The Conflict Between Democratic Decison-Making and Representative Government in Pakistan
July 2, 2010 5 min. read

Given the latest news of the strategic suicide bombing in Lahore, it’s important that we think hard about what we are fighting for in Pakistan. We need to ask: What is the U.S. fighting for in Pakistan?  What is Pakistan fighting for? An answer to either question is not readily available.  Perhaps neither question is […]

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Russia's Seven-Up Spies Show the KGB's Decline
July 2, 2010 3 min. read

As soon as the Russian spy scandal broke, commentators rushed to lazy pop cultural comparisons: James Bond, the novels of John le Carre, the BBC TV series Spooks. Yet no one seemed to mention the one bit of TV that the operation truly resembles (in structure and scope, not in success of execution): Michael Apted’s […]

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Working Around The Lump
July 1, 2010 3 min. read

A clandestine meeting between top Israeli and Turkish officials highlights a major obstacle in Israel’s foreign policy — namely, the irrelevance of Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. Following reported pressure from U.S. President Barack Obama, Israeli Industry, Trade, and Labor Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer (a top adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu) met Turkish Foreign Minister […]

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Jamaat Leaders Arrested, BNP Demands Their Release
July 1, 2010 2 min. read

Jamaat-e-Islami, the Islamist political party that entered into coalition with the BNP during its previous turn in power, has seen better days.  The three top leaders of the party were arrested this week on charges of hurting the sentiments of Muslims. This has all come about because another Bangladeshi religious group filed charges against Jamaat […]

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Political Assassinations Further Turmoil in Iraq
July 1, 2010 2 min. read

Deadlocked efforts to resolve Iraq’s governing crisis nearly four months after parliamentary elections failed to produce decisive results, are at the heart of this current wave of political violence.

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World Cup Day 21: Monkeys! On Rooftops!
July 1, 2010 3 min. read

I’m fighting off a cold, which is a bit of a bummer, as colds while travelling, even on long trips where you settle into a real life model at least a little, seem worse than colds at home. It is not bad enough to keep me from living my life (or to excuse me from […]

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World Cup Day 20: Border Crossings
July 1, 2010 4 min. read

I crossed the border with Mark into Zeerust Wednesday. Zeerust is a medium sized town, by the standards of rural North West province a small city, that serves as the shopping and banking and service center for the larger region, including many Gabaroneans like my friend who find Zeerust to be cheaper and more abundant […]

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Indian-Americans and Bilateral Relations
July 1, 2010 6 min. read

The growing prominence of Indian-Americans has been an important but under-noticed factor in bilateral relations.

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Ashton on East Jerusalem: Settlements and demolitions of homes are illegal under international law
July 1, 2010 2 min. read

It is not the first time that the EU’s High Representative has spoken candidly on the subject of Israeli settlement construction in East Jerusalem. Indeed, Ashton remarked in her maiden speech as the EU’s foreign policy chief that “East Jerusalem is occupied territory, together with the West Bank.”   Needless to say the remark caused […]

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The Roots of Madness (1967)
July 1, 2010 1 min. read

A documentary on the political history of modern China, produced by the C.I.A circa 1967. It’s definitely worth a look. The link is here, if the flash player isnt working for you. (H/T Henry Hoyle)

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Politics in Bangladesh: A Month in Review
June 30, 2010 3 min. read

The current government of Bangladesh should be congratulated for maintaining some modicum of restraint and dignity, relative to its predecessor governments. It has managed macro-economic policy to the extent that over the last year a series of macro-economic reports for different sectors have trended positive. The central government’s plan to take over recruitment and management […]

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Tune in to the hearing
June 30, 2010 1 min. read

Now, here: http://agriculture.house.gov/hearings/audio.html.

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