The Insolent Ally

With our guns and money, we have suspended the feuds of Afghanistan. When we truly pack up our gear, the hard truth of that country will win out. The warlords and the vultures will take what they can and leave the place to darkness and ruin, writes Fouad Ajami Read Here – Bloomberg

Rate this:

Look Who’s Looking West…

With the United States bogged down by economic troubles at home, wriggling to organize its departure from Afghanistan and grappling with a variety of crises in the Middle East, it comes as no surprise that China is using the opportunity to invest considerable time and money into reviving the so-called Silk Road. Read Here – RealClearWorld

Rate this:

The Great Shia-Sunni Divide

In addition to concerns about sectarian tensions, concerns about religious extremism in general also are widespread in the countries surveyed, with about two-thirds of all Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan, half of all Muslims in Lebanon and roughly a quarter of all Muslims in Iran expressing worry about radical religious groups. Read Here – Pew […]

Rate this:

Cutting Back Is Inevitable

American defense planners therefore need to accept the obvious: budget cuts are here to stay. The time to plan for cutbacks and start reshaping the military was two years ago, when the writing was already on the wall. Since that never happened, the government must catch up fast. Read Here – Foreign Affairs

Rate this:

Romance And Realism

American policymakers have maintained that a strong India – working in close cooperation with the United States – is good for America and the world. Yet, divergent approaches to some key international issues have risen to the fore. New Delhi and Washington have differed, for instance, over whether to apply additional sanctions on Iran in […]

Rate this:

The Paranoia Of The House Of Saud

The House of Saud‘s nightmare is amplified by paranoia. After all those warnings by King Abdullah for Washington to cut “the head of the snake” (Iran), as immortalized on WikiLeaks cables; after all those supplications for the US to bomb Syria, install a no-fly zone and/or weaponize the “rebels” to kingdom come, this is what […]

Rate this:

China’s Road To Central Asia

In an unprecedented tour also locking in energy deals with Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia, Xi has consolidated Chinese power in Central Asia as Beijing looks to reconfigure its economy based on cleaner, more diversified energy sources amid rising overall demand for fuels. But the impacts are expected to reach much farther and wider than […]

Rate this:

War For Pakistan’s Soul

The twin suicide bombings of a church congregation in Peshawar on Sunday have brutally dispelled the naive optimism of Pakistan, a country that believed Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister, when he campaigned to “give peace a chance” in May’s general election. Read Here – The National, Abu Dhabi

Rate this: