“The course of history depends largely on the daring of those who act in terms of historically viable goals… These will depend, not on academic predictions, but on collective action guided by political wills that make work what is structurally barely possible.” Fernando Henrique Cardoso’s 1971 book Dependency and Development in Latin America (co-written with Enzo Faletto), […]
Cambodia – My colleague, Sean Patrick Murphy, over at FB’s Global Film Review blog, has an interesting post about a new documentary, “S21, The Khmer Rogue Killing Machine”. The documentary interviews former Khmer Rogue members who worked at the infamous S21 prison camp, where various crimes against humanity were committed during the reign of Pol […]
Tensions have mounted in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) during the past month. The people’s protests became unmanageable for the state government and the Army was called in to flag march in the state on July 7th. The recent round of anti-India protests were triggered by the killing of 15 people by […]
Today’s news of the friendly fire incident reported by the New York Times could not have come at a more inopportune time. Of course, bad news seldom arrives at one’s doorstep at an opportune time. Afghan soldiers waiting to ambush Taliban militants were bombed by NATO war planes. No doubt a grievous result of […]
On September 1, the US mission will get a new name: “Operation Iraqi Freedom” will be reconstituted as “Operation New Dawn” as America’s involvement trends further away from combat duties. Let’s hope Biden’s trip marks the first crack of daybreak.
I’m all for protests and differences of opinion — but there’s a time and a place for everything. Within the last week, a group of Israeli and Palestinian left wing activists sprayed graffiti on the remnants of the Warsaw ghetto, calling for liberation of the Gaza Strip. This incident is disturbing for several reasons, and […]
The Boston Globe has an editorial by Derrick Z. Jackson highlighting the growing role of the U.S. Navy in the Arctic, entitled, “As the world’s ice melts, the Navy’s role grows.” Admiral Gary Roughead sat down with the op-ed board of the newspaper, commenting on issues such as overfishing and melting sea ice – both […]
Can the BNP stand behind former allies who might be prosecuted for committing war crimes against their own people? This question must now float high on the list of questions BNP leadership is asking while strategizing a fecund and energized return to power. The BNP has recently struck out in support of the three top leaders […]
Like other countries, Afghanistan also celebrates 5th of May “The International World Press Freedom Day”. It is a day to remind the government the duty to respect and uphold the rights to the freedom of press. It’s a day that the country should stand up and say we are democratic and freedom of speech is […]
The Indian government’s decision to raise fuel prices last month resulted in some opposition-led large scale protests on Monday.
President Obama recently signed a tough Iranian sanctions bill into law. The sanctions will mostly target Iran’s energy sector. Even though Iran is an oil producing country it obtains a good portions of its energy needs from abroad, including companies from the EU and the U.S. The new sanctions bill targets gasoline exports to Iran […]
Gang violence threatened voter turnout in last weekend’s state elections. A leading candidate in the state of Tamaulipas and a well-known musician were assassinated in the week before, campaign offices were bombed, and bodies were even hung from bridges on the morning of the election. But Mexico’s democracy endured: voter turnout was relatively high, “an […]
It’s a lovely day in Durban. Sailboats dot the horizon of the Indian Ocean. Surfers enjoy the waves that have made the beaches right outside of my door a regular stop on the pro surfing circuits. In the permitted areas people are swimming, with more coming out each hour as the temperatures creep up to […]
The issue that is handily, wrenchingly, confounding the Pakistani military is the one that has long confounded the NATO command in Afghanistan. That issue, that problem has been canvassed well in a recent New York Times article . The issue is this: How can one separate out the enemy from the friendly citizen? No real answer […]
It is not too much to think that in the last few weeks the ground beneath their feet has shifted for the military and political teams charged with delivering U.S. policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan. General Stanley McChrystal’s hasty, and ill-becoming dismissal from office has given cause for recrimination that only a few weeks ago […]