In the past week, British soldiers fighting to takeover and hold Helmand Province from the Taliban have faced mounting casualties and it is no surprise that the folks back home are showing signs of being rattled. The British military lost 10 soldiers in the past week alone and the nation’s total of men killed in […]
Today marks the start of the 18th annual Maccabiah games that pits Jew against Jew in various sporting events. Jews from around the world descended on Tel Aviv for futsal (indoor soccer), tennis, cricket and various other competitions for what some deem “the Jewish Olympics.” This year, approximately 5,700 athletes from 60 countries intend to participate. […]
Notwithstanding the paralysis of the World Trade Organization’s Doha Round and the current global economic recession, bilateral and regional trade deals have continued to progress in Southeast Asia. Over the last decade, ASEAN has negotiated free trade agreements (FTA) at breakneck speeds, signing deals with Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. It is also in the […]
This Sunday will mark the third anniversary of the start if the 2006 War between Israel and Lebanon, and it’s still unclear what was accomplished. Lebanon suffered tremendous damages, both economically and in terms of lives lost. Israel didn’t suffer nearly the same damages, but the brief war tarnished the image of the IDF as […]
See the below film review of Waltz With Bashir from fellow FPA blogger Sean Patrick Murphy. The film, while focusing on the 1982 invasion of Lebanon, captures Israelis’ struggle with war. The Israeli government financially supported production for the film. The details of Israel’s actions during the war were subject to significant criticism, both internal […]
This week, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (aka SBY) easily won a second five-year term as Indonesia’s president, running away with 62% of the vote, according to official polling data, although a precise vote count is not yet available. SBY will be the first Indonesian president to be re-elected and the second to be chosen by […]
Dilip Hiro’s new book, Inside Central Asia, provides an up to date look at Central Asia, Turkey, and Iran. Hiro is an expert on India and the Middle East and has written more than 30 books. Inside Central Asia is aimed at those needing a quick rundown (~400 pages) of the region, whether they are […]
‘What kind of future are Russia and America going to have together? What world order will replace the Cold War?’, asked Obama in Moscow. ‘Those questions still don’t have clear answers’. Today’s New York Times described America”s new style of diplomacy as one in which ‘yesterday’s enemies may become tomorrow’s partners in the benign exercise […]
President Obama is set to arrive in Ghana this weekend for his first trip to Sub-Saharan Africa. Symbolically this is probably an important moment but in terms of actual policy, or even politics, it probably means very little. Ghana is, as Texas in Africa points out in this smart synthesis of the previews of Obama’s […]
Reasserting its allegations of Pakistan’s involvement in the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, the Indian Ministry of Defense today released its Annual Report for 2008-09. According to the Press Trust of India (PTI), the report says that there is clear evidence of the attack being planned and launched from Pakistan. Though Pakistan initially contested the claim, […]
The Economist profiles Fouad Ali el Himma, the former leader of Morocco’s new Authenticity and Modernity Party. It is an anti-Islamist party primarily comprised of those loyal to the King. (The magazine calls its platform “centrist and non-ideological). El Himma leveraged his close relationship with the King himself to generate interest in the recently formed […]
The United States and Israel may have agreed to a solution on settlement construction that would appease both governments as well as the Arab world, the Israeli media reported. Israel reportedly agreed to end all new settlement construction for a few months while the United States would not condemn the completion of certain settlement projects. […]
Dear readers, please accept my apologies for my short absence. I am back and you will get to read latest and update analysis regularly, once again. So much has been going on in the country, but for the time being, my focus remains the same. Ordinary people in Pakistan are suffering, and there is no […]
Sunday’s election exposed a disoriented left in Mexico. The PRD, the largest left-of-center party, nearly won the presidency in 2006. Now a shell of its former self, having acquired just 12% of the vote on Sunday it will shrink from 123 to 75 seats in the lower house. Rather than gelling to form a cohesive […]
“We reaffirm our commitment to the goals of the common fight against the threats of terrorism, armed extremism, and illegal drug trafficking in Afghanistan. We shall continue and develop our cooperation in the interest of enhancing the capabilities of the government of Afghanistan to accomplish key socioeconomic objectives, to raise living standards, and to ensure […]