“The formation of the G20 group of world leaders is likely to be the most lasting institutional consequence of the global financial meltdown of 2008,” writes Gideon Rachman, a columnist for the Financial Times, in the Economist’s The World in 2010. Rachman outlines the G’s jostling for preeminence – from the G2 to the G77 […]
Featuring analysis and commentary by Eswar Prasad of the Brookings Institution and Derek Scissors of the Heritage Foundation, CNN provides a video introduction to the BRIC – Brazil, Russia, India and China – countries. Kitty Pilgrim outlines the impact of the countries representing 40 percent of the world’s population and 25 percent of the landmass, […]
Maybe we should use some of those 34,000 troops to safeguard the border? Dealing with the insurgency is hard enough—but letting fighters escape from Afghanistan to Pakistan, or Pakistan to Afghanistan, and then back again, is an insanely stupid thing. You would think this would be the number one reason to put in more troops. […]
Where to start with this wonderful news? A Swiss referendum banning the construction of minarets in the country passed this weekend, with 57 percent of the vote and 22 of 26 cantons in favor. Europe has been beset by immigration ‘problems’ in recent years, and rising Muslim populations in many countries have caused a backlash […]
Focusing mostly on the one-year anniversary of the Mumbai attacks (Nov. 26-29): 1) Interview with Fareed Zakaria in the Hindustan Times. 2) This headline in the Wall Street Journal says it all, doesn’t it? 3) The last thing South Asia needs is a war of words between India and China. India defense minister A.K. Antony: […]
Over the next 20 years, Pakistan’s population will grow by 85 million people. This raises a multitude of questions regarding the future of Pakistan as not just a stable country—it is clearly not that already—but as a country at all. Pakistan is already overpopulated, with 180 million people—two thirds of which are under 30. The […]
This article in the Times about the struggles the Iraqi national football team are dealing with is an insight that should not be overlooked—if the country’s beloved national side is mired in controversy, all is most certainly not well. Transitional States has been closely following international football and next year’s World Cup in South Africa. […]
I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the […]
OK, that’s not really what he said. But he may as well, choosing to blame India for Taliban attacks inside Pakistan. Dawn has the quote: “India should refrain from such nefarious activities,’ said Mr Qureshi, speaking of India’s alleged support of militants. ‘Unless (India) dispenses with its visceral animosity towards Pakistan, attaining viable peace and […]
Obama will announce his Afghanistan strategy next week. Reports indicate that troop levels will most likely be close to the 40,000 requested by General McChrystal. According to the New York Times, the three possibilities being seriously considered were: 1) Send 40,000 troops. This plan involves sending about 10,000 troops to Kandahar (where now there are […]
Eric Posner accurately describes Eric Holder’s decision to try KSM in a civilian court: [T]he Obama administration has decided to offer a two-tiered system of justice. We might call them the “high-quality” (civilian) tier and “low-quality” (military) tier. The high-quality approach offers greater accuracy; the low-quality approach offers less accuracy. The Obama administration will use […]
A central challenge of our times: America, Europe, and countries the world over will have to figure out a way to staunch the hemorraging red ink we are currently sustaining. As a result of fiscal stimulus packages and bank bailouts, in addition to the standard generous provision of guns and butter, we will be talking a […]
The FPA-o-sphere has been rife with Law and Security Strategy posts this week. Here are some good ones to check out: 1) As the Transitional States Blog reports, the U.S. Senate is considering a resolution condemning the 1915-1916 Turkish mass expulsions of Armenians as genocide. Will this scuttle the Turkish-Armenian peace process? Read the whole […]
Or, how to scuttle promising international developments with senseless moral posturing. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has agreed to co-sponsor a resolution condemning the Turkish mass expulsion/massacres of 1915-1916, and labeling it a “genocide.” It clearly meets the definition of ethnic cleansing, and no one is absolving Turkey of blame. 1.5 million Armenians were […]