Three big stories coming from Kenya:
Kenyan officials have denied any connection between their country and Somalia’s radical Islamist group al-Shabab. I suppose this was the inevitable spin from Nairobi, so I am not surprised. But it seems to me that the more prudent response would be something along the lines of “we are alarmed by these rumors, we realize the potential that al-Shabab presents for destabilizing the region, and we will do everything we can domestically and with our friends in the region to prevent this organization from gaining a foothold.”
Meanwhile The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) chief prosecutor has announced that starting in May he plans to conduct most of his investigations into the violence that convulsed the country after Kenya’s 2007 election. He expects to finish the this year with trials to commence in 2012. The timetable seems both unrealistic and yet the delay seems to almost guarantee that any of the most prominent figures who fomented violence will have long since covered their tracks.
On the good news front, Kenya dominated this year’s individual and team World Cross Country Championships on both the men’s and women’s sides.
A few months ago, I wrote about the early stages of the conflict in Ukraine through the lens of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. While it appears likely that the war will carry on into the foreseeable future, enough time has passed for us to make an honest assessment of each side’s relative […]
The Ukrainian Army has made dramatic strides in the last few weeks. Ukraine’s tactical commanders have outfoxed their Russian counterparts, and by issuing a feint towards the south the UA has been able to earn substantial gains in the north of their country. The impact of these efforts have been compounded by the steady stream […]
In mid-May the Irish political party, Sinn Féin, won the plurality of seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Many American readers might not fully understand the significance of Sinn Féin’s political victory- but rest assured that subjects of the United Kingdom and a wide range of political movements the world over have heard the message […]
The first wave of the Russian offensive in Ukraine has fallen short of Russian autocrat Vladmir Putin’s ambitions. Most analysts deduced that Putin had hoped to achieve a decapitation strike of the Ukrainian government- taking Kiev and replacing Ukrainian President Vladimir Zolinski with a pro-Kremlin voice. Kiev has been threatened repeatedly through the course of […]
On the weekend of March 26th, the notorious MS-13 gang went on a massive killing spree in El Salvador which left more than 70 people dead by Sunday. Even for a country where powerful gangs hold massive sway, this recent tragedy stands out considering that it was the bloodiest day on record since the civil […]
