U.S. Envoy to Pakistan, Holbrooke expresses possible U.S. assistance in energy development in Pakistan offering hope to everyday Pakistani’s. President Gilani specifies increased funding is most useful and this could serve as a profound opportunity to finally begin winning hearts and minds of Pakistani’s and move in the direction of truly securing Pakistan for the long term.
A new INSS report provides an initial examination of the recent Fatah convention and elections, which ousted numerous old guard party members from the organization’s leadership ranks. Primarily, the article focuses on the effects of the conference on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas who sought to legitimize his term in office through support at the conference. […]
Last week Venezuela’s National Assembly pushed forward on a law to extend the socialist nature of the country’s educational system. At the local level this gives greater control over curriculum development to the country’s Communal Councils, which are strongly pro-government. Many members of the Assembly who support the legislation say they do so in order […]
In his op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Mr. Alexander Benard urges the United States to “propose a conversation with Iran about human rights” instead of negotiating with Iran on its nuclear program. His reasoning is simple: Focusing on Iranian nuclear program will ignite patriotism in Iranian people and they will “in large part rally […]
Nine Pakistani men were arrested in the Sir Creek area off India’s western coast. The Border Security Force (BSF) caught these men during a special operation. “We had information that some people from across the border were trying to infiltrate into Indian territory. So we conducted a special operation and apprehended nine men,” a BSF […]
The EU is having another busy August in Foreign policy, traditionally the month in which the EU normally all but shuts down (to the chagrin of many). Last August 6th, Russia turned its conflict with Georgia very hot when it invaded the internationally recognised Georgian territories of South Ossetia & Abkhazia. The EU and the […]
Little is set to change in North American relations, over a week after President Calderón hosted President Obama and Prime Minister Harper. Many press accounts acknowledge this, some arguing that the leaders opted “to punt” on the difficult issues. The summit’s failure to produce meaningful change is hardly surprising. In fact, the mundane outcome is […]
Lots of other stories have crossed my desk today and over the weekend. here are a few, with brief commentary as apropos: Responding to various allegations of irregularities in the run-up to Gabon’s election, Bruno Ben Moubamba, one of 23 presidential hopefuls, is undergoing a hunger strike to demand that the election be postponed. Usually […]
– U.S. Senator Jim Webb (Dem. VA) recently met with the Burmese Junta and Aung San Suu Kyi and successfully secured the relief of the John Yettah, the Americans whose odd actions initiated the latest Aung San Suu Kyi trial and conviction. If the Obama Administration really wants to take take proactive and pragmatic steps […]
As should be clear, I am an ardent supporter of America developing a strong Africa policy that will serve all sides but that will allow Africans to set the direction of policies, priorities, and the general approach. And I sure wish America had done something with regard to Darfur several years ago. It seems a […]
At the risk of self indulgence, it appears that many analysts agree with my own assessment of the situation in Mozambique that four competing parties agreeing to form a government is a lot easier than those parties actually forming the government.
The 100-days benchmark for assessing presidential leadership is pretty silly even as it becomes increasingly common. In the United States there is at least a bit of historical salience given Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s “Hundred Days” of frenzied New Deal activity. In May, when I was a fellow at Keele University’s David Bruce Centre for American […]
The verbal sparring between Hizballah and Israel has been intensifying as of late, and it seems that every week brings a new threatening exchange between the two regional rivals. According to Danny Ayalon, Israel’s deputy foreign minister: “If, God forbid, one hair falls off the head of any Israeli representative abroad, or of even an […]
Rosslyn Jordan, who used to cover domestic topics for NBC (milk prices fluctuation, traffic lights not working etc), filed a report about Pakistan on Al Jazeera, and later followed up by vaguely answering couple of superficial questions from the anchor. Rosslyn Jordan, as for as I know, knows nothing about Pakistan. She has never traveled […]
Figures of the second quarter released by the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics provide a promising indication that the economic conditions in the country are rebounding. The Gross Domestic Product in the second quarter rose 1-percent, after dropping 1.4-percent and 3.2-percent in the previous two quarters. Moreover, the Consumer Price Index rose 1.1-percent, primarily due […]