If the optimists are right and the sides in the Zimbabwe negotiations really are close to an agreement, even Thabo Mbeki's harshest critics will be forced to give the man credit for his role in keeping the sides at the bargaining table and thus facilitating an agreement. Certainly Mbeki will still be vulnerable to accusations […]
Despite my pessimism (cynicism? realism?) about the on-again, off-again negotiations in Zimbabwe, optimism seems to be ruling the day elsewhere. And assuming that the various parties can overcome the remaining sticking points and achieve a meaningful agreement, I will be happy to have been wrong (though I think that my generally skeptical forecast and assessments […]
On Tuesday, at the press conference following his swearing-in, President Asif Ali Zardari set the tone by saying: "The president will only carry forward the brief of the government and bow before the parliament; the president will be subservient to parliament". This is all he could say as president, but those present around him wanted […]
Pakistan's civilian leadership today endorsed the head of the army after he took the unusual step of criticising the US for launching unilateral attacks on Pakistani soil. General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, considered by the US as a pivotal figure in the “war on terror”, said yesterday Pakistan had never agreed to allow the US to […]
In honor of Dushanbe's hosting of tomorrow's Shanghai Cooperation Organization 2008 summit, we should discuss the current state of the nation, its struggles and prospects. To help me do this I will use another one of Johannes Linn's, executive director of the Brookings Institution's Wolfensohn Center for Development, pieces he wrote while visiting the region […]
It seems like every other post I was link dropping Johannes Linn's Brooking Institution pieces on Central Asian's energy, water, and food challenges, but today is the day, my friends, when I actually discuss them! 1. Central Asia's Energy Challenge – In Linn's ‘Central Asia's Energy Challenge; Overcoming the Natural Resource Curse‘ he reports back […]
We all know that Somalia is “A country in peril, a policy nightmare.” Now we have this Ken Menkhaus report (pdf) to give us the grim and graphic details. Do take the time to read the whole thing.
Tarek Shahin, a mid-twenties Egyptian graduate from the American University in Cairo, is a financial analyst by trade and a cartoonist by heart. He pens the Al Khan comic strip in Daily News Egypt, the country's leading independent English daily. Tarek excels at showing how different groups in Egypt react to the world around them. […]
A car bomb explosion on Wednesday killed a ranking official of Druze leader Talal Arslan's Lebanese Democratic Party in the eastern resort of Baisour and wounded six people, police reported. Saleh al-Aridi, in his late 40s, a member of the party's central council, was killed instantly when the bomb ripped through his Mercedes car in […]
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace puts out a monthly newsletter with nuggets of analysis on the Middle East, and it's always a treat. September's issue is out today (in a new format!) so check it out. I am probably going to blog about the Kuwait article (Rentierism Revisited) tomorrow or Friday – or maybe […]
So Secretary Rice just completed a tour of North Africa, hitting Libya, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. For obvious reasons her meetings with Muammar Qaddafi of Libya received a great deal of attention; click here for a little State Department commentary on Libya's role in the international community since its diplomatic relations with the US […]
…I'd rather compose romances for you – more profit in it and more charm. –V.V Mayakovsky I am sick of this whole Georgia thing. I’ve had enough of politics, international relations, diplomatic intrigue! I hate how news has to be about events. Who cares about events? When was the last time an event […]
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan ‚ Two important al-Qaida operatives were among four foreign militants killed in a CIA missile strike in Pakistan's northwest, officials said Wednesday. Some Pakistani intelligence officials said one of the men was in charge of the terror network's activities in Pakistan's tribal regions, semiautonomous areas that the U.S. fears have become […]
South Africa's unmatched political cartoonist Zapiro has caused quite a stir, infuriating the Jacob Zuma wing of the African National Congress over this controversial cartoon depicting various wings of the ANC holding down the justice system, depicted as a woman struggling to break free, as Jacob Zuma prepares to, well, rape her. [Zapiro, Sunday […]
As the election is almost upon us, this is the best time to become more informed about the issues. My goal with this post is to display the facts, and let you judge for yourself. The only thing that I will tell you to do is register and VOTE (if you didn't know, many states […]