Looks like the United States will not be alone in pushing for tough sanctions on Iran. Both French and German leaders have warned Iran that it could face new sanctions if it does not show a willingness to negotiate on its nuclear program. Speaking after talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Berlin, the […]
Jendayi Frazer, who currently teaches at Carnegie Mellon and who was assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs from 2005-2009 has an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal laying out “Four Ways to Help Africa.” I’ll briefly address each in turn: 1) Place Eritrea on the list of state sponsors of terrorism. Eritrea does indeed […]
I’m swamped with meetings and classes and meetings and appointments and meetings and so the last few days have seen me get buried with a whole host of stories and links I’ve wanted to write about but have instead let pile up in my Firefox tabs, surely to ill effect of my computer’s memory and […]
I have been studying, talking about, discussing, speaking about and writing about Pakistani politics for about 20 years and I have to admit that I still don’t have a clue about who runs the show in Pakistan. However, now, I have started to understand why almost every Pakistani is obsessed with the role of intelligence […]
There are plenty of legitimate arguments as to why more sanctions on Iran should not be pushed- they will not work, they hurt ordinary people while strengthening the leaders etc.- but the argument that sanctions should not be pushed because Iran can retaliate by closing the Strait of Hormuz is not one of them. The […]
Clinton tried it, but failed miserably. Similarly Bush gave it a shot and was unable to get any results. Now it is Obama’s turn. But this time the U.S. administration is taking a different approach on the Israel- Palestine conflict. The Guardian reported that the Obama administration’s strategy is to use Iran as a bargaining […]
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, better known as the founder of Pakistan when India was divided in 1947 is making headlines today with controversy surrounding ex-Indian Parliamentarian Jaswant Singh’s recent book: India – Partition – Independence. Immediately following the books release, Singh was expelled from his position in the Bhartiya Janata (BJP) party, protests wherein the book was […]
The former project director of India’s 1998 nuclear tests has created a controversy by claiming that the tests were not entirely successful and did not yield the desired results. According to media reports K Sanathanam has also recommended that India conduct additional nuclear tests for security and strategic needs. “We can’t get into a stampede […]
I had planned to write a somewhat-lengthy post about the death of Ted Kennedy and his role in the anti-apartheid debate in the United States, including his 1985 trip to South Africa, but Texas in Africa beat me to the punch with a post pretty close to what I’d have written. I will only add […]
The new issue of Bitterlemons International includes two great articles on the relationship between Israel and Egypt. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak touts his role in the peace process, negotiations for the return of abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, and Palestinian reconcilliation. Moreover, as Mubarak faces growing opposition from the Muslim brotherhood, the Egyptian leader has […]
(Belated Happy Birthday! This was my 1000th post for the FPA Africa Blog!) Even as Jacob Zuma plans to head to Zimbabwe to try to channel negotiations and perhaps play the role of peacemaker the dynamic north of the Limpopo might be set to change radically — and not, as many might assume, for the […]
India and Maldives recently decided to expand defense cooperation between them. India is set to install a maritime surveillance system and provide two Coast guard helicopters in the near future. In 2006 it gifted a fast attack craft (INS Tillanchang) to Maldives’ Coast Guard. Defense and security cooperation also involves assistance in defense and police […]
The decriminalization of drug use in Mexico is bound to have unintended consequences. Beginning last Friday, possession of small amounts of drugs, including cocaine, heroine, LSD, marijuana and meth, is permitted. Such wholesale legalization is crude, but may prove beneficial to the Mexican economy. Having up to four joints on you (the legal limit is […]
– Asia Times has an article on how the Filipino economy has stayed afloat due to the prodigious amount of remittance it receives. In a sense, Filipinos are to parts of East Asia and the Middle East what Mexican and Central Americans are to the United States or to a lesser extent, Former Soviets […]
President Alvaro Uribe recently moved one step closer to running for a third term in office. The Colombian Senate voted 56-2 last week to approve a plan for legal changes that would enable him to be reelected a second time. The process must now be approved by the House of Representatives and pass a nationwide […]