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New nadir for China-Philippine ties
As the Philippines prepares for a new defense agreement to enable an expanded US "rotational" military presence on its soil, bilateral relations with China have taken a turn for the worse, with an angry response to Beijing's rescinding of an invitation to President Benigno Aquino to visit China. - Richard Javad Heydarian
(Sep 12, '13)
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JOHN PILGER
Enemy whose name we dare not speak
Regardless of diplomatic attempts to delay  an attack on Syria, the United States' objective has nothing to do with chemical weapons and everything to do with wiping out the last independent states in the Middle East. Barack Obama accepted the war crimes of the Pentagon of his predecessor, George W Bush, and militarism camouflaged as democracy.
(Sep 12, '13)
Cheers and jeers greet Obama's bear hug
President Barack Obama's decision to embrace a Russian proposal to place Damascus' chemical-weapons arsenal under international control and delay a congressional vote on the use of military force against Syria has brought praise and condemnation from across the political spectrum. - Jim Lobe
(Sep 12, '13)
AFGHANISTAN
Freed Taliban may hold key to peace
 Hopes that former Taliban second-in-command Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar will win moderate Taliban over to President Hamid Karzai's grand plan have led many Afghans to view his release this week by Pakistan as presenting a unique opportunity for peace. Others feel Baradar can no longer muster enough influence among the insurgents. - Abubakar Siddique
(Sep 12, '13)
Trapped between terror and graft
Daily encounters with official corruption are increasing Afghans' mistrust of their government and generating the grassroots resentment that feeds into the continuing insurgency. The cycle of corruption and terror is being turned by vast inflows of aid and an empowerment of warlords who were included in the Western coalition's failed post-invasion reconstruction effort.
- Giuliano Battiston
(Sep 12, '13) |
Australia's Abbott faces Asia challenges
The Liberal-National Party government being formed in Australia by Tony Abbott will likely be proactive on a "Look West" element in foreign policy, especially in building bilateral ties with India. On Asian asylum seekers, however, the conservatives have a harsher outlook, as illustrated by a military solution adopted in June designed to "stop the boats" and "turn them back". - Sam Bateman
(Sep 12, '13)
SPEAKING FREELY
No joy in US or Chinese exceptionalism
While American exceptionalism led the US to blunder into Iraq and now perhaps Syria, Chinese exceptionalism has seen Beijing ignore international human-rights standards and claim 80% of the South China Sea. Neither power appreciates that the issues facing humanity today are global issues that require global solutions - and global standards of behavior. - Mark C Eades
(Sep 11, '13)
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THE ROVING EYE
Al-Qaeda's air force still on stand-by
It was 12 years ago today that, according to the official narrative, Arabs with minimal flying skills turned jets into missiles to attack the US homeland in the name of al-Qaeda. 9/11 elevated them to Ultimate Evil status. Twelve years on, the President of the United States wriggles on a Syrian hook, and the amorphous "al-CIAeda" eagerly awaits the US Air Force to clear the road to Damascus. - Pepe Escobar
(Sep 11, '13)
SYRIAN CHEMICAL WEAPONS
Putin lures Obama towards engagement
 Barack Obama has put the Syrian ball in the Russian court as Moscow fleshes out its detailed plan to neutralize Syria's chemical weapons. The shift from a war-footing offers the prospect of new cooperation extending to issues including Iran, and confirmation of Russian President Vladimir Putin's shrewd handling of the crisis. More immediately, the United States president can expect the hawks to pick him apart.
- M K Bhadrakumar
(Sep 11, '13)
Attack stuck in fog-shrouded limbo
The fog of war over Syria is so dense that even now it is not clear whether President Barack Obama is truly serious about directly joining the conflict there or serious about staying out of it. One thing is certain: at least 110,000 have died to date and come diplomacy or air strikes - or anything else, for that matter - there are few signs that the carnage will abate any time soon.
- Victor Kotsev
(Sep 11, '13)
After Syria, six countries still at large
If Syria agrees to accept the US-Russia proposal to abandon its weapons under the Chemical Weapons Convention, six other countries will still be outside the treaty. Myanmar and Israel have signed but not ratified, while Angola, North Korea, Egypt, and South Sudan are in the same situation as Syria in having neither signed nor ratified the convention. - Thalif Deen
(Sep 11, '13)
Nerve gas flashbacks hit Iran, Iraq
While traumatized Iraqi Kurdish survivors of Saddam Hussein's chemical weapon attacks say the use of poison gas in Syria should invite international retribution, Iranian survivors of a similarly deadly strike during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war are more skeptical over America's motivations. Had the world taken either tragedy seriously, perhaps they wouldn't have been repeated. - Golnaz Esfandiari
(Sep 11, '13)
Tale of two casino countries
The Philippines and Vietnam are vying to enter Asia's top tier of casino destinations with palatial new resorts and other multi-billion dollar investment plans. With so much money involved, nothing is straightforward in either country. - Muhammad Cohen
(Sep 11, '13)
Summers, Syria and the Fed
Larry Summers appears to be President Barack Obama's first choice as next Federal Reserve chairman. Why? He has proven he can manipulate the system to make the world - and that includes Iraq, Libya, Syria et al - safe for Wall Street. - Ellen Brown
(Sep 11, '13)
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)
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) |
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Myanmar facing
stock market riddle
A viable stock market in Myanmar would offer wider opportunities for local companies and local and international investors, but a premature opening could result merely in legalized gambling and risks to the wider economy. - Dennis C McCornac
Central banks and
illusions of independence
The cult of personality around central bankers is encouraged by their not having a clear and enforceable mandate - certainly in the United States. That's one reason we hardly hear about Swiss politicians or central bankers: their unique direct democracy prevents them from pursuing drastic follies. - Reuven Brenner
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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India's Left and the 2014 poll
Sadly, it needed a bloody round of communal riots in Uttar Pradesh for the Left to see the ugly face of the Samajwadi Party [SP] government in the state. The plain truth is that the SP has been playing communal politics in UP because it is bankrupt of ideas to project during the 2014 poll and has an "anti-incumbency" factor to overcome. - M K Bhadrakumar
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That Tel Aviv and its black ops in the Mossad stand to benefit from a US intervention into yet another quagmire is beyond doubt.
Hardy Campbell
Texas
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