I apologize for my absence as I’ve been in the middle of an apartment move that made me wish I was literally in a ‘graveyard of empires’. But now I’m nearly settled, the internet now is internetting effectively, and we can get back to all things Afghanistan shortly. During the past week of moving mayhem, […]
With elections to the Iraqi Parliament looming on the horizon (set for March 7, 2010), my next few posts will focus on aspects of political parties, security, terrorism and government responsibility for peacekeeping. The more we as Americans know about the parties running, what they stand for and the chances that security can ensure a […]
Egypt has won the Africa Cup of Nations on a header in the 85th minute. They have become the first-ever nation to win the tournament three times in a rown, having taken the cup when they hosted in 2006 and in Ghana in 2008. This was Egypt’s World Cup, since they did not qualify for South […]
Ok. It is official. There are more urgent matters than mediating between Israel and its neighbors. For ten years now, the U.S. has exercised little to no pressure on Israel to go back to the negotiations table. During the Bush years, we witnessed absolute disengagement of the U.S. from the so-called peace process. During the […]
“Bailiffs and riot police had been ordered to evict scores of people and tear down their homes, all apparently unannounced”, reports Al Jazeera, describing a scene familiar to anyone who has followed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “The bulldozers continued their work,”, continues the BBC, “tearing through the walls and windows of homes, turning them into piles […]
As most of you know, on the eve of this year’s Africa Cup of Nations football tournament the team from Togo faced the unimaginable when their bus was shot at by rebels seeking independence for Cabinda. Naturally, after suffering death, injury, and considerable emotional trauma Togo chose to withdraw from the tournament. Well, the tone […]
Last week the Venezuelan government cut off six cable TV stations, citing a failure to comply with regulations. These stations included Radio Caracas Television (RCTV), a channel known for opposing the administration of Hugo Chávez. RCTV had already lost its ability to broadcast on a public channel in 2007, but remained available to cable subscribers […]
The Obama administration responded twice on the Middle East peace process, a day after the State of the Union that omitted any reference to Israel, the Palestinians or the peace negotiations, an issue the administration has spent considerable effort and time on over the last year. A state department spokesperson was asked about the omission […]
In the midst of the tragedy of the earthquake in Haiti, China has given the international community a glimpse of its humanitarian spirit. The Chinese government wasted no time in dispatching a team of 15 rescuers along with several millions of dollars in aid, and later sent 45 or so medical staff. At the same […]
“If Putin says he’s against ‘Ukrainianization,’ you can translate that as meaning he opposes media freedom and real elections,” says Boris Nemtsov, a liberal politician. He was reacting to Putin’s recent statement that ‘We must continuously think about improving our political system… but we must act with extreme caution [and] not allow our political culture […]
Henry Hoyle, the China Blogger here at FPA, has a great post up about a grand rapprochement between Japan and China in 2010. He is certainly not alone in wondering what might come of a more robust bilateral relationship. Speculation of a so-called “grand rapprochement” is pervasive, as many are eager determine how, and by […]
Human Rights Watch has long criticized Israel for violations, including actions related to Operation Cast Lead and the imprisonment of certain Palestinians. And this criticism has led some to criticized the group for one-sidedness. However, the group just refuted an assertion from Hamas that the terror organization’s rocket targeted soldiers only and inadvertently struck civilians. […]
Popular from Press
