Why is the captured U.S. soldier not part of the strategic release program in Afghanistan? Update (May 9, 2012): Confirming earlier speculation, the parents of Bowe Bergdahl today announced that he is a focus of now-stalled negotiations between the United States and the Taliban over a proposed exchange of Guantanamo Bay prisoners. The New York […]
17 years later the socialists are back in power. François Hollande was elected president of France on Sunday evening. He is the second socialist, after François Mitterrand, to assume the highest function of the state. Mr. Hollande defeated Mr. Sarkozy with 51.62% of votes. Interestingly, these numbers do not represent the reality of the votes of […]
Over at The National, Hassan Hassan has authored an excellent analysis of Iraq’s complex relationship with Iran, and the evolving nature of her ties to the Arab Gulf states. Hassan suggests Iraq’s Arab neighbors should resist knee-jerk presumptions regarding another Persian proxy. Hassan complements his take with an interesting aside regarding clerical connections between the […]
Lloyd’s of London, the British insurance company, and Chatham House, a London-based think tank, have released a report together entitled, “Arctic Opening: Opportunity and Risk in the High North.” The report states that four key industries will be the “biggest drivers and beneficiaries of Arctic economic development.” They are: mineral resources (oil, gas, and mining), […]
It’s certainly not confetti and roses that are currently falling through the air on the eve of Vladimir Putin’s Monday inauguration. At the time of writing, thousands of protesters have been engaged in a street battle with Moscow police units. Russia’s three main opposition leaders – Alexei Navalny, Sergei Udaltsov and Boris Nemtsov – have […]
The deal President Obama recently signed in Kabul with his Afghan counterpart President Hamid Karzai ostensibly sequesters U.S troops on the ground in Afghanistan for the next twelve years. And then in 2024, so the story goes, the U.S. will leave for good. Of course, the plan includes graduated measures that decrease the U.S footprint […]
“The current governance of the country has nothing to do with democracy,” declared Evans Paul, leader of United Democratic Convention KID (French acronym), intervening live on Invite du Jour. “The country faces an autocracy in which the closest advisors of the head of state dares not provide him any council,” added Paul on Radio Vision 2000’s […]
With the United States and NATO making plans to draw down most of their troops over the next few years, Afghanistan faces a precarious future. While the military situation has improved, insurgency continues; the government’s authority extends little beyond the capital; foreign aid accounts for 80 percent of the national budget; and the country’s principal cash […]
For more than two decades, Somalia’s sovereignty has been in limbo- or in an utterly defunct status. Though there are many causes, a particular one stands out exponentially: volatile security. For no nation can claim, or (like in Somalia’s case) reclaim its sovereignty while dependent on another country, coalition, or a peace-building force for security. […]
I recall having a hard time remembering all the Southern islands of Iran for exams during school years. I remember the name of “Abu Mousa” from those years. I had never thought about this island ever since. When I read the news about President Ahmadinejad’s visit to Abu Mousa, I still did not detect […]
In its latest issue, the weekly British magazine the Economist called Mr. Hollande, the Socialist candidate to the French presidency, the most dangerous man of Europe. Even though this statement is not only a smart marketing move, it appears out of line considering the behavior of Britain in Europe. Without launching an anti-British attack, it […]
I’m sure most of us are familiar with this famous quote from Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels: “If you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes the truth.” Personally, I prefer the much more humorous George Costanza line in a Seinfeld episode when Jerry is trying to defeat a polygraph test being given to him […]
Sometimes it’s hard to know what to make of the country Even casual observers of India quickly realize it is a jumble of self-contradictions that often defy simple explanation. The latest evidence for this proposition comes in the form of two new opinion polls that present contrary data regarding the national psyche. Yesterday the […]
As many as 15 million Venezuelans watch “Aló, Presidente” every week. That is almost half of the entire country. In that show, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez talks extemporaneously about whatever he wants. The show runs for as long as he wants it to. Much of the Frontline episode revolves around “Aló, Presidente.” It shows how […]
Peter Beinart’s newest book “The Crisis of Zionism” has garnerd significant controversy in the American-Zionist community, earning both praise and criticism. The book is a personal reflection on what it means for the senior Daily Beast editor and CUNY professor to be a Zionist, the current state and future possibilities of democracy in Israel, and […]