End game in Sri Lanka
Fueled by the growing civilian carnage, worldwide protests by Tamil emigrant groups and sympathizers are echoing calls by the UN and international aid organizations to restore the Norwegian-brokered ceasefire unilaterally violated by the Sri Lankan government in its campaign against the Tamil Tigers. Yet the world’s political powers remain unmoved, and the Sri Lankan government has vowed to press on towards imminent victory.
Iran foils U.S.-backed coup
Iran announced a secret court’s guilty verdict against four Iranian nationals convicted of organizing a “soft regime change” in Tehran at the behest of the Bush administration. The Iranian announcement follows reports of a U.S. covert-ops program targeting Iranian nuclear facilities.
US to Quietly Drop Afghanistan Drawdown Plan
Amid fears of an expanding ISIS presence and a UN report decrying the country’s deteriorating security outlook, the Obama administration is poised to abandon its plans for a sweeping drawdown of the US military presence in Afghanistan.
The Pakistan Paradox
Withhold $800 million in military aid, let it go through, or double it- no matter what Washington does it can’t escape the paradox that Islamabad is its most important ally in the war on terror.
Burma & North Korea: the pariah pair
Warming Burma-North Korean relations raise an uncomfortable question for the Obama administration: Is America running out of foreign policy levers?
China and India: River Wars in the Himalayas
The Geopoliticalmonitor’s Amitava Mukherjee examines the potential impact of China’s dam projects upstream of the key Brahmaputra River in northeastern India.
OPINION: Revolutionary Democracy
Though the list of countries being swept up in a wave of popular uprisings is long and getting longer, pro-democracy activists the world over would be wise to hold off their own celebrations. The wave of ‘people power’ spreading through the Middle East and Africa could just as easily end up hindering international democracy as it could helping it.
Libya and Imperialism
Of all the struggles going on in North Africa and the Middle East right now, the most difficult to unravel is the one in Libya.
Iraqi gov’t assertiveness – July 27, 2009
The Iraqi government’s recent censure of talks between the US government and Sunni insurgents suggests a rising tide of assertiveness in Iraqi politics leading up to general elections in January.
It’s Time to Throw Away the Cold War Playbook
Countering Russia’s moves in Europe needs new thinking for a new age.