The Deepening of Grief by Peter Kwong
With China at the crossroads, the nation finds that the compassion required tin response to the devastating earthquake requires furthering social reforms and broadening citizens' rights.
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Hizbullah's Challenge and Lebanon's by Rami G. Khouri
The strength and status of Hizbullah and the weakness of the Lebanese state are symbiotic developments that feed off each other, and can only be resolved together.
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How the War Ends in Iraq by Immanuel Wallerstein
President-elect Barack Obama will find it difficult to wind down the US occupation of Iraq. But when Muqtada al-Sadr becomes prime minister of Iraq, impetus for the occupation will end. Obama and the Pentagon might even be able to claim "victory."
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Deadly Cluster Bombs Banned -- But Not by All by Patrick Seale
With the signing of an international ban on cluster bombs, the weapon may now come to be seen as "morally outlawed." But the United States and Israel among few others, continue to stand outside the international community's ban.
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New Rules Define the Middle East by Rami G. Khouri
Condoleezza Rice was accidentally correct in summer 2006 that we witnessed the "birth pangs" of a new Middle East: Iran, Turkey, all the Arabs, Hizbullah, Hamas, and Israel share one common trait: They are routinely ignoring advice and threats from Washington.
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Obstacles of an Israeli-Syrian Deal by Patrick Seale
Talks between Syria and Israel will lower tension in the troubled Middle East region. This, in itself, is a welcome development. But the gulf between the two countries is wide and deep, and it would be rash to expect it to be bridged any time soon.
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The Menace of George Bush's Last Months in Office by Patrick Seale
Everything George W. Bush has touched has turned to dross. But he still has another half year in the White House, and who can say of what further destructive follies he might yet be capable.
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DISPATCHES FROM AMERICA
When the nukes start dropping ...
A new 77-page report lays out in shocking detail the damage that would be done should a nuclear exchange break out in the Middle East between 2010 and 2020. Assuming Iran has weapons, and it engages Israel, the result would be Iran completely wiped off the map. This "thinking the unthinkable" serves an important purpose. By actually showing what devastation can be done, the world can be turned away from the frightful momentum now building for a strike against Iran. - Julian Delasantellis (Jun 4, '08)

'Iran must be stopped by all means' (AFP)

Unscrupulous scalpels in the Philippines
In the business of transplant tourism, one of the few growth industries in the Philippines, it is possible to arrange a Filipino organ from a website in less than 10 days. But tough international scrutiny and concerns about syndicates trafficking in human organs have prompted a government ban on transplants for foreigners. - Cher S Jimenez (Jun 4, '08)

Taiwan torn over ex-leader's legacy
For some he is a sugarcane farmer's son who fought for democracy and brought back national pride. To others he is an inefficient nepotist who sank the economy and angered China. Either way, former president Chen Shui-bian remains controversial in Taiwan, and resurfaced charges that he faked his own assassination attempt are not helping. - Cindy Sui (Jun 4, '08)

An Iranian voice in the wilderness
The anti-Iran Mujahideen-e-Khalq maintains an armed wing and numerous front organizations, but it derives its greatest strength from the slick lobbying and propaganda machine it operates in the United States and Europe. All the same, the banned organization's influence is often overstated. (Jun 4, '08)

For China, an opportunity in crisis
One way for China to prove it is a new kind of superpower is to do something that goes beyond simply rebuilding its quake-devastated Sichuan province. In the crumbled city of Wenchuan, China could make a virtue out of necessity and, with outside assistance, leapfrog existing technologies to create a new kind of city. - Emanuel Pastreich and John Feffer (Jun 4, '08)

A new light on the Korean War
As South Korea looks ahead to the anniversary of the epoch-making, but now largely forgotten, Korean War that ended in 1953, the nation would do well to reflect on the freedom that many have come to take for granted, and the compelling need to bring freedom to their long-suffering fellow Koreans north of the 38th parallel. - Sung-Yoon Lee (Jun 4, '08)

FORKED TONGUES ON IRAN
Cheney builds an explosive case
The view is still widely propagated by the George W Bush administration that explosively formed projectiles that can penetrate United States armored vehicles in Iraq come straight from Iran. The US State and Defense departments never signed onto this line, but smart maneuvering by Vice President Dick Cheney and the US's top man in Iraq, General David Petraeus, blindsided them. - Gareth Porter (Jun 3, '08)

DISPATCHES FROM AMERICA
Kill, kill, kill: Presidential bloodlust
On the eve of the first battle of Fallujah in Iraq in 2004, President George W Bush exhorted his closest top civilian and military advisors, "Stay strong! Stay the course! Kill them! We are going to wipe them out! We are not blinking!" Even today, Bush is still urging his top officials not to "blink", but Americans should: there is still time for Bush to make another war. - Tom Engelhardt (Jun 3, '08)

KEBABBLE
Prince Charles,
defender of Islam
In 1996, the Evening Standard quoted the Grand Mufti of Cyprus as saying Britain's Prince Charles had converted to Islam. A year later it was the story of "Prince Charles and the 12 wise men" - a panel appointed to advise him on Islamic culture. There are many other intriguing linkages, and whether the Prince of Wales is sincere or a spiritual dilettante, the Charles of Arabia phenomenon is here to stay. - Fazile Zahir (Jun 3, '08)

'An earful of anti-Semitic rants'
John McCain, the presumptive Republican candidate for US president, has clearly spelled out he has no intention of submitting to an "an earful of anti-Semitic rants" by engaging in talks with Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad. This despite a new poll that shows that six in 10 US voters, including nearly half of all Republican respondents, believe a US-Iranian summit would be a good idea. - Jim Lobe (Jun 3, '08)

Vietnam sets nuclear pace in Southeast Asia

General Electric and its global rivals are lining up to help fast-growing Southeast Asian countries develop nuclear power facilities. Vietnam is leading the way, with an authoritarian government having an advantage in a sector in which public opposition can often play a decisive planning role. - Andrew Symon

SPEAKING FREELY
Iran's untapped resources
Sanctions-hit Iran sits on some of the world's biggest reserves of oil and gas, yet imports much of its gasoline supplies. Energy companies shun involvement in the country's vast offshore South Pars gas field, wary of domestic and regional instability. The benefits that would come from a better relationship between Tehran and the West are clear. - Andrew Bishop

China strategy stamped
on Afghan deal
Success in securing rights to Afghanistan's Anyak copper field last month underlines China's determination to strengthen links with its neighbors while developing its own remote western regions. Much more of that determination will be needed to overcome the obstacles that have so far prevented exploitation of Aynak's potentially vast resources.

Fuel on Malaysia's political fire
The administration of Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi has abruptly repealed fuel price subsidies and Malaysians are fuming. The sudden 41% increase in petrol comes at bad time for Abdullah, whose ruling coalition is still shell-shocked by the March election. His credibility and longevity now hang precariously at the pump. - Anil Netto (Jun 10, '08)

The rise and rise of China's Mr Tears
An unlikely star rising from the rubble of China's recent devastations is Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. Known alternately as "Grandpa Wen" or "Mr Tears", Wen rose from a provincial geologist to China's bureaucrat-in-chief, and was miraculously unscathed by his involvement in the infamous Tiananmen Square incident 19 years ago. Still, many wonder whether Wen's primary concern is doing things right, or doing the right things. - Yu Maochun (Jun 10, '08)

US beef row steers Seoul into chaos
Mass hostility for a US beef deal has gripped South Korea, bringing tens of thousands to the streets and the president's cabinet to the brink of resignation. But this is about much more than poisoned steak; it is a revival of anti-government sentiment that always simmers near the surface of South Korean democracy. The protests could also spoil the US alliance - the alleged goal of those at the forefront of protests in the capital. - Donald Kirk (Jun 10, '08)

S Korean beef protests intensify (AFP)

Marching lawyers hold Pakistan hostage

Thousands of black-suited lawyers marching across Pakistan for a confrontation in the capital Islamabad are only a part of the story. The military has gone into a funk of inactivity, the new liberal, secular government is unable, given the pressure from the streets, to protect United States interests, while America's poser-boy, President Pervez Musharraf, is under siege. The situation is ripe for exploitation by al-Qaeda, and augers well for the Taliban in Afghanistan. - Syed Saleem Shahzad (Jun 10, '08)

SPEAKING FREELY
Will it be 'Obama's war'?
The next United States president, regardless of party, will face powerful foreign pressures, notably from Saudi Arabia, and pro-Israel groups to keep a major US commitment in Iraq, despite strong public support in the US for withdrawal. Stay too long in Iraq, though, and the president risks going down in history with his name attached to the war, just as Vietnam became "Nixon's war". (Jun 10, '08)

Ending the U.S.-Korea Alliance by Doug Bandow South Korea now dwarfs its northern neighbor in economic power and is close behind militarily. Seoul is slowly drifting away from Washington and says it wants better relations with Pyongyang. So why is America still underwriting South Korea’s defense?

Condoleezza Rice's Neo-colonial Manifesto by Patrick Seale
It is hard to know whether to laugh or cry when one reads Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s 9,000 word article in the current issue of Foreign Affairs. It is a delusional inversion of reality.
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Ending Plutocracy: A 12-Step Program by Sarah Anderson and Sam Pizzigati (The Nation)

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A Neocon Curtain Call by Rami G. Khouri
The AIPAC speech of Elizabeth Cheney last week was an out-of-power reprise of the neocon philosophy that has these past years damaged the Middle East and devastated the status and honor of the United States in the eyes of the world.
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Five Steps Forward, Six Steps Back by Peter Kwong
In the wake of the Sichuan earthquake, China is cracking down on freedom of the press just weeks before the Olympic games -- a clear violation of its promise to the International Olympic Committee.
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Can We End World Hunger? by Patrick Seale
The Global Food Crisis: One billion people on earth go hungry every day, and for several reasons, the era of cheap food appears to be over.
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A View from the Arab World by Rami G. Khouri
The forthcoming American election is viewed to have great importance in the Arab World, as over the past two decades the US presence in the region has grown more varied, complex, and dominant.
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A More Tranquil Season in the Middle East by Patrick Seale
There are many signs of a calm in the Middle East, as fears of a US/Iran conflict fade, regional diplomatic talks succeed or are ongoing, and US and European interests in the region focus on economic and other more peaceful issues.
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Bush pledges on Iraq bases a ruse

Washington has taken great pains to stress that it does not seek the right to "permanent bases" in Iraq in the deal it is negotiating with Baghdad on the legal conditions under which US troops will remain in Iraq after their United Nations mandate expires at the end this year. This is just a legal smokescreen to obscure the US's intention to have both long-term access to Iraqi bases and complete freedom to use them to launch operations against Iran and Syria. - Gareth Porter (Jun 13, '08)
THE ROVING EYE
Gaza: Mogadishu or Dubai?
Battered Gaza, a new line of thinking goes, could be turned from a war-ravaged "Mogadishu" into a prosperous hub such as Dubai. First, though, the "terrorists" Hamas have to be smashed into oblivion. Anyway, that's not the real issue as Gaza goes way beyond Hamas: it is directly connected to the larger Israel and United States-Iran confrontation. - Pepe Escobar (Jun 13, '08)

Rattled Pakistan looks to Musharraf
The United States air strikes that killed 11 Pakistani paramilitary troops this week have shaken the country to the core, so much so that President Pervez Musharraf, who was about to be consigned to the bin of history, could make a remarkable comeback. - Syed Saleem Shahzad (Jun 13, '08)

US garrisons and global gas stations
The protection of overseas oil supplies as essential to "national security", sometimes through the use of military force, is now an unquestioned part of American foreign policy. But with the costs of such operations - in both blood and dollars - rising precipitously, their practicality is under scrutiny. - Michael T Klare (Jun 13, '08)

India takes the high ground against China
After 43 years, India has re-opened an airfield, the highest-altitude air base in the world, that overlooks China's Xinjiang province and the Karakoram Highway to Pakistan. Delhi says the move is in response to Chinese incursions, and should be seen as a clear sign that it is fed up with being bullied on the Sino-Indian border. - Sudha Ramachandran (Jun 13, '08)

A New Start for Russia and Europe - Mikhail Gorbachev, Intl Herald Tribune
Prince Charles Organic Conservatism - Michael Gerson, Washington Post
Europe Falls in Love with America Again - Alan Philps, The National
Raul Castro's Reforms - Rupert Cornwell, The Independent
Does India Need a New Electoral System? - Arvind Sivaramakrishnan, The Hindu

G-8 Says Oil, Food Prices Pose Threat - Tomoko Hosaka, Associated Press

Finance ministers from the Group of Eight industrialized nations urged oil producers Saturday to boost output to help stabilize record-high oil and food prices, calling the situation a serious threat to global economic growth. The world economy faces "headwinds" because of the recent rise in prices, the G-8 ministers said in a joint statement at the conclusion of two days of talks here.

Letter From Cairo - Thomas Friedman, New York Times opinion

The current global energy-food crisis is, understandably, a pocketbook issue in America. But when you come to Egypt, you see how, in a society where so many more people live close to the edge, food and fuel prices could become enormously destabilizing. If these prices keep soaring, food and fuel could reshape politics around the developing world as much as nationalism or Communism did in their days. A few years ago, Egypt’s president, Hosni Mubarak, belatedly but clearly embarked on an economic reform path that has produced 7 percent annual growth in the last three years - and now all that growth is being devoured by food and fuel price increases, like a plague of locusts eating through the Nile Delta.

Suited for the New Diplomacy? - James DeHart, Washington Post opinion

One of my US Foreign Service colleagues has a great photo of himself from his time working with a Provincial Reconstruction Team in one of Afghanistan's livelier provinces. He's dressed in khaki, with an MP5 assault rifle slung over his shoulder. When I first saw it, I thought: There's a lot to say about service like that. It's adventurous. It's courageous. It's patriotic. But is it diplomacy? Maybe, maybe not. But it seems to be the trend. Since 2003, more than 2,000 members of the Foreign Service have volunteered to serve in Iraq or Afghanistan and - last year's flap over forced assignments to Iraq notwithstanding -- continue to do so in droves. Often, they're involved in non-traditional nation-building work - digging wells, building schools and mentoring city councils - in military units far from the US embassy.

Assist Effectively to Lead - Brainard and Unger, Los Angeles Times opinion

In the face of what may be the biggest setback to food security and thereby to global development in recent history, America's weak and fragmented foreign assistance infrastructure is not up to the task of responding effectively. With food security - a foundational component of development - taking a major hit in low-income countries worldwide, the US should be at the forefront of the response effort in terms of short-term relief and longer-term investments in agricultural productivity. The response must be broad in scope, helping to address issues stemming from the impact of bio-fuel and land-use policies to climate change to the rising middle class in Asia that is demanding higher-input foods. On global development matters the US has historically shown leadership in confronting problems, but we are unprepared to meet the new challenges posed by the 21st century. In particular, with 50 separate government units sharing responsibility for aid planning and delivery in the executive branch, and with a morass of 50 objectives ranging from narcotics eradication to biodiversity preservation, our aid system suffers from untenable levels of incoherence and fragmentation that undercut our efforts to lead abroad.

America Isn't Over - Ted Widmer, Los Angeles Times opinion

There is no question that US foreign policy suffered a monster setback over the last eight years, and it does not take a genius to realize that the next president will have to speak differently to a world that has grown cynical about American promises. After years of the most simple-minded platitudes about liberty, it will be a pleasure to declare ourselves free from President Bush's "freedom agenda," which was never well-defined or successful, even by its own yardsticks. In fact, during the last two years of Bush's tenure, the number of democracies has been declining around the world, according to the human rights monitoring group Freedom House - the first two-year decline in 15 years. Notorious crooks, such as Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, have stayed in power throughout the Bush years; other nations, such as Cameroon, have gotten worse, and we all saw what a nightmare Myanmar is when the cyclone blew the lid off its usual secrecy. But does that really mean that it is time for the US to disengage from the world?

Nepal marching to two drums
With the national flag now formally flying over Nepal in place of the royal standard, the country can address other pressing issues, starting with the search for a president. There are also two competing armies, with grave doubts the regular army will stand down for the Maoists. - Dhruba Adhikary (Jun 16, '08)

Washington fiddles while Seoul burns
The frustration and fury in South Korea over United States beef imports is no longer, if it ever was, about science or sick cows. It is about emotions, and until the bad vibes are soothed, the crisis will escalate, with dangerous consequences for the US-South Korea relationship. Washington pressed the Lee Myung-bak administration to accept an all-or-nothing trade deal and now it has a political and moral obligation to help defuse the crisis. (Jun 16, '08)

Seoul and US to extend beef talks (AFP)

A Heated French Debate about Virginity and Marriage by Patrick Seale
France’s Minister of Justice, Rachida Dati, is in the middle of a huge brouhaha involving Muslim immigrants, divorce laws, feminism, virginity, and civil rights.
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Washington’s Grim Performance in the Middle East by Rami G. Khouri
The list of American foreign policy failures and weaknesses in the Middle East is long, and grim.
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Obama's Victory? How Big? How Far? by Immanuel Wallerstein
Barack Obama will win big, and here is why. What exactly his win will mean is less clear.
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Making Afghan Terrorists by Patrick Seale
The policies of the NATO force in Afghanistan continue to exacerbate the problems in that broken country.
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How To Fight Terrorists by Rami G. Khouri
Unless Western leaders change their mentalities and their tactics from fomenting hate to understanding and addressing the reasons individuals in the Arab world and Asia lose themselves to despair and terror, the latter will continue as a global growth industry.
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Condoleezza Rice's Neo-colonial Manifesto by Patrick Seale
It is hard to know whether to laugh or cry when one reads Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s 9,000 word article in the current issue of Foreign Affairs. It is a delusional inversion of reality.
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Five Steps Forward, Six Steps Back by Peter Kwong
In the wake of the Sichuan earthquake, China is cracking down on freedom of the press just weeks before the Olympic games -- a clear violation of its promise to the International Olympic Committee.
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THE ROVING EYE
Why Iraq won't be South Korea
President George W Bush's last call in Iraq is an agreement that would create a US-style consumer society in the Mesopotamian sands, a demilitarized client state under benign US protection. Better yet, it could be like a 21st century version of the South Korean "tiger" miracle. The problem is, Iraqis aren't buying into it. And without an agreement, and a new US-friendly Iraqi oil law, Bush's US$3 trillion Iraq adventure will have been for nothing. - Pepe Escobar (Jun 19, '08)

Middle East serves US some humble pie
A series of regionally negotiated settlements - most recently the Hamas and Israel ceasefire - has cast doubt on the United States' cherished role as the grandmaster of the Middle East chessboard. It may be too early to call the Middle East the graveyard of Pax Americana, but it will be up to the possible Barack Obama administration to ensure the American voice is heard again in the region, not due to fear of attack but respect for its wisdom. - Sreeram Chaulia (Jun 19, '08)

Presidential apology falls short
South Korea's President Lee Myung-bak issued another apology to his people on Thursday in the face of protests over the import of beef from the United States and a free-trade accord with Washington. Saying "I'm sorry", though, won't magically make the problem go away. - Donald Kirk (Jun 19, '08)

The rise of another Red army
Since the Tiananmen protests in 1989, the overhauled People's Liberation Army has been reluctant to be the main arm called on to enforce domestic stability in China. This has become the duty of the People's Armed Police, an 800,000-strong force that some call the Communist Party's "army". Besides enforcing social order, the police are also known to preserve the power of some party officials - incompetent, corrupt or otherwise. (Jun 19, '08)

Doubting donors withhold Myanmar aid
One month into the Cyclone Nargis internationalized relief effort, there are growing signs that Myanmar's military junta has reneged on its promises to better address the humanitarian crisis, raising difficult questions about whether the international community should meet the junta's request for US$11.7 billion to rebuild and rehabilitate disaster-hit areas. - Brian McCartan (Jun 19, '08)

A world still half red
The not-long-ago political atlas that had half the world tinted communist red has reversed - drastically. Today, the capitalist Cold War victors would be filled in red, denoting their crushing public and private debt. Their former adversaries would be green, representing healthy economies and swollen foreign exchange reserves. - Julian Delasantellis

G-8 fails to sound the charge
Leading finance ministers and central bankers last week failed to come up with any worthwhile public response to the deepening global economic crisis. Evident to all, the source of instability is the US, finger-pointing by its Treasury secretary Henry Paulson notwithstanding. - John Browne

Guns blight US energy choices
The United States, noted for losing low-skilled jobs to developing countries, has ceded the ground to Europe and Japan in higher-level manufacturing, notably in the sustainable-energy sector. That flows from the Pentagon draining engineering, scientific and business talent that could otherwise develop technologies that would help the country avoid economic and environmental collapse.

Gulf eyes oil-for-food pacts
Persian Gulf countries, rich in oil but short of arable territory, are looking to invest in agricultural land abroad, such as in Asia, to secure food resources. That could benefit all parties, though domestic shortages, inflation and politics in the food-exporting countries could change the equation, as could oil-price swings.

'President' Larijani: A star is born
Thanks to the patronage of Iranian heavyweights like Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ali Larijani, the speaker of Iran's parliament, is the man most likely to challenge President Mahmud Ahmadinejad in elections next year. Unless, that is, Ahmadinejad can reverse his sliding fortunes by turning the economy around. - Sami Moubayed (Jun 20, '08)

INTERVIEW
Iran and religious diplomacy
Bishop John Bryson Chane
The world isn't experiencing a clash of civilizations, it is witnessing the beginning of a "dance" in which civilizations are finding each other for the first time, says Chane, the Episcopal bishop of Washington and a leading voice of religious diplomacy, notably with Iran. His efforts have been called naive, but he tells Kaveh L Afrasiabi he feels "extravagantly unique new ways of diplomacy are being discovered with religion playing a key part". (Jun 20, '08)

'Breakthrough' in Iraq pact
Although no details have emerged, United States and Iraqi negotiators say they have made a breakthrough in talks for a pact to provide a legal basis for the future presence of US troops in Iraq. Opponents of such an accord, notably Shi'ite cleric Muqtada Sadr, could yet have the last word. (Jun 20, '08)

New Delhi airport, what a zoo
"This is your captain speaking: there will be a three-hour delay in our arrival in New Delhi because the runway is invested with meter-long lizards, antelope and hyenas." If such an in-flight announcement seems silly, you haven't flown into the Indian capital recently. New construction has moved an odd menagerie of critters to the airstrips, where they are clawing into flight schedules. - Neeta Lal (Jun 20, '08)

US election looms over US-China talks
Although Beijing and Washington ended the fourth session of US Treasury secretary Hank Paulson's "strategic economic dialogue" with significant agreements, the high-level talks may be equally noteworthy for what they didn't do. Specifically, to address an "undervalued" Chinese currency or consider the consequences should a US presidential candidate begin blaming China for America's economic woes. - Jing-dong Yuan (Jun 23, '08)

A window into Gaza
The border crossing into Gaza might officially be open, but Israeli officials are very picky over who they allow through their fancy steel and glass Erez checkpoint. Simon Allison didn't pass muster, but from the confines of a holding pen he was able to gauge the likelihood of Israel's ceasefire with Hamas lasting, thanks to tell-tale bullet holes in windows. (Jun 23, '08)

DISPATCHES FROM AMERICA
No blood for ... er ... um ...
Finally, after all the blood, American and Iraqi, that has been spilled, here comes the oil. ExxonMobil, Shell, Total and BP are expected to win no-bid contracts to service Iraq's oil fields. It's the sort of thing that could make suspicious Arabs even more so and give a new life to some really dumb slogans in the United States. But sometimes, if you're an oil giant, you just have to bite the bullet. - Tom Engelhardt (Jun 23, '08)

‘Israel Gets a Pass’ Mosaic’s Jamal Dajani points out that while President Bush recently likened diplomacy to “appeasement,” the government of Israel has been cutting deals with two of its sworn enemies: Hezbollah and Hamas.

Israel’s New Diplomacy Needs Palestinians' New Unity by Rami G. Khouri
Good news in the simultaneous Israeli negotiations with Syria, Hamas, Hizbullah, and with the Palestinian Authority – not to mention Israel’s offer to negotiate directly with Lebanon. But beware simplistic or extreme interpretations.
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Israel’s Reckless Incitement of War against Iran by Patrick Seale
As it did for the destruction of Iraq, so Israel is pressing for the destruction of Iran – persisting in seeing its ultimate long-term security in terms of military domination over the region, rather than in comprehensive peace with its neighbours.
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Washington’s Grim Performance in the Middle East by Rami G. Khouri
The list of American foreign policy failures and weaknesses in the Middle East is long, and grim.
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Pakistan calls the shots
Washington's grand plan for a compliant Pakistani government and military is in tatters, and its carrot of economic aid may no longer be enough to secure Islamabad's cooperation in the "war on terror" against the Taliban, with dire consequences. - Syed Saleem Shahzad (Jun 24, '08)

SUN WUKONG
A president logs on
With an opening offer of "sincere greetings", President Hu Jintao last week became the first Chinese leader to join a debate in a public Internet chatroom. It may not be a coincidence that Hu's cheery online cameo came against the choppy backdrop of bloggers unhappy about Beijing's moves in the East China Sea. - Wu Zhong (Jun 24, '08)

India takes glacier politics to new high
By embarking on a series of civilian and military mountaineering treks to the Siachen Glacier, India is reasserting its claim over a high-altitude swath of its tri-junction with Pakistan and China. But Siachen has been hotly contested for decades and the intrepid expeditions could aggravate an icy stalemate atop the Himalayas. - Sudha Ramachandran (Jun 24, '08)

A secret US handshake with Pyongyang
The announcement by United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that North Korea will this week release a complete account of its nuclear activities has raised suspicions about Washington's over-eagerness to accommodate Pyongyang, and what else may have been promised, and at what cost. - Ralph A Cossa (Jun 24, '08)

US cautious over N Korea disclosure (AFP)

Freedom to kill in East Timor
East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta's decision to grant early release to 94 criminals, including Joni Marques, a notorious militia leader found guilty of torture and murder, has brought the impoverished and restive country to the boil. The move also clouds Ramos-Horta's bid to become the United Nations' next high commissioner for human rights. - Jesse Wright (Jun 24, '08)

Israel’s New Diplomacy Needs Palestinians' New Unity by Rami G. Khouri
Good news in the simultaneous Israeli negotiations with Syria, Hamas, Hizbullah, and with the Palestinian Authority – not to mention Israel’s offer to negotiate directly with Lebanon. But beware simplistic or extreme interpretations.
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The US War of Ideas at Home by Rami G. Khouri
The American political process of self-criticism is one reason millions want to emigrate to the United States -- and why we have few reports of young men or entire families trying to sneak into, say, Egypt, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Iran or Algeria.
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Israel’s Reckless Incitement of War against Iran by Patrick Seale
As it did for the destruction of Iraq, so Israel is pressing for the destruction of Iran – persisting in seeing its ultimate long-term security in terms of military domination over the region, rather than in comprehensive peace with its neighbours.
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Washington’s Grim Performance in the Middle East by Rami G. Khouri
The list of American foreign policy failures and weaknesses in the Middle East is long, and grim.
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China and Taiwan off to a flying start
The agreement between China and Taiwan to establish direct air links breaks an atmosphere of mistrust that has festered for 15 years. This is only a small step. The difficult part will be to stabilize relations through further broadening and deepening cooperation in a variety of fields. (Jun 25, '08)

Japan, through the US looking glass
After shaping itself to the American model for 50 years, Japan now sees the US's plummeting prestige and economic problems and wonders if it hasn't gone down a rabbit hole. This is the wonderland world of contemporary Japanese politics in which conservatives are really radicals, those with a pro-US bent are nationalists and revising the pro-US constitution may be the only way to put the nation back together again. - Gavan McCormack (Jun 25, '08)

Winning Hong Kong hearts
The surge of Chinese nationalism is rapidly spreading to Hong Kong, where a recent poll shows that 58% of residents now identify themselves as "Chinese" or "Chinese Hong Kong citizens". But the growing patriotism prompts fears for Hong Kong's press freedom. - Augustine Tan (Jun 25, '08)

US pushes Iraqi Shi'ites closer to Iran
Beyond the issue of permanent United States bases in Iraq, the Shi'ite government of Nuri al-Maliki objects to a new security agreement with Washington on the grounds that it does not guarantee Iraq against foreign aggression. The Shi'ites fear possible US collaboration with Sunni Arab regimes to try to overthrow their administration, a fear that pushes them closer to Iran. - Gareth Porter (Jun 25, '08)

Neo-con redux?
There's a mini revival of the neo-conservatives in the United States as they attempt to put the record straight about their policies that led to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the alliance with Pakistan. By contrast, the presidential hopefuls, Barack Obama and John McCain, are silent on key issues in these countries at a time the US's interests are under threat. - Ehsan Ahrari (Jun 25, '08)

US helps Thailand rub out fake passports
United States security agents have joined their Thai counterparts to break counterfeiting rings producing passports and other documents in Thailand. The US fears the gangs may have done business with al-Qaeda and other terrorists, but new laws and technology are aimed to crack down on the rampant underground trade. - Richard Ehrlich (Jun 25, '08)

More cracks in Abdullah's crumbling facade
Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi's administration managed to ride out the widespread public ire over the removal of fuel subsidies. Now members of parliament from two key energy producing states are threatening to defect from Abdullah's ruling coalition. It is not a hammer blow yet, but it is a situation ripe for opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim to exploit. - Anil Netto (Jun 25, '08)

Islamabad blinks at Taliban threat
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization's response to the consolidation of the Taliban in Kandahar and Khost provinces in Afghanistan is to squeeze the supply lines of the militants across the border in Pakistan. Islamabad, in the face of a startling show of strength by the Taliban this week, is reluctant to play along. - Syed Saleem Shahzad (Jun 27, '08)

US and China go bump in the Middle East
From Washington's perspective, Beijing's technical cooperation on Iran's civilian nuclear program and China's continued attempts to deflect pressure on Iran over its nuclear dossier are most troubling. For the Chinese, they are simply following their own agenda. (Jun 27, '08)

ASIA HAND
Vietnam's reforms on the line

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung's inability to rein in inflation and calm market jitters provides a wide opening for conservative elements in the ruling party to make a case against the premier. Some influential party factions, alienated by Dung's non-consensual leadership style, can now raise the bogey of social unrest to challenge the premier. At stake are ambitious economic and financial liberalization initiatives, including more openness to foreign investors. - Shawn W Crispin (Jun 27, '08)

Uncle Sam's cyber force wants you
In the latest plan of the the United States military to garrison cyberspace, the air force has set up a Cyber Command and launched its own George W Bush-style US$30-billion pre-emptive strike that will, theoretically, provide the air force with the ability to fry any computer in the world. - William J Astore (Jun 27, '08)

Huge case backlog clogs India's courts
A massive shortage of qualified judges has brought the Indian judiciary to a virtual standstill and tens of millions are waiting for justice. Meager salaries, such as the chief justice's US$800 monthly pay, have also led to widespread bribery and political interference, with 77% of Indians believing their court system is corrupt. - Neeta Lal (Jun 27, '08)

Got A Plan for Zimbabwe? I Don't | Mugabe's Zimbabwe is a perfect case study of why "regime change" is bad foreign policy.
Robert Dreyfuss

Jizya, Jihad, and the Murder of Archbishop Rahho
Andrew G. Bostom
The New York Times (June 26, 2008) has published a somber account of the recent murder of Iraqi Archbishop Rahho, and how the Iraqi Christian population has been subjected to the full recrudescence of dhimmitude More

Why Shakir Can't Read
Helen Cadogan
I was talking to a friend the other day who teaches at an elementary school and has a student whom I shall name Shakir. More

Culturecide of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Amil Imani
The Islamist zealots ruling Iran for the past 30 years have undertaken a systematic campaign of endangering and destroying the cultural sites of pre-Islamic Iran. More

Sarkozy’s Straight Talk Is Promising by Patrick Seale
Nicolas Sarkozy might be the leader Europe and the Middle East have been waiting for, who could rally the world behind a genuine peace effort.
more...

Pragmatism Trumps Ideology by Peter Kwong
China’s rapprochement with her two longtime hostile neighbors, Taiwan and Japan, is promising to reshape the political dynamics in the Pacific Rim.
more...

The US War of Ideas at Home by Rami G. Khouri
The American political process of self-criticism is one reason millions want to emigrate to the United States -- and why we have few reports of young men or entire families trying to sneak into, say, Egypt, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Iran or Algeria.
more...

Israel’s New Diplomacy Needs Palestinians' New Unity by Rami G. Khouri
Good news in the simultaneous Israeli negotiations with Syria, Hamas, Hizbullah, and with the Palestinian Authority – not to mention Israel’s offer to negotiate directly with Lebanon. But beware simplistic or extreme interpretations.
more...

Israel’s Reckless Incitement of War against Iran by Patrick Seale
As it did for the destruction of Iraq, so Israel is pressing for the destruction of Iran – persisting in seeing its ultimate long-term security in terms of military domination over the region, rather than in comprehensive peace with its neighbours.
more...

A Heated French Debate about Virginity and Marriage by Patrick Seale
France’s Minister of Justice, Rachida Dati, is in the middle of a huge brouhaha involving Muslim immigrants, divorce laws, feminism, virginity, and civil rights.
more...

Washington’s Grim Performance in the Middle East by Rami G. Khouri
The list of American foreign policy failures and weaknesses in the Middle East is long, and grim.
more...

Tehran puts on a show of strength

An Iranian general warns that work has already started on digging 320,000 graves for American soldiers should they fight in Iran. This can be dismissed as just another salvo in the psychological warfare between Tehran and Washington. But should the United States find a pretext - such as Iran being goaded into blockading the Strait of Hormuz - and the real bullets start flying, Iran can be expected to be prepared. - Sami Moubayed (Jul 1, '08)

'Weak' Iran ripe to be attacked
A new line of thinking being put forward by influential analysts in the US suggests that Iran should be attacked not because it is a threat, but for precisely the opposite reason. Far from being an "existential threat" to Israel, it is at present weak and has limited capability to retaliate to a US or Israeli attack on its nuclear facilities. - Gareth Porter (Jul 1, '08)

Does Iran have Bush over a barrel?
Last month's US$11 one-day spike in oil prices is the most spectacular suggestion yet of a relationship between threats against Iran and the price of oil. With three out of four voters in the United States saying gas prices will be "very important" in deciding who they vote for in November's presidential elections, this could be a deciding factor in the George W Bush administration taking an attack on Iran "off the table". - Jim Lobe (Jul 1, '08)

Tolerance test for secular Indonesia
Hardline Muslims are confronting moderates over the existence of Ahmadiyya, a 100-year-old sect in Indonesia that does not accept Mohammad as the last prophet of Islam. Religiously moderate President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his government are caught in the middle, and it is a campaign season in which conservative religious groups have clout. - Tom McCawley (Jul 1, '08)

SUN WUKONG
Name game grounds
cross-strait ties
Direct flights will begin this week across the Taiwan Strait, but decades of political wrangling have placed turbulence in the path of more progress. As long as China and Taiwan remain at odds over the "one-China policy", political ties will remain on the ground, no matter how many tourists cross the strait. - Wu Zhong (Jul 1, '08)

India hurt by torture claims
A first-ever nationwide assessment has found that the use of torture is blatant and widespread in India's prisons and police custody, with an average of four persons dying each day. In the broader sense, says the report, torture reduces the effectiveness of the country's counter-insurgency operations. - Neeta Lal (Jul 1, '08)

KEBABBLE
Turkish cleric offers
food for thought
Thanks to a late surge of votes from his countrymen, Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen beat out Mario Vargas Llosa, the Peruvian novelist, and chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov, to win a British magazine poll to name the world's number one intellectual. Gulen's popularity in Turkey is already immense and now his message of tolerance and understanding may start to reach the world. - Fazile Zahir (Jul 1, '08)

CHINA'S MASSIVE WRENCH, Part 1
Change in the face of foreign devils

In the 150 years since China faced the "foreign devils from the ocean" during the Opium Wars, its complex cultural values have been under constant attack, never more so than in the past three decades. And it is yielding. Millions of little "emperors" have changed the fabric of society, and Communist Party leaders, embracing the notions of change and development, accept the role that sport and, crucially, religion can play in molding a new nation. - Francesco Sisci (Jul 2, '08)
This is the first part of a two-part essay.
Turkey rocked by arrests
A wave of arrests of prominent persons, including two retired generals, allegedly linked to a nationalist conspiracy to unseat the government has jolted Turkey, just as a constitutional court is to decide on the political fate of the ruling party. - David Barchard (Jul 2, '08)

Seoul's summer of discontent
Labor leaders and protest organizers have vowed to continue their months-long fight over the import of US beef into South Korea, even as President Lee Myung-bak pleads with the nation to work together to overcome the crisis. - Donald Kirk (Jul 2, '08)

Iran willing to talk
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki is in New York to bolster Iran's embattled diplomacy. Mottaki has sounded off on issues ranging from the "Iran Six" and Israel to Tehran's involvement in Iraq. Ultimately, he hinted at his own flexibility by stating "the first word a diplomat learns is compromise". - Kaveh L Afrasiabi (Jul 2, '08)

Japan enters a new space age
Under a new law, Japan can now manufacture and operate its own satellites to support its terrestrial military operations, including ballistic missile defense. While a giant step forward for Japan, the development does not guarantee closer cooperation between Tokyo and Washington in their civil and defense space activities. (Jul 2, '08)

CHINA'S MASSIVE WRENCH, Part 1
Change in the face of foreign devils

In the 150 years since China faced the "foreign devils from the ocean" during the Opium Wars, its complex cultural values have been under constant attack, never more so than in the past three decades. And it is yielding. Millions of little "emperors" have changed the fabric of society, and Communist Party leaders, embracing the notions of change and development, accept the role that sport and, crucially, religion can play in molding a new nation. - Francesco Sisci (Jul 2, '08)
This is the first part of a two-part essay.

Foreign Policy Advisory Index by The National Interest Thursday’s Latest: Is Tony Lake our newest neocon? With his support of a league of democracies, it looks like Obama may not be the cooperative dream everyone was expecting.

Prospects for the Syrian-Israeli Talks by Patrick Seale
It remains to be seen how far Syria can afford to advance in its bilateral negotiations with Israel in the absence of serious progress towards Palestinian statehood.
more...

Winds of Diplomacy by Rami G. Khouri
For the United States or Israel to attack Iran now seems unlikely given the blossoming diplomacy with Israel on several fronts, and the likely downshift of the US occupation of Iraq. A cost-benefit analysis favors diplomacy.
more...

When the Tough Decide to Become Diplomatic by Immanuel Wallerstein
Tough lines work if you have the power to enforce them. Diplomacy is something forced upon the stronger party in a two-way conflict. The United States in North Korea and the Israelis in Gaza/Palestine and Lebanon are now learning that -- a bit late.
more...

Bush's Last Fourth by Wm. Scott Harrop and R. K. Ramazani
On his last Fourth of July as president, George Bush speaks from Thomas Jefferson’s home, Monticello, as perhaps the least Jeffersonian president in US history -- having no regard for “the opinions of mankind.”
more...

Pretzels and Policies with Mohammad Khatami by Rami G. Khouri
A conversation with former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami shows, perhaps, a popular sentiment among Iranians for peaceful dialogue, and coming to equitable terms with the West and other Middle East nations.
more...

Sarkozy’s Straight Talk Is Promising by Patrick Seale
Nicolas Sarkozy might be the leader Europe and the Middle East have been waiting for, who could rally the world behind a genuine peace effort.
more...

Pragmatism Trumps Ideology by Peter Kwong
China’s rapprochement with her two longtime hostile neighbors, Taiwan and Japan, is promising to reshape the political dynamics in the Pacific Rim.
more...

Militancy and Defiance in the Real Middle East by Rami G. Khouri
Large numbers of Arabs, Iranians and Turks -- hundreds of millions of people -- have shed their legacy of passive acquiescence in their own suffering, weakness, marginalization and victimization.
more...

Prospects for the Syrian-Israeli Talks by Patrick Seale
It remains to be seen how far Syria can afford to advance in its bilateral negotiations with Israel in the absence of serious progress towards Palestinian statehood.
more...

Bush's Last Fourth by Wm. Scott Harrop and R. K. Ramazani
On his last Fourth of July as president, George Bush speaks from Thomas Jefferson’s home, Monticello, as perhaps the least Jeffersonian president in US history -- having no regard for “the opinions of mankind.”
more...

When the Tough Decide to Become Diplomatic by Immanuel Wallerstein
Tough lines work if you have the power to enforce them. Diplomacy is something forced upon the stronger party in a two-way conflict. The United States in North Korea and the Israelis in Gaza/Palestine and Lebanon are now learning that -- a bit late.
more...

Winds of Diplomacy by Rami G. Khouri
For the United States or Israel to attack Iran now seems unlikely given the blossoming diplomacy with Israel on several fronts, and the likely downshift of the US occupation of Iraq. A cost-benefit analysis favors diplomacy.
more...

Pretzels and Policies with Mohammad Khatami by Rami G. Khouri
A conversation with former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami shows, perhaps, a popular sentiment among Iranians for peaceful dialogue, and coming to equitable terms with the West and other Middle East nations.
more...

Sarkozy’s Straight Talk Is Promising by Patrick Seale
Nicolas Sarkozy might be the leader Europe and the Middle East have been waiting for, who could rally the world behind a genuine peace effort.
more...

Iran takes off on a goodwill mission

Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad takes center stage in Malaysia this week at a summit of the Group of Eight Islamic developing countries. It is an opportunity for Tehran to promote its global agricultural and energy aid programs, which it hopes will convince the Group of Eight nations, meeting in Tokyo simultaneously, to "look at Iran through a different lens". The fate of United States-Iran diplomacy is on the line. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi (Jul 7, '08)

Bush carves out a legacy in Asia
With President George W Bush's "war on terror" mostly discredited, it is in Asia where the United States, instead of being rendered a sub-theme to China's historic rise, is totting up success stories, from North Korea to a potential breakthrough in India-Pakistan ties. - M K Bhadrakumar (Jul 7, '08)

SPENGLER
America's special grace
To much of the world, America is the source of the plague of globalization, the bane of the environment and the perpetrator of imperial adventures. To hundreds of millions of others it is an object of special grace - as in the grace by which God redeems, sanctifies and glorifies his people. Whether one subscribes to the concept or not, America is one of world's great dividing lines, perhaps its most important. (Jul 7, '08)

The great Beijing-Brussels disconnect
The friendship between China and the European Union looks great on paper. But just as Brussels says ties with Beijing are heading to the "next level", Europe's trade deficit with China is growing at the rate of US$23.5 million per hour and the EU looks foolish juggling incongruous China policies on behalf of its 27 member states. - Axel Berkofsky (Jul 7, '08)

CAMPAIGN OUTSIDER
Running away from themselves
Republican Senator John McCain and Democrat Senator Barack Obama have changed their minds on several issues as they spar in the US presidential race. Obama faces questions about migrating to the center, prompting countercharges that McCain is moving right. Both no