Author Archives

Over 20 years experience in international political and development analysis, situational scanning and analysis in Africa, Middle East and Eastern Europe in a number of international organizations.

• Afghanistan and Pakistan: US strategic policy in the region unfolds

  By zrasul on May 20, 2013 • ( 2 )

  The recent election of Nawaz Sharif in Pakistan surprised even the most cynical of political analysts tracking the politics of the Pakistan-Afghanistan region. Let us remember that during his last tenor as Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif tried to marginalized the… Read More ›

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• The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War (2013)

  By zrasul on April 18, 2013 • ( 0 )

  This transcript of an event at Carnegie is worth reading …. The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War (2013).

• US catches Bubo in a drug-arms trap: relief for Guinea-Bissau?

  By zrasul on April 16, 2013 • ( 0 )

  The best news this week and after the horrible Boston bombings is that Bubo Na Tchuto, the former Chief of Army Staff of Guinea-Bissau and a king-pin in the organized crime organizations using Guinea-Bissau and other West African countries as… Read More ›

• US Practiced Torture after 9/11: Non-Partisan Committee Report

  By zrasul on April 16, 2013 • ( 0 )

  Today the NY times published the link to the much-anticipated non-partisan review report on the conduct of US CIA and other secret service personnel and installations including Guantanamo, after 9/11. The nearly two years of interviews, research and on-site visits… Read More ›

• Republic of Congo Lauch BRICS-supported Infrastructure Initiative Ahead of 2015 African Games

  By zrasul on April 2, 2013 • ( 0 )

  This news item caught by eye as one of the positive spin-offs of the recently concluded BRICS Summit in Durban, South Africa. There, BRICS agreed in principle to establish a BRICS development bank although details are still being worked out…. Read More ›

• Postmortem: President Obama’s Visit to Israel and US Middle East Strategy

  By zrasul on March 24, 2013 • ( 0 )

  We all remember Obama’s historic speech in Cairo at the beginning of his first term. That speech, perhaps unintentionally heralded the Arab Spring, and an US Administration which appeared largely unprepared for the resulting flow of upheavals in the Middle… Read More ›

• Robotic Warfare and the Moral Use of Force: A “Terminator” Ultimatum?

  By zrasul on March 18, 2013 • ( 0 )

  Over the weekend, Bill Keller wrote an opinion piece in the NYT which laid out a somewhat alarming update on the next generation of drones – smart drones: robotic intelligent life that make decisions on when, who and how hard… Read More ›

• Africa: New Challenges for US Foreign and Strategic Policy

  By zrasul on March 13, 2013 • ( 0 )

  The Homeland Security Policy Institute at George Washington University has issued a very interesting perspective on future challenges for US foreign and strategic policy, challenging President Obama’s pivot to Asia and casting the spotlight on Africa. Report is attached in… Read More ›

• US and China Energy Race: Implications for Oil Exporters and New Political Alliances

  By zrasul on March 12, 2013 • ( 0 )

  Foreign Policy’s analysis of the evolving energy status and needs of both China and the US is cogent and intelligent. Mills has presented a good understanding of the global energy market – buyers and sellers – and it is remarkable… Read More ›

• UN Special Report on DRC: So Not Special!

  By zrasul on March 6, 2013 • ( 0 )

  The evidence that the UN has really lost the plot in a big way in the DRC is evidenced by the total mediocrity of this so-called Special Report. Is this report supposed to lead to a serious discussion and solution-seeking?… Read More ›

• DRC: Final Agreed Text of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the DRC and the Region

  By zrasul on February 24, 2013 • ( 0 )

  Attached is the final agreed and signed text of the regional framework proposed by the UN Secretary-General and signed by regional leaders in Addis today. After a quick read of this agreement, what surprised me was how basic it was… Read More ›

• Changing Legal Context of Torture: US Policies Raise Legal and Ethical Questions Concerning the Use of Torture to Gain Intelligence and Information

  By zrasul on February 23, 2013 • ( 0 )

  The most unlikely consequence of 9/11 has been the astounding change in the US policy on torture and the use of torture to gain access to information and intelligence. Not long ago, the US was the champion of human rights… Read More ›

• BRICS, the United States and Africa: Taking on the World Bank

  By zrasul on February 12, 2013 • ( 4 )

  The attached article in the International Policy Digest has interesting information concerning the potential establishment of a BRICS bank (BRICS denotes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). The bank is estimated to have a potential to start with core… Read More ›

• Obama’s Silent War: US Drone Strikes Cause Disproportionate Civilian Collateral Kills in Pakistan

  By zrasul on February 10, 2013 • ( 1 )

  A joint Stanford/NY University study on the human costs of President Obama’s drone wars in the fight to eliminate terrorism has found that only 2% of strikes resulted in the successful targeting of high-level terrorist targets but that a much… Read More ›

• CIA operates drone base in Saudi Arabia

  By zrasul on February 6, 2013 • ( 0 )

  President Obama’s directive on the preferential use of technological warfare has been cast in the limelight this week by the leaking of his “kill list” – a list of American citizens that have been targeted for assassination by their own… Read More ›

• UN Security Council discusses DRC: No New Ideas in SG’s letter

  By zrasul on February 5, 2013 • ( 7 )

  Over 12 years on the ground and the UN has no new ideas to present to the Security Council. In fact, looking at the Secretary-General’s letter to the Security Council which is the basis for a huge African Union meeting… Read More ›

• China’s Renew Definition of “Core National Interests” Has Huge Implications for Island Disputes with Japan and in the South China Sea

  By zrasul on January 30, 2013 • ( 0 )

  The new Chinese leadership is loosing no time in redefining its understanding of “core national interests” and how these interests would be pursued through its global foreign and strategic policy. The situation was just clarified in Premier Xi’s first policy… Read More ›

• West Africa’s Cross-Border Threats: Making sense of Mali’s Islamic Armed Groups

  By zrasul on January 30, 2013 • ( 0 )

  Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Cote D’Ivoire, Nigeria and Guinea-Bissau – West Africa has had a guaranteed spot on our international news screens for over two decades. At the heart of this resource-rich region is a legacy of colonisation that divided… Read More ›

• The Geopolitical Reordering of Africa: US Covert Support to Al Qaeda in Northern Mali, France “Comes to the Rescue”

  By zrasul on January 18, 2013 • ( 0 )

  

  The Geopolitical Reordering of Africa: US Covert Support to Al Qaeda in Northern Mali, France “Comes to the Rescue”. This is really interesting for those interested in what is really going on in Mali.

• Take II: Longer-term US AFRICOM support to Defense Reform and Training in Mali Points to Obvious Lessons for Security and Defense Reform

  By zrasul on January 14, 2013 • ( 0 )

  The UK has issued a statement today outlining its full support for the French-led military initiative in Mali aimed at supporting the civilian Bamako-based government and halting, if not eradicating, the spread of the Jihadist Ansar dine revolution in the… Read More ›