Month: February 2005

When newly appointed CIA Director Porter Goss recently warned that China’s modernization of its military posed a direct threat to the U.S., was it standard budget time scare tactics? Or did it signal the growing influence of hard-liners in the Bush administration who want to "contain" China and re-institute the Cold War in Asia? A … Continue reading “Cornering the Dragon: Bad Idea”

President Bush will hail his trip to Europe as a resounding success. He hails everything he does as a resounding success regardless of the evidence to the contrary. All politicians do that. Lest you be spun by the spin, note that he comes home with only one tangible result – an agreement by NATO to … Continue reading “Don’t Be Spun by the Spin”

The acquisition of a nuclear warhead by any country, whether a friend or foe of the United States, is a development of not merely military significance. Instead it necessarily has immense political importance both to a domestic audience and on a wider international stage: the bomb helped India to shake off feelings of post-colonial inferiority, … Continue reading “Why Israel Really Fears Iranian Nukes, Part Two”

Last week, India spelled out its emerging thinking and policy toward its neighbors in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). In a public speech, Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran – the chief of the Indian diplomatic service – announced a more assertive approach, to which economic cooperation, leading to a South Asian common market, … Continue reading “India Talks Down to Its Neighbors”

Despite the apparent decision by President George W. Bush against re-nominating him to the board of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), “anti-Islamist” activist Daniel Pipes is working as diligently as ever to protect the United States and the Western world from the influence of radical Islamists. He has proposed the creation of a … Continue reading “‘Anti-Islamist’ Crusader Plants New Seeds”

Indulging in speculation regarding the identity of Lebanese former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri’s real assassins is of little value now. What demands urgent scrutiny is how his murder will play a large part in the remolding of Lebanon’s role in the Arab-Israeli conflict and the balance of power in the region. So while the Feb. … Continue reading “Hariri’s Murder Only the Beginning”

Let’s look at two recent instances of political violence directed against a popular figure who has come to symbolize the democratic hopes of his people: the similarities between the death of Rafik Hariri and the attempted assassination and disfigurement of Viktor Yushchenko are remarkable. In both cases, we have a plethora of non-evidence pointing to … Continue reading “A Pattern of Deception”

It is difficult enough to try to figure out what President Bush’s real goals are during his current whirlwind trip to Europe. It is more than possible that the trip has more to do with asserting imperial dominion – or at least reminding people that the United States is still the world’s sole superpower – … Continue reading “Mending Fences With Russia?”

Even as defense attorneys were filing court papers charging that the U.S. government was hiding behind secret evidence, and demanding their client’s release from a Saudi Arabian prison, Ahmed Abu Ali was being whisked back to the United States and charged with conspiring to kill President George W. Bush. The 23-year-old U.S. citizen, who had … Continue reading “Student in ‘Rendition’ Case Returns to US for Trial”

WASHINGTON – The World Bank, an international development institution that says it has no political agenda, may be preparing to fund Israeli security checkpoints around a controversial separation wall under construction on occupied Palestinian territories. Israel is not eligible for World Bank lending because of its high per capita income, but Palestinians are. According to … Continue reading “World Bank and US: Palestinians Should Pay for Israeli Checkpoints”