Could Obama’s investment in a strong outreach to Medvedev mean that the Russian President, for so long considered a mere window dressing to Prime Ministerial rule, might stick around longer than Putin might like? But as Obama assured Russia of entry into the WTO and resolved the chicken wars, could all this rapprochment be a […]
Here are a few observations from Michael Hasting’s Rolling Stone article Obama-McChrystal seemed to be on same page in terms of actual Afghanistan war strategy/policy – This has been an underreported aspect of the whole incident. McChrystal and his aides were mainly critiquing (if ‘bite me’ is a critique) the political process and not the […]
President Obama did as good a job as was possible in his short speech to the country on Gen. McChrystal’s dismissal and the placement of Gen. Petraeus as the leader of all foreign military forces in Afghanistan. In his talk, President Obama emphasized that this was a change in military leadership and not one of […]
Afghanistan is so boring to cover. Sometimes I just sit at my desk screaming in my head ‘SOMETHING HAPPEN ALREADY!!!’ So Gen. McChrystal is now a goner and Gen. Petraeus is back to save the day yet again. Anyway you cut it, this is a sad situation that can only make a difficult situation even […]
Michael Hastings’s article about Gen. McChrystal and the Afghanistan war effort has not only created quite a stir, but may even cost Gen. McChrystal his job as the leader of all armed forces in Afghanistan. While, I will write more on this important story tonight, I’ll give a few thoughts now. First off, I think […]
Last weekend’s St Petersburg International Economic Forum, meant to showcase Russia’s transition from authoritarian raw materials exporter to pluralistic hub of technology and commerce, hit two snags: an embarrassing gas dispute with Belarus, and a giant penis. If the former demonstrated the limits of Russia’s pledge to move away from energy-centric bully tactics, the latter […]
Continuing the topic of partisan (Democratic, Republican, conservative, liberal, realist, idealist, etc.) viewpoints on the US strategy in Afghanistan, here are two different takes on our current policy from within the conservative camp. First is Washington Post journalist George Will, who famously took on a ‘realist’ argument that a large counterinsurgent effort in the country was […]
Amidst all the horrific ethnic violence in Kyrgyzstan, there may have been one welcome victim: the zero sum, Cold War style thinking that had governed Russia and America’s approach to the region. For a few nervous days this week, however, the conflict felt as if it could unleash a major regional and even international war. […]
Update: Ouch! Both the New York Times and Washington Post have major stories today portraying a fraying confidence in the Obama administration’s Afghan policy. Read both now! In the American news, the words ‘Afghanistan’ has been followed by ‘deaths’, ‘setbacks’, ‘corruption’, etc. far too often of late. American and NATO deaths have been rising in […]
At least 77 people have died in clashes in the south of Kyrgyzstan, according to Al-Jazeera. It seems that thousands of ethnic Uzbeks, mostly women and children, are fleeing for safety to Uzbekistan. They claim that they have been attacked by militias and by the Kyrgyz military and police. The interim government is appealing to […]
Back in the USSR, there was a strain of dissidents with a very refreshing/ quixotic programme of opposition: they would live “as if”. As if the Soviet Union were a democratic country that actually followed its own laws. Of course, it was only a matter of time before reality caught up to them and they […]
If you are in the New York Area, I recommend checking out these two films at the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival being held at the Lincoln Center: CAMP VICTORY, AFGHANISTAN explores the reality of building a functioning Afghan military; RESTREPO chronicles the deployment of a platoon of US marines in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley, […]
Update: The New York Times paper addition this morning featured a large picture of two American servicemen in Afghanistan with a caption detailing the loss of 10 NATO troops yesterday. This was positive to see, though the story of the deadly incidents was not on the front page. Continuing our Disappearing Wars thread: Today 10 […]
Rob Grace, writer for FPA’s Law and Security Strategy blog (one of my favorites), has covered the recent Maqaleh v. Gates ruling regarding Afghan detainee rights. Grace provides a historical angle to the ruling and tackles further questions in the comments. Here is a piece: Last week the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in […]
Outraged at the water pollution caused by the BP oil spill, “Good Cop” Medvedev proposed today a global fund to ensure against and deal with such disasters in the future. But as any schoolboy knows, Russia has had very few qualms about destroying its own environment. Putin may talk a nice talk about how “Russia’s […]