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 ›
Tag Archive for ‘US’
Postmortem: President Obama’s Visit to Israel and US Middle East Strategy
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 ›
US and China Energy Race: Implications for Oil Exporters and New Political Alliances
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 ›
China’s Renew Definition of “Core National Interests” Has Huge Implications for Island Disputes with Japan and in the South China Sea
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
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”
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
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 ›
Security Council Resolution on DRC – The Truth About Who Supports the Continued Destabilization of the DRC
Attached is the Security Council resolution agreed this evening (11/20/2012) as a response to the invasion and occupation of Goma by M23 rebels. The resolution stinks of the lack of appropriate sanction of the complicity of Rwanda in pushing forward… Read More ›
Why Iran Should Get the Bomb
U.S. and Israeli officials have declared that a nuclear-armed Iran is a uniquely terrifying prospect, even an existential threat. In fact, by creating a more durable balance of military power in the Middle East, a nuclear Iran would yield more… Read More ›
The US-Israel Relationship: Who is Leading Who?
The common belief is that Israel and the Jewish lobby in America control a number of important financial, political and foreign policy processes and outcomes in the USA. This is because of an inexplicably close relationship between the US and… Read More ›
Geneva Conference Agrees “Basic Principles” but Stops Short on Substance of a Peace Process for Syria
Yesterday in Geneva, the Security Council P5, Turkey, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, EU, the UN and the League of Arab States met to discuss the continuing instability in Syria – conspicuously absent were Saudi Arabia and Iran, the key protagonists and… Read More ›
Political Resolution and Mediation Proposal on Syria
No matter which way you see it, Syria is already more complicated and more loaded than Libya or Iraq ever was. Russia and potentially China are involved in Syria this time in total opposition to the proposal by the US… Read More ›
The Truth About Syria: Regime Change or Stopping the Carnage?
I want to talk about the sheer duplicity, lies, deception, and premeditated warmongering that is conditioning the debate on Syria currently in New York (UN) and Washington DC. Let’s consider the facts for a second: Bashar Al-Assad has repeatedly told… Read More ›
Politics Aside, The South China Sea Controversy Raises the Old Issue of How Far Does Your Continental Shelf Extend
Since I first wrote about this issue (see previous post on Spratly Islands), this issue has taken on legal dimensions that are both interesting and pertinent to all coastal countries in the world. How far does your country’s continental shelf… Read More ›
NATO Chicago Summit Stresses NATO’s Search for New Global Role & Highlights New Strategic Perspectives in Afghanistan & Pakistan
Chicago NATO Summit 2012 Declaration | Defense & Security News at DefenceTalk. Post-Libya and nearly post-Syria, it is clear that NATO seeks to understand and then establish a new role for itself globally, not only in defense, but it appears,… Read More ›
Implications of Hollande’s Election for Europe and French Foreign Policy
As the “normal” man of France was elected after a 15 year hiatus for the socialist party, Hollande’s election was greeted with less enthusiasm in Europe and further afield by France’s key allies. France’s election of a socialist left-leaning novice,… Read More ›
US-Pakistan Relations: Realistic Future Options Defined by Necessity? + Responses to Mr. Rudd
The US and Pakistan are like star-crossed lovers that have great sex when they eventually get together but the path to pleasure is so strewn with geopolitical and strategic land mines, that sex is rare! Very rare! Yet like… Read More ›
China’s Sphere of Control challenged by India’s Agni 5 and Contestation in the Spratly Islands + Response to Comments
After the introvert-ism of the cultural revolution, China has been steadily building its power and position as a regional, if not a global mega power. During the Cold War, China deliberately took on the-then more powerful US by supporting armed… Read More ›
Hanan Ashrawi, Executive Committee Member, PLO Talks About the Status of Peace Negotiations between Israel and Palestine
Today I attended a discussion at IPI (New York) with Hanan Ashrawi who used to a member of the negotiation team at Camp David. She is a formidable speaker and updated us on her views concerning the Palestinian-Israeli Peace Process…. Read More ›
How Far Does Israeli Military Strategy Concerning Iran Necessitate An Automatic Military Response From the USA?
Today Israeli Prime Minister met with President Obama concerning Iran. Preceding and following the official meetings, The President and the Prime Minister gave important press conferences in which each nation’s national security interest was outlined. For Israel, it is important… Read More ›
