The vacuums left by the United States have benefited the most violent and sectarian elements of the region, fueling civil conflict and allowing the Islamic State to expand its territorial reach. Although al Qaeda in Iraq was defeated, the failure to address the country’s underlying issues allowed IS — the son of AQI — to […]
For the past eight decades Saudi Arabia has been careful. Using its vast oil wealth, it’s quietly spread its ultra-conservative brand of Islam throughout the Muslim world, secretly undermined secular regimes in its region, and prudently kept to the shadows while others did the fighting and dying. It was Saudi money that fueled the Mujahedeen in […]
Persuading Pakistan to rein in its nuclear weapons program should be an international priority. The major world powers spent two years negotiating an agreement to restrain the nuclear ambitions of Iran, which doesn’t have a single nuclear weapon. Yet there has been no comparable investment of effort in Pakistan, which, along with India, has […]
It was the 80 seconds China and Taiwan had waited almost 70 years for. Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Taiwanese counterpart, Ma Ying-jeou, smiled in dark suits –Xi wearing a Communist red tie, Ma, a Nationalist blue one — as they shook hands for more than a minute before hundreds of reporters in Singapore. The […]
A rare occasion on which Xi Jinping, Barack Obama and Ma Ying-Jeou agree is about to take place in Singapore, as the meeting between Xi and Ma is intended to balance the growing “independence” sentiment in Taiwan, something that is bothering all three political leaders; for different reasons. Read Here – China Daily
Far from the South China Sea’s unfolding turbulence, the calmer waters of the Indian Ocean are witnessing a more subtle geopolitical power play, in which China is losing its leverage over Sri Lanka to the United States. The shift comes amid a raging domestic debate in the strategically located island nation over the investigation of atrocities […]
Without Congressional permission, public debate, or any attempt to rally the American public’s support, President Obama has ordered U.S. ground troops to a war zone, his most flagrantly unconstitutional war-making since he unlawfully helped to overthrow Muammar al-Qaddafi. Read Here – The Atlantic
While economics works well between China and the United Kingdom, it is a tricky diplomatic route for Cameron and he will have to ensure that his newfound bonhomie with Xi doesn’t make the old ally in Washington too nervous. He will have to carefully walk the fine line between keeping old, historic ties in place […]
It now appears that — barring some truly exceptional circumstances — Barack Obama has made his last decision regarding Afghanistan as president of the United States. The current force of about 10,000 U.S. service members will remain through the end of 2016, when it will quickly draw down to a force of about 5,500. The […]
At HSBC’s global investment seminar in New York last week, some of the top strategists from Europe’s largest bank laid out their outlook for global markets and economies. Many strategists are not expecting the current recovery from the financial crisis to be as impressive as what has come before, while some investors aren’t expecting double-digit […]
looking beyond borders 