Overview Last week, the Russian Security Council released details of how it will conduct its Arctic policy through 2020 and beyond in a document entitled, “The fundamentals of Russian state policy in the Arctic up to 2020 and beyond.” (original document here, in Russian). Developing the Arctic is one of the Kremlin’s priorities, which is […]
The latest op-ed from left-wing journalist Amira Hass describes the need to dismiss democracy in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in order to secure the future of the peace process. She claims that the Palestinian Authority must first establish a sovereign state, accomplished partially by a strong government not weakened by small or extreme […]
Even before the next government officially takes over, the ideologically divided Likud-led cabinet appears fragile and faces the threat of withdrawal of one coalition partner. Likud Chairman Binyamin Netanyahu supposedly promised his greatest inter-party challenger, Silvan Shalom, the post of Foreign Minister in the event that Yisrael Beiteinu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman, tapped to head the […]
The terrorist attack on Police Academy in Lahore must have been a wake up call for those who have been arguing that ‘war on terror’ is America’s war. On the contrary, it is a war that is being fought in Pakistan and for a majority of Pakistan, it is heart sinking to realize that men, […]
Eurasian Daily Moniter reports that the recent meeting between the leaders of Russia and Turkmenistan is part of Russia’s broader policy of exploiting disagreements over energy within the EU states. There are large discrepancies in the amount of gas recieved from Russia within the EU and a consummate lack of agreement as to how to […]
I told you earlier that I would keep you up to date on all Shanghai Cooperation Organization issues and happenings here, but I went on vacation and David Kampf at FPA’s Rising Powers beat me too it. Here’s his blog piece about a Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit on Afghanistan. For the first time a US official […]
So of course I take a vacation right as Afghanistan hits the front pages around the world. President Obama held a press conference on Friday to announce a new US strategy in Afghanistan, which included a new outlook on the reasons and goals for our presence there. I will get into the pros and cons […]
Speaker Nabih Berri criticized the government Saturday for its procrastination in the reconstruction efforts in South Beirut and Southern Lebanon. Those areas suffered major damage during the 2006 War with Israel. The areas, predominantly Shiite, were the targets of Israeli bombs in that country’s effort to exterminate Hizballah, the resistance group that forced out Israel […]
Following recent accounts of human rights violations from soldiers fighting in Operation Cast Lead, the IDF concluded an investigation into the accusations and deemed them categorically untrue. The international community as well as human rights groups condemned Israel for the supposed abuses, leading to major criticisms of Israel for using inhumane force. However, some groups […]
Likud Chairman Binyamin Netanyahu intends to finalize his cabinet with the appointment of party members to the remaining posts, the most prominent of which is the Finance Minister. However, his chief Likud rival Silvan Shalom, may refuse all positions aside from vice-Prime Minister and Finance Minister. Netanyahu originally intended on chairing the Finance Ministry himself, but […]
Less than a year after Boris Yeltsin named him responsible for national economic reform, the Russian economy completely collapsed; his closest political ally, Anatoly Chubais, is one of the most hated men in Russia; under his leadership the Union of Right Forces party managed to eke out a liliputian 4% in the 2003 elections. With […]
On March 25, Turkmen President Gurbankuly Berdymuhammedov traveled to Moscow to meet with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and discuss a series of issues. The two countries have generally good relations as Russia is Turkmenistan’s biggest trading partner. They discussed electricity, transportation, natural gas, agriculture, and communication systems. The most important deal to come out of […]
Timothy Garton Ash asks whether Europe is divided and weak at the G20. As I blogged before, there have been talks at an EU level between the participating G20 nations (UK, France, Italy & Germany) to try to come to a common position, but Ash argues that the lack of a strong united front will […]
In what figures to be an explosive judgment, it appears that South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is set to drop its corruption charges against ANC President Jacob Zuma, clearing the way for him to become the country’s next President following April’s election. The justification for the NPA’s decision is still-unclear allegations of machinations, apparently on […]
An analysis piece describes the competing interests of Israel, the United States, Sudan, and Egypt regarding attacks on convoys smuggling weapons into the Gaza Strip. The article cites intelligence sources in the various countries as blaming the event first on the United States until U.S. officials leaked to the press that Israel instigated the attack. […]