Can democracy survive 21st century capitalism? In October, the courts of France dismissed a suit by Transparency International (and other plaintiffs) that sought to investigate how three African dictators in Francophone Africa came to possess hundreds of millions of dollars even though the people of their countries were amongst the poorest in the world. The […]
I was impressed with President Obama’s speech at West Point last night. He clearly explained why he was sending an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan, he explained what they would do there, and he explained when they would come home. He also anticipated objections to the troop buildup and responded to them. From a […]
Yesterday, President Obama delivered his much-anticipated Afghan speech. In addition to building the Afghan state and strengthening relations with neighboring countries, the President reiterated that America’s primary goal is to defeat Al Qaeda. To do so, another 30,000 troops have been committed, with a 2011 exit date in place. My viewpoint on the war in […]
One cannot swing a virtual cat this morning without hitting an analysis of Obama’s Afghanistan speech. (I recommend reading Juan Cole, who has posts here, here, and here. Also, Patrick Frost of the Afghanistan Blog shares his thoughts.) In lieu of further commentary, I simply offer you Wednesday Morning Videos: 1) John Norton Moore on […]
The sum of the twelve largest population centers in Afghanistan is 5,649,162—and this is counting rural areas surrounding cities, not just the urban area itself. That total is 21% of the population of Afghanistan (28,150,000). Remind me again how ISAF and NATO forces are supposed to protect the population of Afghanistan by not protecting 80% […]
In 1988, the UN General Assembly expressed deep concern at the pandemic proportions of the AIDS virus, and noting that the World Health Organization (WHO) had declared 1 December 1988 World AIDS Day, the General Assembly thus drafted resolution 43/15. According to UNAIDS estimates, there are now 33.4 million people living with HIV, including 2.1 […]
Things have been difficult for the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), pretty much from the start. The one thing the UN-backed court charged with holding the leadership of the Khmer Rouge responsible for their crimes had going for it was that its first defendant, Kaing Guek Eav, better known by his nom de […]
President Obama will address the country tonight from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and explain his decision to send 30,000 more tropps to Afghanistan over the next six months. I’m looking over my past blog posts on the subject of Afghanistan and I’d like to call attention to this one in which Gilles […]
After the 2005 London bombings, Thomas Friedman wrote an op-ed criticizing Muslim religious leaders for not condemning jihadist suicide attacks. He wrote: The Muslim village has been derelict in condemning the madness of jihadist attacks. When Salman Rushdie wrote a controversial novel involving the prophet Muhammad, he was sentenced to death by the leader of […]
I’m going to reserve final judgment until I see text of President Obama’s remarks, or the speech itself, but here are a few things to watch for tonight: 1) How many times Obama uses the word “India” or “Indian”—focusing on Afghanistan and Pakistan is fine, but leaving the elephant in the room (the Indo-Pak relationship) […]
The Economist‘s recent special report on Brazil emphasized the country’s remarkable achievements in the last decade and applauded what it deemed its “take-off.” The magazine’s political leanings were evident in its reluctance to give proper credit to the leftist Lula da Silva government, choosing instead to describe Lula as a lucky leader who had benefited […]
In late November 2008, 10 armed Pakistani men – little more than boys – went on a killing spree in the Indian city of Mumbai. Members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, or “Army of the Righteous,” the youths carried out the attacks in order to spur the “liberation” of Muslims living under Indian rule in Kashmir. Fareed Zakaria, […]
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