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IRANIAN ELECTION
Rouhani: a consensus on the past
Iranian voters have taken a look back with the election of Hassan Rouhani, a favorite disciple of revolutionary leader Imam Khomeini, as the country's next president. Their choice is also forward-looking in that it consigns to the past the reformist-conservative split in Iranian politics. As far as the world outside is concerned, the big question is whether Rouhani's ascendance will bring a wind of change in Iran's foreign policy.
- M K Bhadrakumar
(Jun 17, '13)
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SPENGLER
Syria and Egypt can't be fixed
Syria and Egypt were dying before the Syrian civil war broke out and before the Muslim Brotherhood took power in Cairo. They are are dying because they chose not move people from rural backwardness to a modern urban economy. Whatever the Western motivations for trying to help mend them, the two countries are broken and cannot be fixed.
(Jun 17, '13)
US faces Syrian crossroads
The Barack Obama administration has said it will start arming (at least parts of) the Syrian opposition and may institute a limited no-fly zone over the country. Yet, the US end game remains unclear so long as the administration does not explain its regional strategic plans regarding Iran, Hezbollah and their opponents, the Salafist Jihadist militias.
- Walid Phares
(Jun 17, '13)
Afghan bomb victims pay price of graft
Evidence that a consignment of medical supplies destined for Afghans injured by a suicide attack was sold off illegally has exposed a suspected network linking provincial council officials with sales to pharmacies. The death of 10 of the victims from their wounds was likely due to lack of treatment. Meanwhile those allegedly involved in the medicines' "disappearance" remain free.
- Abdul Maqsud Azizi
(Jun 17, '13) |
Family rule taints Kurdistan's rise
Political stability and billions of petro-dollars have helped northern Iraq's Kurdistan emerge as an apparent oasis amid the country's chaos. However, dissenting voices against the overbearing reach of regional president Massoud Barzani's family are increasing being silenced, while oil funds aren't reaching the people. The West is well aware of the "power dynamics", but good business makes them a taboo subject. - Derek Monroe
(Jun 17, '13)
SPEAKING FREELY
Speaking Freely is a Front Page feature for guest writers to have a say on issues relevant to Asia.
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Obama's Monica moment
The moral edifice of Barack Obama's presidency has been exposed today as a pack of lies amid desperate war moves to divert attention from the cesspool of the Edward Snowden secrecy leaks. Obama's ploy on military intervention in Syria is the death-knell to the “audacity of hope”, and much like Bill Clinton’s use of Afghanistan as flak for the Monica Lewinsky scandal could have unintended consequences.
- M K Bhadrakumar
(Jun 14, '13)
UN says 93,000 people killed in Syria
At least 93,000 people were killed in Syria's conflict by the end of April this year, with 6,561 children among the dead, according to the United Nations human rights office. Even as it says the killing continues at "shockingly high levels", the UN acknowledges it has "underreported the number of deaths".
(Jun 14, '13)
Rank row puts full stop to Korean talks
Just as North Korea was reversing its raving nuclear lunacy, offering a slew of concessions as part of rare senior-level talks on topics including tourism and business ventures, a hissy fit sparked by the South over who should lead the delegations has led to an early abortion of the process. Perhaps Seoul forgot that rigid formalism won't work with Pyongyang's smoke and mirrors. - Aidan Foster-Carter
(Jun 14, '13)
 In praise of darkness
In the desert, the emotional, moral, and religious overtones of darkness are overturned as shadow and shade give respite to the menacing blaze of day. Similarly, in the 24-hour long days of Iceland, the light of interrogation and analysis never fully fades and darkness has to be sought out or created in elaborate visual art such as sheetrock labyrinths. - Rebecca Solnit
(Jun 14, '13)
Indian women talk about sex
Middle-class "mommy bloggers" in India are breaking sexual taboos through online discussions that broach subjects such as sexual health and family planning, reflecting a nationwide backlash against conservatism on issues related to rape and homosexuality. The cyber-chat may have an impact on the ground, but is unlikely to reach rural areas patriarchal culture is entrenched. - Ranjita Biswas
(Jun 14, '13)
 FILM REVIEW
When will the
dirty wars end?
Dirty Wars: The World Is a Battlefield by Rick Rowley and Jeremy Scahill
Using investigative reports, this film argues that from cover-ups of Afghan night-raid atrocities to extrajudicial assassinations, a globally extended US militarism is being used to prevent anything undermining the US image of dominance being projected overseas. If it weren't for journalism exposing dirty wars, knowledge of such abuses might never escape the affected hotspots.
- Steve Fake
(Jun 14, '13)
India still a good bet after market sell-off
India's stock markets, like those in other emerging economies, have been hard hit by the recent sell-off by investors. Compared with the likes of commodity- and export-dependent China, Brazil and Russia, however, India is still worth a punt given its domestic consumption.
- Kunal Kumar Kundu (Jun 14, '13)
Delhi bill to criminalize
opposition to GM food
The India government aims to curb opposition to the introduction of genetically modified (GM) food crops with a bill that provides for jail terms and fines for "whoever, without any evidence or scientific record misleads the public about the safety of organisms and products". The bill does not take into account evidence about the safety risks posed by GM food crops, say critics. (Jun 14, '13)
 THE ROVING EYE
See you on
the dark side
The Edward Snowden-leaked National Security Agency Power Point presentation PRISM, as expressed in its Dark Side of the Moon-ish logo, is a graphic expression of the ultimate Pentagon/neo-con wet dream; the Full Spectrum Dominance doctrine. In the age of Total Information Awareness, the lunatics are in all our heads - and they won't be leaving anytime soon. - Pepe Escobar
(Jun 13, '13)
US 'pivot' must go beyond defense
Whether in Washington or in the capitals of the Asia-Pacific region, it is important that US engagement in the Asia-Pacific region be seen as much more than just about defense. It is time to rebalance the "rebalance" and for the US to follow come up with substantive policy and investments that also encourage greater US business, educational and cultural ventures in the region.
- Curtis S Chin
(Jun 13, '13)
Intra-Asian security ties 'good for US
Following the meeting of President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, a report urges Washington to take a more active role in putting together security ties in Asia in ways that include Beijing in any multilateral activities while remaining "vigilant against threats of entrapment from adventurous allies and partners". - Jim Lobe
(Jun 13, '13)
Iran flexes muscle with Taliban meeting
Despite past enmity, a recent visit to Iran by a Taliban delegation from Afghanistan suggests that Tehran now sees the insurgent group as possible partner following next year's withdrawal of international forces. For their part, the Taliban characterized the meeting as a parallel government taking part in talks with its neighbor.
- Mina Habib
(Jun 13, '13)
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Scandal undermines Karimov succession
An alleged US$320 million bribe being investigated in Sweden is undermining Gulnara Karimova's hopes of succeeding her father, Islam Karimov, as president of Uzbekistan. The 40-year-old has already trimmed back her overseas interests, and her father's reported poor health may help strengthen non-family contenders. - Alexander Kim
CREDIT BUBBLE BULLETIN
Capital in flight
The recent emerging markets sell-off highlights the difficulty of managing capital flight, even for those countries, notably in Asia, that have built up strong foreign reserves. China's economic managers may still have things under control. The same cannot be said for many of their fellow "developing" policymakers.
Doug Noland looks at the previous week's events each Monday.
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Xi had the last
laugh in California
Haven't I written many a time that the morning after is invariably more interesting than the big-power summit itself? The Obama-Xi summit at California over the weekend was no exception. Clearly, Obama exaggerated the outcome of the summit by calling it "terrific".
- M K Bhadrakumar
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[Re Obama's Monica moment, Jun 16, 2013 ]
In the Age of the Internet and Computer Hacker, true democracy has a chance to fight back, by unmasking the lies, hypocrisies and duplicities that would in the past remained buried and inaccessible to the world.
H Campbell
Texas
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