All Commentaries
Picture Obama Authorizing a Nuclear Attack
When it comes to who to retaliate against and how, a nuclear-terror attack presents an almost insoluble dilemma.
The Red Mosque Was Pakistan’s Waco
You wouldn’t be surprised that the Ghazi force, and not the Taliban, are behind recent attacks in Pakistan’s capital city if you knew the story of the Red Mosque and its late leader.
The Land Where Theories of Warfare Go to Die: Obama, Petraeus, and the Cult of COIN in Afghanistan
In December, when Obama decided (for the second time in 2009) to add tens of thousands of additional American forces to the war, he also slapped an 18-month deadline on the military to turn the situation around and begin handing security over to the bedraggled Afghan National Army and police. Speaking to the nation from West Point, Obama said that he’d ordered American forces to start withdrawing from Afghanistan at that time.
Patraeus Circles Two Camps
Nearly a week after the abrupt departure of Washington’s top commander in Afghanistan, United States strategy for reversing the flood of bad news that has been recently pouring out of that strife-torn country remains as unclear as ever.
The Scramble for East Africa
The East African Community has accelerated negotiations with Europe for an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). The race is on for negotiators and lobbyists to either let Europe in or keep it out. And so far, influential EPA advocates are in the lead, according to Yash Tandon, former head of the South Centre and critic of African EPAs with Europe. As corporate proponents advance the trade deal, negotiations threaten East African unity at a critical time in its still early development.
Friday Fun: Imams Gone Wild
The breast-feeding fatwa may have made a laughingstock of the sheik who issued it. But it’s indicative of the strange ways in which the minds of male theologians of all religions work.
What Effect Will Resignation of Iran Hard-Liner Have on IAEA?
Former IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei saw it as part of his mission to keep the West from Iran’s throat. Does new Director-General Amano share his agenda?
Move the Money, Starve the Empire
June 26 may have been the last day of the U.S. Social Forum (USSF) in Detroit, but it might very well be the emergence of a more powerful antiwar movement in this country.
How the World’s Poorest Could Lose Out Again
At its London Summit in April 2009, the Group of 20 (G20) committed to “mitigate the social impact of the crisis to minimize long-lasting damage to global potential” for the most vulnerable citizens who had no hand in creating the global economic crisis. These world leaders — who represent 85 percent of global economic output — promised a total of $1.1 trillion to developing countries, 5 percent of which was committed to low-income countries. More than a year later, at their third post-crisis summit, the G20 continues to foster recovery in high and middle-income countries, but the world’s poorest suffer in economic anonymity.
Here We Go With the Pallets of Cash Again (Remember Paul Bremer?)
On the heels of the firing of Gen. McChrystal, the $3 billion in cash openly flown out of Kabul International Airport in the past three years provides further impetus for the drawdown of our troops from Afghanistan.