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US-Saudi Deal on Libya Exposed: Obama OK'ed Bahrain Invasion in Exchange for 'Yes' Vote on "No-Fly Zone"

Sun, 03 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Pepe Escobar - Apr. 03 (News Analysis) - Two diplomatic sources at the United Nations independently confirmed that Washington, via Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, gave the go-ahead for Saudi Arabia to invade Bahrain and crush the pro-democracy movement in their neighbor in exchange for a "yes" vote by the Arab League for a no-fly zone over Libya - the main rationale that led to United Nations Security Council resolution 1973.

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The meaning of Marjah

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Asia Times - By Kamran Bokhari, Peter Zeihan, Nathan Hughes - Feb. 17 (News Analysis) - Why Marjah? The key is the geography of Afghanistan and the nature of the conflict itself. Most of Afghanistan is custom-made for a guerrilla war. Much of the country is mountainous, encouraging local identities and militias, as well as complicating the task of any foreign military force. The country's aridity discourages dense population centers, making it very easy for irregular combatants to melt into the countryside. Afghanistan lacks navigable rivers or ports, drastically reducing the region's likelihood of developing commerce. No commerce to tax means fewer resources to fund a meaningful government or military and encourages the smuggling of every good imaginable - and that smuggling provides the perfect funding for guerrillas.

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Going 'deep', not 'big', in Afghanistan

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Asia Times - By Gareth Porter - Oct. 16 (News Report) - An analysis making waves in Washington by a veteran United States officer calls for the withdrawal of the bulk of United States combat forces from Afghanistan over 18 months, warning against General Stanley McChrystal's counter-insurgency strategy. Lieutenant Colonel Daniel L Davis says that it is already too late for US forces to defeat the insurgency.

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October surprise in US-Iran relations

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Asia Times - By Kaveh L Afrasiabi - Oct. 02 (News Analysis) - The meeting on Thursday between Iran and the six countries dealing with its nuclear case resulted in agreement for a follow-up encounter, in itself an important development, given the heated atmosphere in the lead-up to the talks. As significant, the United States and Iran made an initial direct contact, raising hopes of a real breakthrough. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi (Oct 2, '09)

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Karzai's rival cries foul play

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Asia Times - By Syed Saleem Shahzad - Aug. 24 (News Report) - On the eve of the announcement of the preliminary results of Afghanistan's presidential elections, Abdullah Abdullah, the main challenger to President Hamid Karzai, is crying foul. All the same, he will wait to see how complaints are dealt with before acting. One thing is clear, though - he won't take part in any power-sharing deals.

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The US has a plan for Afghanistan

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Asia Times - By Syed Saleem Shahzad - Aug. 18 (News Analysis) - With an unexpected boost from a heavyweight Uzbek warlord, Afghan President Hamid Karzai's chances of winning re-election on Thursday have significantly increased. Pakistan and the United States, though, are looking beyond the polls to the creation of a broad-based administration that would include all the major players - and a sprinkling of Taliban. - Syed Saleem Shahzad (Aug 18, '09)

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Afghan race becomes Karzai's cliffhanger

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Asia Times - By M K Bhadrakumar - Aug. 14 (News Analysis) - By ostentatiously distancing itself from former ally President Hamid Karzai in recent days, the United States has sent a clear signal that its preferred candidates in next week's Afghan election are former finance minister Ashraf Ghani and ex-foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah. Inside Afghanistan, there is a growing conviction Washington is fixing the election to suit its geopolitical priorities. - M K Bhadrakumar (Aug 14, '09)

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US shrugs off Pakistan-Taliban links

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Asia Times - By Gareth Porter - Aug. 05 (News Report) - When the US Congress last month approved US$6 billion in aid to Pakistan, there was no mention of evidence linking Pakistani army chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kiani to a major military assistance program for Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan and Kashmir

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Pakistan turns on its jihadi assets

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Asia Times - By Syed Saleeem Shahzad - Jul. 30 (News Report) - The high-profile jailing of a former member of parliament in connection with the beheading of a Polish engineer is a significant first step in Pakistan's crackdown on the jihadi assets its intelligence services raised in the 1990s for asymmetric warfare against India. There will be a backlash from militants, but Islamabad has made it clear it has taken Washington's desires to heart. - Syed Saleem Shahzad (Jul 28, '09)

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US misunderstanding on Iran lingers

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Asia Times - By Ali Gharib - Jun. 26 (Opinion) - ... much of the attention in Washington and elsewhere in the US is often misplaced, misguided, or completely detached from the realities currently embroiling Iran in its most significant crisis since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

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World powerless to stop North Korea

Tue, 26 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Asia Times - By Santaro Rey - May. 26 (News Analysis) - North Korea's decision to carry out its second nuclear test on Monday could have far-reaching consequences, if South Korea and Japan conclude that nothing can be done to persuade Pyongyang to denuclearize. Under such circumstances, developing their own nuclear weapons might become increasingly desirable for Seoul and Tokyo.

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Pakistan reels under Swat offensive

Thu, 14 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Asia Times - By Syed Saleem Shahzad - May. 14 (News Report) - All of Pakistan's major political parties have given their support - along with the United States - to the operation, but with no exit strategy in place, the unfolding humanitarian crisis looms as a bigger threat than the Taliban.

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Holbrooke reaches out to Hekmatyar

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Asia Times - By Syed Saleem Shahzad - Apr. 10 (Interview) - The recent meeting between a deputy of Richard Holbrooke, the United States special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, and an emissary of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of Hezb-i-Islami Afghanistan (HIA), is by all accounts a landmark move in the United States' stated aim of involving militant groups in ending the conflict in Afghanistan.

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US sinks deeper into Sunni-Shi'ite struggle

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Asia Times - By Gareth Porter - Apr. 02 (News Analysis) - Maliki has cleverly exploited the partnership between the US military and the Iraqi army to draw the United States into such a campaign. One of the characteristics of that relationship is that the US military command in Iraq is very reluctant to be separated operationally or politically from its Iraqi counterparts.

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India's virtual vigilantes

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Asia Times - By Neeta Lal - Mar. 31 (Special Report) - A new form of vigilantism - cyber-activism - has gained currency in India as a powerful tool to mobilize public opinion, strengthen civic engagement, invite democratic participation or even encourage "electronic" civil disobedience.

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Dollar Crisis In The Making, Part 3

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Asia Times - By W Joseph Stroupe - Mar. 18 (Special Report) - There is mounting evidence that China's central bank is undertaking the process of divesting itself of longer-dated US Treasuries in favor of shorter-dated ones.

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Justice on Comedy Central

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Asia Times - By Julian Delasantellis - Mar. 17 (Opinion) - You might think that Americans, inheritors of an economy that has dominated the world for most of the last century, might take pride in the extent of their being up-to-date on current economics and business affairs, but that is not the case. They certainly don't get their news on finance from newspapers; those that are still existent lost the raison d'etre for their business pages about 40 years ago, when the large metropolitan dailies stopped publishing late-afternoon editions with closing Wall Street stock prices in them.

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Dollar crisis in the making

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Asia Times - By Joseph Stroupe - Mar. 13 (Opinion) - Investors, both private and official, around the globe have generally given in to a crisis reflex psychology of extreme risk aversion and have been clutching the US dollar ever more tightly, massively running into Treasuries as a refuge in the mounting storm. This fact would seem to imply that global confidence in the dollar is still fundamentally sound, despite the well-documented bruises it has received over the past few years. The truth is that the potential for a global dollar panic is becoming greatly heightened, in spite of (and in part, actually because of) the dollar's recent significant gains as a refuge for investors, the bulk of whom continue to be distinctly risk-averse. Ironically, this massive piling onto the dollar opens yawning new vulnerabilities and risks that either did not exist before, or were at most very minimal.

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Gaza: A pawn in the new 'great game'

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Asia Times - By Alastair Crooke - Jan. 14 (Opinion) - The thesis that literally "everything" must be done either to lever "moderates" into power, or prevent them from losing power - euphemistically called "supporting moderation" - lies at the heart of the Gaza crisis. It is a narrative that has served Israel's wider interests in garnering legitimacy for the Israeli campaign against Iran, and in dichotomizing the region into Westernized "moderates" and Islamist "extremists".

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Shi'ites and Sunnis find common cause

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Asia Times - By Jeffrey Donovan - Jan. 08 (News Analysis) - "A very interesting change has taken place, especially after this Gaza conflict: that is, the alliance of all the Islamists, be they Shi'ite or Sunni, against the so-called moderate Arab regimes, who are the allies of the US," Yamani says.

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Bush plan beat obstacle to Gaza assault

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Asia Times - By Gareth Porter - Jan. 06 (Opinion) - ... the Bush administration and the Europeans cut off all financing for the Palestinian government, while Israel refused to hand over to the Palestinian authorities the value-added tax and customs duties it collected on behalf of the Palestinians under the Paris Protocol signed with the Palestinian Liberation Organization as part of the Oslo Accords.

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In China, Bush Nostalgia

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Asia Times - By Kent Ewing - Jan. 05 (Opinion) - once all the inaugural parades and parties have ended ... life is going to get complicated - for Americans and for everyone else. For one thing, the world will have lost its favorite scapegoat.

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The emperor gets the boot

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Asia Times - By Pepe Escobar - Dec. 18 (Opinion) - These shoes also metaphorically hit the huge Bush administration army of advisers, analysts, sycophants, politicians, diplomats, generals, UN bureaucrats, businessmen, "human-rights" wags, media hacks and assorted profiteers that made the Iraqi tragedy possible. These shoes put to immense shame US public opinion, which overwhelmingly condoned the 2003 invasion and occupation and only turned against it when facts on the ground and horrific non-stop carnage spelled out that this was an "unwinnable" war.

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The black hole in financial markets

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Asia Times - By David P. Goldman - Nov. 21 (News Analysis) - Subprime mortgages were the beginning, not the end, of a global financial crisis, and in recognition of this fact equity markets have crashed.

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Bankers' greed and supervisors' folly

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Asia Times - By Hossein Askari, Noureddine Krichene - Nov. 18 (Special Report) - We are smack in the middle of a crisis that will only get much worse before getting better, a crisis that could entail the worst recession since the Great Depression and one that could reverse much of the gains from globalization. Policy makers need to react more quickly than they have to contain the crisis from becoming much worse than currently envisaged. An often-overlooked resource is the past.

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