November 2007

US 'declaration' a setback for Maliki
Just when things were going so well, Iraq Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki finds himself in trouble following his reluctant decision to sign a US-authored "declaration of principles", which includes a ban on all militias. Critics call the declaration "flawed and ambiguous" as it has no timetable for a US withdrawal, and the Sadrists are seething. - Sami Moubayed (Nov 30, '07)

Army defiant despite Pakistan's divide
A major political divide has emerged in Pakistan ahead of January's national elections, with several key parties saying they will boycott the vote. The smooth transition at the head of the military, though, will ensure that the country remains on course in the "war on terror". New army boss General Ashfaq Parvez Kiani has already responded to a peace offer from militants with threats of bombs and bullets. - Syed Saleem Shahzad (Nov 30, '07)

The Sharif factor comes into play
In the emerging troika of democratic elements, Islamic parties and the military that is likely to govern Pakistan, former premier Nawaz Sharif can be expected to play a part. He is certainly not the US's choice, but he would please Saudi Arabia, which was instrumental in his return from exile. The Taliban, too, stand to benefit. - M K Bhadrakumar (Nov 30, '07)

Baptism of fire for Pakistan's army head
General Ashfaq Parvez Kiani, Pakistan's new head of the army, had barely stepped into the shoes of Pervez Musharraf, now a civilian president, than he was given a decision to make that could change the fate of the country. Militants fighting the Pakistani army in the Swat Valley have called for a ceasefire. If Kiani accepts, he will appease large sections of the country. If he refuses, he has Washington to deal with. - Syed Saleem Shahzad (Nov 29, '07)

If Iran's Guards strike back ...
In the event of a US attack on Iran, it's a cinch that the "terrorist" Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps will fiercely retaliate with a volatile mix of sophisticated conventional forces and unconventional means. One thing is certain, however: US thinking has ignored the highly complex relationship between post-Ba'athist Shi'ite militias in Iraq and the Guards. (Nov 29, '07)

INTERVIEW
A language for the world
Amartya Sen
Nobel economist Sen sees no "clash of civilizations" in an increasingly polarized world, rather, he searches for common threads that unite seemingly divided cultures and laments that "the rhetoric of a clash of civilizations is not only mistaken, but it is doing an enormous amount of harm". (Nov 29, '07)

How you helped build Pakistan's bomb
Pakistan's "Islamic bomb" - an arsenal of as many as 120 nuclear weapons - is not an indigenous product, but a little bit American, Canadian, Swiss, German, Dutch, British, Japanese and even Russian. It is impossible to launch a war against such an underground global business, which makes nonsense of the George W Bush administration's urge to militarize anti-proliferation efforts that have been at the heart of its post-September 11, 2001, planning. - Catherine Collins and Douglas Frantz (Nov 28, '07)

White House squabble on releasing Iranians
A behind-the-scenes row in the George W Bush administration played a part in the decision to release nine Iranian prisoners. Vice President Dick Cheney and General David Petraeus, US commander in Iraq, took a hit, but administration hardliners continue to oppose any further move to reduce tensions with Iran. - Gareth Porter (Nov 28, '07)

US wages covert war on Iraq-Iran border
For weeks, the Iranian artillery has been raining shells on hills where suspected Kurdish anti-Iranian militants are based on both sides of the Iran-Iraq border. At the same time, elite US Special Forces are operating inside Iran, training the militants and scouting potential targets for air strikes, a former commando tells Nelson Rand. The Kurdish administration in northern Iraq has placed temporary curbs on the anti-Tehran rebels, but as they have US backing, their fight is far from over. (Nov 27, '07)

Iraqi children are civilians too
The Pentagon has seized the tactical high ground in the information wars in Iraq. Whether it is "incidents" involving helicopter strikes or the wholesale destruction of the city of Fallujah in 2004, dead members of a wedding party or killings at US checkpoints, the same propaganda techniques are deployed: demonize all victims as the "enemy". - Dahr Jamail (Nov 27, '07)

How the US got its Philippine bases back
Though the United States military officially left the Philippines and its large Subic Bay base in 1991, its recurring training exercises have grown more frequent as its "temporary" presence continues. The "war on terror" has provided an excuse for Washington to embrace Manila in its effort to contain China's military in "the dragon's lair", where key battles could erupt, according to some war-planning scenarios. - Herbert Docena (Nov 27, '07)

THE ROVING EYE
'Our' dictator gets away with it
The embrace of President George W Bush and President General Pervez Musharraf endures. Pakistan and its people caught in the middle are left to watch their country burn, and contemplate the worst-case scenario of partition. - Pepe Escobar (Nov 27, '07)

Iran the uninvited guest at peace summit
The United States-hosted summit in Annapolis on Tuesday is supposed to be about peace in the Arab-Israeli world. But it is also being used as a "means of sorts of cementing a coalition against Iran and its allies". At a time that the potential for a successful resolution of the Iran nuclear crisis has gained unprecedented momentum, such a ploy has grim consequences. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi (Nov 26, '07)

BOOK REVIEW
Non compus POTUS
Shadow Warriors by Kenneth R Timmerman
Intelligence is an adjunct of war-fighting; it cannot compensate for a failed plan. Former US president Ronald Reagan won the intelligence war against the Soviet Union, while George W Bush is losing in the Middle East, because Reagan's overall war strategy was successful, while the Bush strategy is flawed. Instead of finding demons in the US intelligence world to blame for Bush's failure, author Timmerman would do better to study some basic precepts of logic. - Spengler (Nov 26, '07)

Even more good news for Maliki
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has the support of Shi'ite leader Muqtada al-Sadr and the Kurds in blocking thousands of former Ba'athists from reclaiming their government jobs and from joining the armed forces. Far more surprisingly, Muqtada has done an about-turn and backs Maliki over a referendum on Kirkuk's incorporation into Iraqi Kurdistan. It's almost too good to be true. - Sami Moubayed (Nov 26, '07)

Strings attached to Sharif's return
Unlike his previous attempt to return to Pakistan from exile, former premier Nawaz Sharif has been allowed to stay. The difference is, he now has a deal, brokered by his former hosts Saudi Arabia, under which he won't make trouble, and his brother, Shabaz, plays a part in a new government. - Syed Saleem Shahzad (Nov 26, '07)

Bin Laden talks of victory, not defeat
Osama bin Laden's latest message to the people of Iraq has been widely interpreted as an attempt to rally al-Qaeda's fading forces. The opposite is true; bin Laden is already thinking ahead to victory, and warning all Iraqi mujahideen - Sunni and Shi'ite - that the hardest task is yet to come: the creation of an Islamist state in Iraq. - Michael Scheuer (Nov 21, '07)

Maliki thrown a political lifeline
The expected return after a walkout of the leading Sunni group, the Iraqi Accordance Front, to Nuri al-Maliki's government signals a remarkable change in fortunes for the prime minister, who for months has appeared on his way out. Pressure from Saudi Arabia and Jordan has helped the Front change its mind, as well as fear of other Sunni groups. - Sami Moubayed (Nov 21, '07)

The general has no uniform
Pakistani leader Pervez Musharraf is poised to be sworn in as a civilian president after eight years as a military ruler. In that time, especially in the past months, he has been the United States' loyal servant in the region's "war on terror". In following the agenda of the Bush administration, though, Musharraf is losing not only his uniform, he is losing his hold on the country. - Syed Saleem Shahzad (Nov 21, '07)

Fears grow of post-'surge' woes
In terms of violence in Iraq, the troop "surge" is working. Most people agree with that. Where they disagree is on its long-term effects, which some argue has made the long-term goal of the policy - national reconciliation - more unlikely than ever. - Jim Lobe (Nov 21, '07)

DISPATCHES FROM AMERICA
Bush administration conquers Washington
From the outset, the George W Bush administration dealt with the world as a kind of dreamscape and Washington as the only reality; it was the only "empire" that really counted. Its lobbyists, bureaucrats, politicians and assorted think-tankers, all absorbed in their petty turf-wars, were the ones the administration wanted to dominate with a "wartime" presidency. The foreign wars made it all possible, and this will be Bush's legacy. - John Brown (Nov 21, '07)

BOOK REVIEW
Muslim democracy: An oxymoron?
Democracy in Muslim Societies by Zoya Hasan (ed)
Six case studies ranging from Bangladesh to Indonesia examine the variables and differing paths taken by Muslim politics in the search for democracy. A common theme is that Islam has been manipulated, but the book falls short by ignoring non-Muslim countries to see if religion has similarly been manipulated. - Sreeram Chaulia (Nov 21, '07)

A warning shot for Iran, via Syria
The September Israeli air attack on a supposed nuclear facility in Syria - said by US officials to have been developed with assistance from North Korea - was all along intended as a warning to Iran. The message to Tehran, according to evidence now emerging, is that the US and Israel are capable of identifying its nuclear targets and penetrating air defenses to destroy them. - Gareth Porter (Nov 20, '07)

Fallujah under a different siege
Three years after the US attack on Fallujah that destroyed 70% of the city, the once bustling commercial center is an isolated, barricaded poverty-stricken dead zone. Electricity and water supplies are lacking, prices are high, many neighborhoods are still in ruins and the citizens are frustrated with the extensive media coverage that has brought them no relief, and, in many cases, only resulted in retribution from US-backed Iraqi police and military. - Ali al-Fadhily (Nov 20, '07)

Nobody guards Afghanistan's guards
Private security personnel in Afghanistan number more than half of the national army, but they are subject to no rules other than their own whims. The result is a blurring of responsible security firms and former militiamen now acting as thuggish hired guns. The government is working on regulatory legislation, but there's no guarantee it will ever be implemented. - Aunohita Mojumdar (Nov 20, '07)

US tripped up over Iranian captives
The United States has captured numerous Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps officials in Iraq, hoping to associate them to arms smuggling into Iraq, or even better, to show that the corps' elite Quds Force is involved in assisting Shi'ite forces militarily. To date, not one of the captives has been linked to any such operations. - Gareth Porter (Nov 19, '07)

Pakistan put in its real place
Visiting US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte made all the politically correct noises at the weekend about Pakistan needing to lift its state of emergency. But what really matters to Washington is the continued prosecution of the "war on terror" and the person who is going to do it - President General Pervez Musharraf. - Syed Saleem Shahzad (Nov 19, '07)

Tokyo has a mission in the Iraqi desert
Tokyo's policy over Iraq has been overwhelmingly framed with its eyes on oil and its relationship with Washington, rather than with Baghdad. This despite the Japanese public's dislike of any involvement in Iraq, and Japan's lack of a Plan B should the US effort there fail. (Nov 19, '07)

Musharraf remains the US's best option
The Pakistani regime doesn't like being treated as an occasional fling when Washington is in heat. Bearing this in mind, visiting US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte needs to tread lightly when he meets with President General Pervez Musharraf this weekend. Given the political gridlock ensuing from the breakdown of the Musharraf-Benazir Bhutto deal, a continuation of the present ruling alliance - with adjustments - is the only viable option. The all-powerful military, after all, remains staunchly behind the general. - M K Bhadrakumar (Nov 16, '07)

The general pulls a fast one
Since declaring a state of emergency almost two weeks ago, President General Pervez Musharraf has managed to blindside the opposition in the leadup to the establishment this week of an interim government before national elections. Visiting US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte has a simple choice - deal with Musharraf - or the militants. - Syed Saleem Shahzad (Nov 16, '07)

CHAN AKYA
Playing South Asia's
World War III game
Using game theory to understand recent events in South Asia shows the possibility of a calamitous slide towards World War III, led by the decline of US power. China can't intervene in Pakistan and India won't, leaving a vacuum that will be filled by Islamic fundamentalists and their archrivals, the neo-conservatives. (Nov 16, '07)

US dismisses nuclear report on Iran
The International Atomic Energy Agency's latest scorecard for Iran's nuclear program confirms "substantial progress" and adds fresh details on long-sought data on the history of the country's enrichment technology. But US and Western media spin says it's not enough, even though the report says there's no need for a crisis mentality among those opposing Iran. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi (Nov 16, '07)

Muqtada moves to stop a Sunni 'surge'
Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's stormy relationship with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has taken a turn for the better, with Muqtada calling for a renewal of his Mahdi Army's truce with both American and Iraqi troops. He also wants Parliament dissolved, which would pave the way for his return to government with Maliki. At heart, Maliki and Muqtada fear a rebirth of Sunnis at the expense of Shi'ites. - Sami Moubayed (Nov 15, '07)

FILM REVIEW
Dying with an anti-war whimper
Lions For Lambs, directed by Robert Redford
Conceived as a timely cinematic antidote to the "war on terror" logic of conformism, this movie should be disconcerting, if not outright irritating, to the peace movement in the US and abroad. A splendid opportunity to mobilize the anti-war impulse has been nullified by a gifted director who should have known better than to prioritize politics over artistic form. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi (Nov 15, '07)

US eyes Pakistan's nuclear arsenal The battle lines are now drawn between ex-premier Benazir Bhutto and President General Pervez Musharraf, moving Pakistan towards chaos, rather than away from it as the two were supposed to do under Washington's grand plan. The United States sniffs an opportunity to exploit the situation and attempt to safeguard the country's nuclear arsenal from extremists. Islamabad, via King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, wants to tell Washington to back off. - Syed Saleem Shahzad (Nov 14, '07) Pakistan, Bush and the bomb The Bush administration's path to the crisis in President General Pervez Musharraf's Pakistan began on September 11, 2001, when the Pakistanis were told to either side with the US, or against it. Yet no mention was made of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal. For an administration that based its war policy on nuclear weapons falling into the wrong hands, this was a fateful oversight. - Jonathan Schell (Nov 14, '07)

In Iraq, the silence of the lambs
The separation of religious groups in the face of sectarian cleansing by militias and death squads has brought a semblance of relative calm to Baghdad. Contradicting claims that the US military "surge" has reduced sectarian attacks, one resident says that "All that has happened is a dramatic change in the demographic map of Iraq." Still, the violence continues, though at a slower rate: five to 10 tortured bodies are found in the garbage dumps and streets of Baghdad every day. - Ali al-Fadhily (Nov 13, '07)

It's getting hard to find bad guys
Violence in Iraq has dropped precipitously. With al-Qaeda declared dead, former Sunni resistance fighters wearing American-supplied uniforms, and the Mahdi Army lying low, killings are way down. A critical window of opportunity has opened for the United States to withdraw and for Iraq to hold itself together and rebuild. Yet Washington is showing every intention of staying put in Iraq for decades to come. - Robert Dreyfuss (Nov 13, '07)

RISE OF THE NEO-TALIBAN, Part 2
'Pain has become the remedy'
With the invaluable help of Punjabi jihadis diverted from the struggle in Kashmir, Taliban leader Mullah Omar, al-Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban have resolved to announce a region-wide Islamic emirate. This will mean taking on the Pakistani military, but a seasoned Punjabi tells Syed Saleem Shahzad that's not a problem - the mujahideen have suffered beyond the point of no return.
This is the conclusion of a two-part report. (Nov 13, '07)

 Part 1: Death by the light of a silvery moon

Testing time for Japan's US ties
Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on Tuesday won the first round in his battle to resume Japan's naval refueling role in the "war against terror" - and this just days before a meeting with US President George W Bush. But the reality of Japan's politics and other issues - such as North Korea - could yet erode the foundations of the long-time alliance with the US. - Hisane Masaki (Nov 13, '07)

RISE OF THE NEO-TALIBAN, Part 1
Death by the light of a silvery moon
A revitalized Taliban stage daily operations in the Kunar Valley in Afghanistan, either with suicide bombers, guerrilla attacks or Russian-made rockets. Deep in their mountain hideaway, they tell Syed Saleem Shahzad why they have to wait for moonlit nights, and about the importance of donkeys in a struggle they increasingly believe they can win.
This is the first part of a two-part report. (Nov 12, '07)

COMMENT US loses wattage to China in Iraq Insignificant as it may seem, a recent report that China has sealed deals to build electric power plants in Iraq speaks volumes about the United States' falling prestige, as well as the decline of its major weapon - the checkbook. - Dmitry Shlapentokh (Nov 12, '07) The illusion of American 'smart power' A new report by a neo-liberal Washington think-tank pushes "smart power" as the key to maintaining the United States' "preeminence" in the world. But the report recycles nearly all the defects and shortcomings of the ill-defined, contradictory dualism of "hard" and "soft" power. And the fact that many nations "resent the US's unbounded dominance" is not reconciled. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi (Nov 12, '07)

SPENGLER
Why Iran is dying for a fight
Iran's declining fertility rate is likely to usher in a new era of stability, argues Prof Philip Jenkins. It does not seem to have occurred to him that things which make peace inevitable in the long run may propel countries into war in the short run. (Nov 12, '07)

Spooks refuse to toe Cheney's line on Iran
A National Intelligence Estimate on Iran, which pulls together the judgments of the US's 16 intelligence agencies, has been held up for more than a year because it contains views at odds with the alarmist conclusions on Iran's nuclear program espoused by Vice President Dick Cheney. The report is expected to be released this month, but without its key findings being made public. - Gareth Porter(Nov 9, '07)

New crises sap Bush's 'war on terror'
While the war in Iraq might be going a bit better, if Washington is to be believed, things on the periphery of the "war on terror" are not going well at all. From Pakistan to Turkey to the Horn of Africa, there's an alarming "arc of crisis" that could deal devastating setbacks to Washington's hopes of bolstering moderate forces against its perceived enemies. - Jim Lobe (Nov 9, '07)

THE ROVING EYE
Iraq: Call an air strike
There might be less violence in Baghdad, but that's because sectarian clashes have died down as there are virtually no more neighborhoods to be ethnically cleansed. And US engagements are declining, but only because troops are spending more time in the bases. Now, whenever there is a mission in Baghdad, it inevitably means an air strike. - Pepe Escobar (Nov 9, '07)

Taliban stage a coup of their own
Taking full advantage of President General Pervez Musharraf's troubles following the declaration of an emergency and the army's preoccupation with political issues, the Taliban are making gains in Afghanistan and the Pashtun areas of Pakistan. - Syed Saleem Shahzad (Nov 7, '07)

Afghanistan rocked by northern bombing
Hazara Shi'ite leader Sayed Mustafa Kazimi, a rising political star, was one of the victims in the biggest suicide attack in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban six years ago. His killing will deal a huge blow to the unity of non-Pashtun ethnic groups and is a sign that a master plan to destabilize the northern regions of Afghanistan is in the works, with the goal of opening another front against the NATO forces. The Taliban have the most to gain from the killing, but the perpetrators are likely to have close connections to Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence. - M K Bhadrakumar (Nov 7, '07)

Turkish decision weighs heavy on US
On paper, the advantages of President George W Bush siding with the Kurds in northern Iraq in the crisis with Turkey are far outweighed by the US throwing its support behind Turkey. Ankara, with its tanks already warmed up, may make the decision for Bush. - Sami Moubayed (Nov 7, '07)

DISPATCHES FROM AMERICA
Finding home-grown back-stabbers
If the US loses in Iraq, don't blame Bush and company, blame the American critics and "defeatists". Sound absurd? Just look to World War I and the German government's home front strategy. Or, more recently, Vietnam. Same song, different singers and the message is still the same: If you're not with us, you're to blame. - William J Astore (Nov 7, '07)

Besieged Musharraf plays for time Having opened a can of worms by declaring a state of emergency, Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf is now in a fix over what to do next. With public opinion inflamed by thousands of arrests and the curtailing of civil freedoms, he can't risk further action against militancy. The best he can come up with is to buy some time. - Syed Saleem Shahzad (Nov 6, '07) Pakistan's radical Red Mosque returns Three months after being the scene of clashes between militants and the Pakistani army, the Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) has reopened in Islamabad. The renewed use of the mosque for inflammatory speeches against President General Pervez Musharraf is evidence of a violent trend that the army may not be able to control. (Nov 6, '07)

THE ROVING EYE
Bush's Turkey shoot
The astute Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, knew before he set foot in Washington that a sound bite would be about all President George W Bush would have to offer on the explosive Turkey vs Kurdistan Workers' Party crisis. Now Erdogan will wait - for just a little while - and if nothing moves, Turkey will strike northern Iraq, hard, without consulting Washington.  (Nov 6, '07)

Interpol's decision time on 'Iranian' bombing
Interpol is considering Argentina's request that five prominent Iranians, including former president Hashemi Rafsanjani, be placed on its wanted list in connection with the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people. The timing, with no new evidence being offered despite previous failed attempts, raises concerns that the Argentine move is intended to embarrass Iran and undermine its international standing. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi (Nov 6, '07)

Air strikes first, questions later
Israel's baffling raid on a supposed Syrian nuclear reactor more than two months ago remains largely a mystery. Only a series of unconvincing satellite photos has been released and the rest has been silence from the US, Israel and Syria. The International Atomic Energy Agency, meanwhile, is being kept out of the loop, underscoring the White House's contempt for the UN watchdog agency. (Nov 6, '07)

Musharraf plays his last ace
With the panache of a poker player, Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf has flung his ace on the table, silencing the judiciary and extending indefinitely his term as head of state and chief of the army. The opposition has some cards up its sleeve, though, while the US will want a massive crackdown on militancy in return for condoning the card trick. At stake is nothing less than the region's "war on terror". - Syed Saleem Shahzad (Nov 5, '07)

Pakistan shakes off US shackles
Over the past six years, President General Pervez Musharraf has craftily ingrained himself and the Pakistani military as indispensable allies of the Bush administration. Now, with a much-weakened Bush presidency entering a lame-duck phase, Musharraf is looking beyond this close association. - M K Bhadrakumar (Nov 5, '07)

BOOK REVIEW
Inside story of the Western mind
Twentieth-Century Catholic Theologians
by Fergus Kerr
America's "war on terror" proceeds from a political philosophy that treats radical Islam as if it were a political movement - "Islamo-fascism" - rather than a truly religious response to the West. Few Western leaders comprehend this, and by default, the only effective leader of the West, the man who has drawn the line in the sand, is Pope Benedict XVI. For those who are concerned about the West's future, this book is a godsend. - Spengler (Nov 5, '07)

DISPATCHES FROM AMERICA
Imperial opportunities for US builders
The United States garrisons the globe in a way no empire has ever done - neither the ancient Romans nor the 19th century British. The multi-billion dollar garrisons are versions of "gunboat diplomacy" and colonialism all wrapped in one. They are functionally the country's modus operandi on the planet. - Tom Engelhardt (Nov 5, '07)

Crisis of opportunity for Iran and the US
A flurry of diplomatic activity over the next few days, notably a meeting of foreign ministers in Turkey over the situation in Iraq, will most likely determine whether or not the Turkish military marches into northern Iraq in force to root out Kurdish rebels. The crisis brings Iran and the United States to the center stage as influential power-brokers, yet could prove to be the fire extinguisher on their other "war". - Kaveh L Afrasiabi (Nov 2, '07)

Roots of the Kurdish struggle run deep
Kurdish militants based in Iraq are as much of a threat to Iran as they are to Turkey - last year Tehran launched operations into Iraqi territory and arrested 40 rebels. The Kurdish problem in Iran dates to World War I, and if history is any lesson, the idea of a regional "Kurdistan" will remain a thorn for Turkish and Iranian leaders for a long time to come. - Sami Moubayed (Nov 2, '07)

COMMENT
The art of the possible
Lofty rhetoric such as President George W Bush's "ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world" ultimately leads to a self-defeating foreign policy that makes it impossible to effectively fight a war in Iraq, stabilize Afghanistan, deal with Iran and North Korea and combat radical Islamist terrorism. When one tries to do everything at once, it is done less well and makes the US reactive instead of proactive. - Lee H Hamilton (Nov 2, '07)

THE ROVING EYE
Double-crossing in Kurdistan
The United States plan for Iraq all along has been no less than a "soft" partition, including an autonomous Kurdish mini-state and Shi'ite and Sunni regions. Even Turkey had signed on to this, provided the Iraqi Kurds cracked down on Kurdish militants striking into Turkey. With the militants running wild, though, Ankara has to take care of matters itself - and risk throwing the whole grand scheme into jeopardy, including the US's designs on Iran. - Pepe Escobar (Nov 1, '07)

Musharraf faces up to an emergency
The security situation in Pakistan is becoming so critical that President General Pervez Musharraf has to decide whether to continue with a low-intensity - and losing - war against militancy in the tribal areas, or vastly increase the scale of military operations, as the United States is insisting. Some are now suggesting that Musharraf needs "emergency" - ie, dictatorial - powers to properly wage his part of the "war on terror", and democracy be damned. - Syed Saleem Shahzad (Nov 1, '07)

Iran simmers as a hot US political potato
A long-time US critic of the Iraq war, Republican Senator Chuck Hagel, has broken ranks once again in a letter to President George W Bush, Pentagon chief Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urging the US to hold direct and comprehensive talks with Tehran. Hagel's letter, which urges a "strategic shift" in efforts, comes amid the increasing clamor for war - and propels Iran to the center of the 2008 presidential race. - Jim Lobe (Nov 1, '07)

October 2007