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US STRIKES ON SYRIA
Kerry becomes first war casualty
 The strain of defending an indefensible brief to push for a US military strike on Syria is beginning to show as US Secretary of State John Kerry performs taxing diplomatic acrobats. As gaffe piles upon gaffe, the United States is being forced to consider the merits of Russia's proposal for Syria to hand over chemical weapons. It's time for a contorting President Barack Obama to step up to the bar.
- M K Bhadrakumar
(Sep 10, '13)
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Intrigue surrounds Obama's intel
The intelligence summary on last month's chemical attack in Syria released by the Barack Obama administration on August 30 did not represent an intelligence community assessment. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper's refused to endorse the document - presumably because it was too obviously an exercise in "cherry picking" to support a decision for war.
- Gareth Porter
(Sep 10, '13)
THE ROVING EYE
Lavrov gambit
checks Washington
The joys of the geopolitical chessboard: Russia throwing a lifeline to save Barack Obama from his self-spun "red line" on Syria. By forwarding a two-step proposal on Bashar al-Assad giving up its nerve gas, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov outplayed Washington, though his move is not a checkmate; it is a gambit, meant to prevent the US from becoming al-Qaeda's air force, at least for now. - Pepe Escobar
(Sep 10, '13)
Papal challenge rocks US's Syria plans
Pope Francis' case against a military solution in Syrian crisis cuts deep to the Christian core of United States' governance, and the Holy See can count on the support of European countries made skeptical by the collapse of US-backed revolutions in Egypt and Libya. The pope's calls could grow into a historic opportunity for the Vatican to regain a global political role.
- Francesco Sisci
(Sep 10, '13)
Who shall guard the guardians of India?
China is testing the mettle of the Indian political leadership with small-scale military incursions across the Indian line of their disputed borders. The PLA is not yet confident enough to invade, though that day will come. As things stand, India will lack the political resolve and military capability to support its inferior forces.
- Aruni Mukherjee
(Sep 10, '13)
SPEAKING FREELY
A post-9/11 view of John Adams
Although his strategies helped keep American free from the whims of European powers and their trans-Atlantic Wars, second president John Adams' search for national security through peaceful neutrality has been long forgotten by modern America. The US has instead embraced the partisan strife and perpetual war footing he rejected.
- Dallas Darling
(Sep 10, '13)
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THE ROVING EYE
The (farcical) emperor is naked
 The threatened US attack on Syria is not about "strong common sense", as the White House puts it. Is about farce built upon farce built upon farce, not least the "credibility" farce starring the Obama administration, caught in its own self-spun net woven of recklessly created "red lines". The pesky "world" is not buying it.
- Pepe Escobar
(Sep 9, '13)
Congress to the
rescue on Syria?
From the manipulations that led to a "slam dunk" war in Iraq to the revelations of whistleblower Edward Snowden on the scale of United States spying, enough of the world is ticked off with the United States for a "coalition of the willing" to be the failed dream of a waning power. True to form, expect this week's congressional debate on Syria to yield little of value beyond entertainment.
- Andrew J Bacevich
(Sep 9, '13)
Diplomacy offers route out of chemical crisis
Diplomatic bargaining is more likely to cool the chemical weapons crisis in Syria than military strikes with a high risk of blowback. If Damascus' allies can pressure it into signing the Chemical Weapons Convention, this could lead to benefits for regional stability such as Israel abandoning the nuclear opacity that motivated Syria to build up its chemical stockpile in the first place. - David Lowry and Gordon Thompson
(Sep 9, '13)
More US boots on Philippine soil
A proposed United States-Philippines deal that will allow Washington to use bases on Philippine soil for up to 20 years will boost Manila's ability to hedge against further Chinese territorial assertiveness, while seemingly calming the latter's concerns over the US's regional military commitments. However, it presents a challenge to the Philippines' post-Cold War constitution, and Beijing is already preparing a diplomatic response. - Richard Javad Heydarian
(Sep 9, '13)
Pashmina withers on roof of the world
Extreme cold weather in Kashmir's Changthang region - the Roof of the World - is killing the goats whose fine wool is woven into prized pashmina shawls. With goat rearing under threat if conditions persist, so are the livelihoods of 300,000 people in Jammu and Kashmir state of India who depend on the product.
- Athar Parvaiz
(Sep 9, '13)
Suppose we offered battle ...
Air Sea Battle, US military's latest grand doctrine and megaboondoggle, is not, absolutely not, about war with China, which just happens to be the one power at which the related plans can be targeted. But just suppose the PRC fails to respond with fangs drawn ... just suppose ...
- Peter Lee
(Sep 6, '13)
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
Myanmar's Shan see long path to peace
Yawd Serk, commander of the rebel Shan State Army in Myanmar, was quick to respond positively to peace overtures when President Thein Sein took power in 2011. In an exclusive interview, he predicts a long process lies ahead, with an end to fighting up to three years distant - assuming that along the way the still-powerful central army gives peace a chance.
- Larry Jagan
(Sep 6, '13)
THE ROVING EYE
Dogs of war versus the emerging caravan
While China and Russia pulled up at the G-20 caravanserai to re-enact the spirit of the Silk Road, the dogs of war were baying for blood outside. "Yes We Can" bomb Syria, barked US President Barack "Red Line" Obama. To which the emerging-powers caravan threw him an old bone, "It's the (global) economy, stupid", and kept on trucking.
- Pepe Escobar
(Sep 6, '13)
West chooses to target the weak
The defining feature of the brutality that has become a hallmark of Western behavior in the Middle East is its cowardly nature, as the UK vote against military action in Syria shows; that it finds it much safer to attack countries lacking effective deterrents. Wars of choice are waged against the weak and isolated. Libya and Iraq were both of these things; Syria is neither.
- Dan Glazebrook
(Sep 6, '13)
Traps on the road towards barbarism
The downfall of the Soviet Union created a psychological trap for the West - that of a belief in invincibility. This is seen in the manner in which it is trying in Syria to present power as moral responsibility to protect. Convinced that advanced weapons are a guarantee of its security, the West has accepted barbarism and developed contempt for civilized behavior.
- Nicholas A Biniaris
(Sep 6, '13) |
Syria crisis yet to derail Iran nuclear talks
The appointment of Iran's Western-educated  Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif as lead nuclear negotiator will add to the growing conviction in Washington that it can work with Tehran to resolve concerns over Iran's atomic program. In such a climate, any US action in Syria would be more likely to delay than derail international talks.
- Jasmin Ramsey
(Sep 6, '13) |
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China still has it
wrong in Myanmar
China's efforts to convince Myanmar's government and population that it is committed to negating the social and environmental impacts of resource-related projects have achieved the opposite, resulting in the widespread belief that Beijing is focused on protecting its commercial interests above all. - Bernt Berger
OBITUARY
Ronald Coase:
A respectful dissent
The late economist Ronald Coase showed how individuals and firms in the private market can do a better job at most things than government regulators. But we should keep in mind that markets are never better than the people who trade in them. - Spengler
THE BEAR'S LAIR
Coase: Government hangs on
Ronald Coase's work on firm structure, taken with modern IT capabilities, suggests that large companies will over the next generation disappear. Big government will remain - for the time being. - Martin Hutchinson
CREDIT BUBBLE BULLETIN
Difficult decisions ahead
Syria is a frightening place in a tough and rapidly disintegrating region. Yet, outside of crude oil, global markets show minimal concern, focused on the monetary backdrop and blind to imminent far-reaching change.
Doug Noland looks at the previous week's events each Monday.
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Syria consensus hard
to find at G20 summit
For those who would have been hoping against hope that the G20 summit meeting at St Petersburg on Thursday might help evolve an international consensus over Syria, which would avert the proposed US intervention, alas, the tidings couldn’t be less positive...
- M K Bhadrakumar
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Killing Syrian civilians to punish Bashar al-Assad for killing Syrian civilians is madness pure and simple.Why is this not the central meme?
Phil Mosley
Australia
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