Ulyanovskaya mine holds the record for Russia's worst mining
disaster, makes little reference in its financial reports to mine accidents or
their impact on revenue and profit. As the debt-burdened company closes down
another mine for a methane investigation, the miners' union laments the
sector's loss of prestige and subsequent rising death toll. - John Helmer
(Feb 1, '10)
Terror comes at night in Afghanistan
One aspect of the United States' counter-terrorism war strikes fear into the
hearts of Afghans, especially in the south where the Taliban are strongest -
the special forces, often tattooed and bearded, who raid homes, invariably at
night. Suspects, including children, are then taken to secret military
detention centers from which there is no guarantee they will leave alive. - Anand
Gopal (Jan 29, '10)
 BOOK
REVIEW
The skeleton in the cupboard
China: Fragile Superpower
by Susan L Shirk
While avoiding the stereotypes on which Western pundits base their assumption
that China's rise to surpass the power of the United States is inevitable, this
important book charts a course of democratization. However, it fails to account
for the possibility that China may succeed precisely because of its
totalitarian nature. - Dmitry Shlapentokh (Jan
29, '10)
<IT WORLD>
iPad a job half done
"We think we've done it," proclaimed Apple boss Steve Jobs when he unveiled the
company's tablet computer. Yet the list of what the iPad does not do will
persuade many potential buyers to keep their cash in their wallets until
something better comes along - perhaps from Google.
Martin J Young surveys the week's developments in computing, science,
gaming and gizmos. (Jan 29, '10)
 CHAN
AKYA
Vestigial organs
As governments in the United States and Europe figure out how to bail out their
struggling states - California and Greece the prime candidates for failure -
the rest of the world can consider the body's vestigial organs, such as the
appendix, and wonder if such a fate now awaits the US dollar and the euro.
(Jan 29, '10)
How Myanmar's opium grows
Local monitors say opium production is surging under areas of government
control in Myanmar, as militias mandated with quelling rebels increasingly
engage in drug cultivation, processing and smuggling. These findings contrast
with those of a United Nations agency, perhaps because the UN group relies on
cooperation with the military regime for its information. - Brian McCartan
(Jan 29, '10)
Attack on the 'Shark' shakes Iran
The eye of Iran’s political storm is beginning to shift, with signs emerging
that former Iranian president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, widely known as the
Shark, is getting pushed out altogether. This purge, led by a high-level
ayatollah, sends a strong message to the outside world: "normalization" along
prescriptive Western standards is now out of the question for Iran. - Mahan
Abedin (Jan 28, '10)
Grim tales from North Korea's gulags
Former prisoners from a North Korean penal colony have dire news on the ordeal
likely being endured by the American missionary who entered the country in
December with a "message of goodwill". In the North, Christian worship is
punishable by death, while simply being a classmate of one of the Dear Leader's
mistresses is enough to earn one - along with the family - a slow, painful
death in a gulag. - Donald Kirk (Jan 28, '10)
 SINOGRAPH
Silence on Tibetan
talks is golden
The Dalai Lama's decision to keep the reopening of talks with the Chinese
government this week out of the spotlight is in line with how Beijing likes to
conduct diplomacy. But plenty of opposing forces, from a disagreement between
the parties over what constitutes the territory of Tibet to factions within
both sides, threaten to derail meaningful progress. - Francesco Sisci
(Jan 28, '10)
 SUN
WUKONG
Xi blows whistle
for the big match
Vice Premier Xi Jinping is thought to have thrown his weight behind a crackdown
on football corruption in China. Successful efforts to clean up the game and
bring happiness to legions of frustrated fans could put one in the back of the
net for Xi's bid to be supreme leader. - Wu Zhong
(Jan 26, '10)
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David P
Goldman
(Jan 28, '10)
The 0.3% rise in US durable goods sales doesn’t quite make it the first robin
of spring.
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Bernanke
who?
China's efforts to cool its economy are already having an impact elsewhere -
notably on export-related stocks in the United States, such as those involved
in steel, shipping and natural resources. The most important monetary official
in the world may now be based, not in Washington, but in Beijing. - Julian
Delasantellis
Ahmadinejad's economic
plans under attack
Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's proposed five-year plan and annual
budget have attracted disdain. Parliamentarians must decide if he has
deliberately sought rejection of his proposals so as to blame parliament for
deteriorating economic conditions. - Mitra Farnik
The Iraqi oil conundrum
Dreams nurtured in the United States that the overthrow of Saddam Hussein would
be quickly followed by oil revenues flowing into the coffers of US-based
companies have long turned sour. Now, even the involvement of China has failed
to get the black gold flowing. - Michael Schwartz
Agility fraud claim
points to shell game
Agility, the Kuwait-based logistics company facing claims it overcharged the
United States government more than US$1 billion on food supply contracts in
Iraq, may have used family-owned shell companies to exploit a federal
contractual mechanism known as "prompt payment discounts" to increase profits.
- Pratap Chatterjee
FROM THE BLOG
Obama no Clinton
US President Barack Obama can no more conjure up an economic recovery by doing
things that look like what Bill Clinton did than the natives of New Guinea
could draw cargo from the sky with straw totems. - David Goldman
MARKET RAP
Storm clouds burst
A late recovery was too little to mask the continued decline in Asian stocks -
with Taiwan and Shanghai being particularly volatile - and the outlook remains
pessimistic. (Jan 29, '10)
R M Cutler runs his eye over the ups and downs in the week's markets.
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Re South Korea marks a painful centenary:
"We all appreciate focused historical accounts. But when they are as
well-written as this, with considerable style, they are indeed welcome." - Jim
the Moron
"... Ahn Jung-geun's purported handprint [with lopped finger] has become a
nationally recognized symbol in Korea of the freedom struggle. Yet I think the
Ahn photo is either a fake or heavily doctored in darkroom or Photoshop. This
is why ..." - aquicke
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From Our Mailbox
[Re Let's
atomize Wall Street, February 2] That good ol' New York Yankee
ingenuity in manipulating complex investment instruments into unfathomable
get-rich-quick Ponzi schemes at the same time they cooked accounting books with
the fervor of the Iron Chef on steroids, must rank as one of history's all time
"Something-for-Nothing" scams.
Hardy Campbell
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to Letters to the Editor |
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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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