As Pakistan’s military steps up offensive efforts in Waziristan against terrorists, tension ensues among civilians who are increasingly living in fear and uncertainty. Zainab Jeewanjee describes this through her grandmothers experience of Pakistan’s history and how it relates to a desolate lack of expectation which has transcended to even younger generations today as Pakistan faces the War on Terror.
Thailand – A Thai HIV Vaccine trial, led by Dr. Supachai Rerks-Ngarm of the Department of Disease Control of the Thai Ministry’s Public Health Department, was successful in that it provided coverage to a small percentage of participants, which is better than any previous trial. A combination vaccine, using strains of HIV common in Thailand, […]
Iranians have once again taken to the streets in Tehran. But this time, instead of hearing slogans fulminating against the government, you hear people mourning the deaths of their loved ones in Sunday’s suicide attack in southeastern Sistan-Baluchistan. Here is an Al-Jazeera report on how Iranians are coping with the suicide attack that killed at […]
Alaska Indigenous people in Alaska are facing the difficult problem of reconciling development with native traditions. After a delay of several years, the Minerals and Management Service (MMS) of the U.S. government has finally given Royal Dutch Shell the rights to drilling in Camden Bay in the Beaufort Sea. Provided it obtains the necessary permits […]
Dexter Filkins’ ‘Stanley McChrystal’s Long War‘ is an excellent profile of America’s top commander in Afghanistan and clearly showcases the challenges of going ‘all-in’ and ‘getting out’. McChrystal comes off as vibrant, smart, and worthy General, but the task ahead of him is depicted as seemingly insurmountable. Here are some choice bits… McChrystal on counterinsurgency: […]
Finally, the operation in Wazristan is under way, thank God. Pakistan is doing a good job of clearing every place that was a safe heaven for the nuts in and around Pakistan. Now, policy makers in Pakistan should not focus on achieving short term military objective. This war is not going to be easy and […]
Rep. Robert Wexler, who recently announced a pending resignation to join the Center for Middle East Peace as their new president, expressed support today for President Barack Obama’s approach to the Middle East conflict that includes a broad approach involving the whole Arab world, not just Israel-Palestine. His comments, delivered at the Center for American Progress, […]
In the annual Press Freedom Index by the Reporters Without Border, it is no surprise that Iran ranked as one of the worst countries for journalists. Iran, who was ranked 166th in 2008, has fallen to 172nd this year. The only countries to fare worst than Iran are Turkmenistan (173rd), North Korea (174th) and Eritrea […]
Although oil prices recently reached a 1-year high, the Venezuelan economy continues to struggle. Last week the government announced a series of steps intended to promote growth and raise employment, while reducing inflation. More information can be found here. In terms of specifics, the Venezuelan economy grew at 4.8% last year, but GDP declined by […]
The terrorist attacked that killed more than 42 people, including 11 commanders of Iran’s elite Islamic Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, is being blamed on Pakistan. Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has accused Pakistan of having links to the bombers who carried out a suicide attack. President Ahmadinejad is quoted as saying that he knew “some security agents […]
“The party of power gained the result it needed by discrediting political institutions and the very party itself…the elections turned into a mockery of the people and showed a deep disrespect for their voices”. This is how Mikhail Gorbachev, once a qualified supporter of Putin, summed up the results of the recent regional elections in […]
Israel can’t catch a break this month. Even though the Israeli government did no wrongdoing, one former U.S. government employee attempted to sell secrets to the agents that he believed worked for Israel. The man, Stewart David Nozette, worked at the Department of Defense, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Department of Energy, the […]
The Olive Ridley sea turtle was nearly hunted into extinction two decades ago. Oaxaca’s beaches were a slaughter ground where the turtles—large, slow on land, and unable to retract their heads into their shells—were targeted for their eggs (hailed as an aphrodisiac), meat, and fat. Prior to 1950, 10 million Olive Ridley nested on Mexico’s […]
Posting may be light this week, as I am traveling to Phoenix and then to Washington, DC for the Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa (ASMEA) meeting where I will be presenting a paper on democratization in Namibia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. I will try to post as I can. Meanwhile, […]
Shaukat Aziz delivers a Keynote address at the 2009 Organization of Pakistani Entrepreneurs Conference in Washington DC (OPEN). Zainab Jeewanjee reports on Aziz’s address which focused on international security, the global financial meltdown, terrorism and bridging gaps with the Muslim world.