According to the Senlis Council's latest report on Iraq entitled, “Angry Hearts and Angry Minds“, the international community's mark on Iraq should move away from military means and towards more humanitarian and economic efforts. “Just as we have seen the use of a military surge in Iraq, we need also to see a job surge and […]
February, 2006: Shi’a Iraqis sift through the rubble of the al-Askariyya, or Golden Dome Mosque in Samarra, Iraq in order to find remnants of their religious texts. The city lies in rubble from the supposed al-Qaeda bombing (although no one actually claimed responsibility for the attack). One of the most internationally important Shi’a mosques is […]
World Bank President and former US diplomat Robert B. Zoellick met with President Nazarbayev and the Kazak government this week to discuss several joint World Bank/Kazak projects. The two sides announced plans to jointly finance a $2.5 billion road project to help upgrade the trade routes between Asia, especially China, Russia, and all the way […]
Edward Lucas, the Economist's Eastern Europe correspondent, raises a provocative point in his recent article for Standpoint Magazine. It is certainly true that the worst aspects of the Russian system are often a concentrated form of our own worst shortcomings. Indeed, the West has largely lost the moral authority that it enjoyed during the last […]
For the first time the incoming French EU Presidency has talked of unravelling the Lisbon Reform Treaty to accomodate Irish concerns. Speaking in Brussels, French Secretary of State for European Affairs Jean-Pierre Jouyet said that the outcome of his President's visit to Ireland in July would clarify whether “there is a need to reopen or not to reopen […]
It is well-known that the Central Asian region is surrounded by Great and Medium Powers who desire influence in the area. Turkey may not be the largest, richest, or closest power to the region, but its historical and ethnic connections to CA and its people loom large. The Journal of Turkish Weekly has written an […]
The news coming from Lebanon are anything but good. Suspicion, lack of trust and narrow agendas prevent progress on the ground. At the meeting, President Suleiman had with the spiritual leaders, he warned that “differences have reached the level of committing suicide.” Former Premier, Omar Karami talks of a temporary truce "because historical grudges still […]
At 4:00 am tomorrow (or five hours from now) I'll get up and begin a winding journey that will land me in South Africa Thursday afternoon. I'll be there for three weeks, will be traveling extensively for two conferences, some research, travel and holiday, and reportage. I may be out of touch for a bit, […]
At 4:00 am tomorrow (or five hours from now) I’ll get up and begin a winding journey that will land me in South Africa Thursday afternoon. I’ll be there for three weeks, will be traveling extensively for two conferences, some research, travel and holiday, and reportage. I may be out of touch for a bit, […]
With just over two days to go before the runoff little is certain except for the certainty that Robert Mugabe's calculated tyranny has turned Zimbabwe into a chaotic state in which the anarchy he has very much fomented serves Mugabe's needs. Zimbabwe is ostensibly a one-party state. In reality, right now it is a one-man state. The […]
The dueling headlines tell of the tricky course South Africa has chosen for itself with regard to the situation in Zimbabwe. It is widely recognized that South Africa has the potential to be the biggest external power broker, whether through sticks or carrots, words or deeds. And so far, it is no secret, South Africa […]
The dueling headlines tell of the tricky course South Africa has chosen for itself with regard to the situation in Zimbabwe. It is widely recognized that South Africa has the potential to be the biggest external power broker, whether through sticks or carrots, words or deeds. And so far, it is no secret, South Africa […]
When: June 17 and 18 Where: US Naval Academy – Annapolis, MD Who: Co-Chairs US Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr. and Vice Premier Wang Qishan Why: To strengthen and deepen the bilateral economic relationship through actions to: raise questions seek consensus implement results prevent trade protectionism and conservatism from hampering the trade cooperation […]
The Financial Times is reporting that progress toward regularized EU-Russian collaboration will be negatively impacted by the lack of progress on the Lisbon Treaty ratification. Russian officials want to see the ratification process move ahead, in part for the clarity it would bring with respect to foreign affairs: “"With the Lisbon treaty in force and a […]
Things are grim in Zimbabwe. But that does not mean that we cannot find room for laughter. The blogger Copyranter, who has been an advertising copywriter in New York for sixteen years, dissects various ads and other forms of propoganda. Yesterday Copyranter tackled a Robert Mugabe campaign poster. An excerpt: Since present conditions in Zimbabwe […]