President Obama has given formal assurances that U.S. forces in Iraq will drop to 50,000 by the end of the month – a reduction of 94,000 troops since he took office 18 months ago. The remaining troops will form a transitional force until a final U.S. withdrawal from the country by the end of 2011. […]
Polling results released this past Friday showed the Workers Party’s (PT) Dilma Rousseff leading José Serra – her main challenger from Brazil’s Social Democrat Party (PSDB) – by a margin of 5-8 points. The results mark the first time that most polls decisively show Lula’s chosen successor ahead of Mr. Serra since the formal election […]
After Faheem poignantly detailed President Karzai’s disapproval of the Wikileaks document leak, we now have Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’ strong reaction from the incident: “I’m not sure anger is the right word. I just — I think mortified, appalled,” Gates said. “And if I’m angry, it is because I believe that this information puts those in Afghanistan […]
In an op-ed published this weekend in the New York Times, Middle East scholar Ephraim Karsh touts a recent poll that found that 71 percent of Arabs are disinterested in the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Karsh makes a great point– apathy towards the Palestinians has existed for decades and is only used by Arab leaders to strengthen […]
Israel is fighting wars on many fronts, waging diplomatic and political battles with its friends and enemies alike. This weekend, a series of Iran-made rockets landed in Israel’s foremost resort town, the Red Sea and the nearby Jordanian city of Aqaba. While no Israelis were injured, a Jordanian taxi driver was killed and several others […]
Telefónica’s Cesar Alierta prepares to challenge Carlos Slims’ plans for Brazil Spain’s Telefónica announced today the successful takeover of leading Brazilian mobile operator Vivo after weeks of strained negotiations with its joint-owner Portugal Telecom (PT). The move will allow Telefónica to merge its fixed landline services with Vivo’s national mobile network and begin offering Brazilian […]
The recent floods in Khyber Pakhtankhwa Province, triggered by unusually heavy monsoon rains, has killed at least 1,100 while another estimated 27,000 are still stranded in their homes, already washed away, wiped away from every map but that of one’s mind. The casualties in Peshawar and the surrounding areas will surely mount in the days […]
On holiday, Comrades! Still there. Will return next week!
Ignacio Coronel Villarreal is described as one of the Sinaloa’s drug syndicates top three. Villarreal, known as “Nacho,” was believed to oversee the Siñaloa group’s operations in the western states of Colima, Nayarit, and Jalisco. He was killed after opening fire on law enforcement, closing in on his hideout in an upscale neighborhood of Guadalajara. […]
During a press conference President Hamid Karzai responded to the WikiLeaks document dump. He took a hard line on Pakistan, though in the language of diplomatic speak. Echoing U.S. Congressional leaders Karzai spoke out against at least one of Afghanistan’s neighbors: A widely run Associated Press piece quotes him: “The international community is here to […]
Zainab Jeewanjee highlights Ambassador Haqqani’s response to the Wikileaks Reports on Charlie Rose. Jeewanjee draws on Hussain Haqqani’s insights to elaborate on his notion that history is to be taken into account, in tandem with ground realities before sensationalizing the Wikileaks story to implicate Pakistan for “not doing enough”.
Apparently Saudi King Abdullah shares my wish for peace. The Saudi King has come to Damascus today in an effort to quell growing tensions over news that Hezbollah members could potentially be indicted by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL). King Abdullah will also be moving on to Beirut sometime friday. The trip is significant […]
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