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 War
and Terror
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November 2010
Leaks test Tehran's nuclear nerve
Cyber-terrorism, attacks against scientists and now the WikiLeaks show that
Iran's opponents, including its Persian Gulf neighbors, have seized an
opportunity to bring it to its knees. The disclosures may undermine Iran's
confidence as it enters a new round of nuclear talks in early December. China,
one of the "Iran Six" nations around the table in Geneva, may yet come to the
rescue. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi (Nov 30, '10)
War cries ringing in Obama's ears
The now-revealed symphony of war cries from Arab nations could challenge United
States President Barack Obama's stated policies to avert a conflict over Iran's
nuclear program through negotiations with Tehran while pressuring the Islamic
Republic with diplomatic and economic sanctions. War hawks, including those in
power in Israel, have responded with barely concealed glee. - Ali Gharib
and Jim Lobe (Nov 30, '10)
The other conflict in Afghanistan
A bitter north-south conflict in Afghanistan between Pashtun and other ethnic
groups such as the Uzbeks and Hazara could soon take center stage from the
Taliban-led insurgency. Shut out of power once again, northern tribes see the
Hamid Karzai administration as only the latest in a series of incompetent,
intrusive Pashtun cabals whose misgovernance has consigned the country to
endless chaos. - Brian M Downing (Nov 30,
'10)
Teetering Asian dominoes test Obama
The ripples from the crisis between North and South Korea add to a tide of
reverses that threatens to undermine Barack Obama's patient foreign policy.
Signs that Israel could use the distant conflict to pressure acquiescence for a
strike on Iran stand in line with events in Iraq, Afghanistan and Yemen to
suggest the specter of "falling dominoes" haunting the American president.
- Victor Kotsev (Nov 29, '10)
 SINOGRAPH
Neighborly love running out
Despite all of the efforts China has made to cover up for North Korea,
Pyongyang's shelling of a South Korean island shows that it does not trust
Beijing. If the North is uncontrollable and there is no status quo to be
preserved, then using the arithmetic of costs and benefits, it may be worth
eliminating a troublesome neighbor. - Francesco Sisci
(Nov 29, '10)
Fall guys in Beijing need better PR
In the court of international opinion, whenever North Korea creates a problem,
China - as Pyongyang's major backer and economic benefactor - is held
responsible. To some scholars, that is a too simplistic reading of the
provocations that have brought the Korean Peninsula to the brink of war. Still,
Beijing could use better public relations. - Sunny Lee
(Nov 29, '10)
THE ROVING EYE
US a kid in a
NATO candy store
At its Lisbon meeting last weekend, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization gave
the American warfare state pretty much everything it wanted, including the
green light on a Europe-wide missile shield and the promise of virtually
endless war in Afghanistan. It was enough to warm the heart of the most jaded
Pentagon praetorian. - Pepe Escobar (Nov 24,
'10)
The incredible shrinking withdrawal
date
The Barack Obama administration's drawdown date of 2011 from Afghanistan was
slowly recalibrated to 2014, and now that goal has been dismissed as
"aspirational", with "2015 and beyond" touted. With an unshakable belief in his
counter-insurgency program, Afghan war commander General David Petraeus is only
offering Obama and world leaders two strategic options: more or a lot more. - Tom
Engelhardt (Nov 24, '10)
AN ATOL EXCLUSIVE
Pakistan opens its door for US ops
The government in Islamabad has intervened to allow its embassy in Washington
to grant defense-related American officials virtually unlimited access into
Pakistan. The United States is desperate to take direct control of
counter-terror operations there as a part of its broader Afghan war strategy.
The move puts it on a collision course with Pakistan's military. - Syed Saleem
Shahzad (Nov 22, '10)
Intel on Iran has telling flaw
Technical drawings, supposedly of Iranian origin, are a key part of allegations
that Iran had a covert nuclear-weapons program in 2003. But the drawings
actually depict a missile Iran was no longer using at that time, which points
to fabrication by an intelligence agency.- Gareth Porter
(Nov 22, '10)
Israel moves to counter Hezbollah
The withdrawal of Israeli forces from Ghajar on the Lebanese border is one of
many maneuvers intended to shape international opinion should the political
turmoil in Beirut lead to a Hezbollah strike, with claims of human shields and
missile-smuggling reinforcing Israel's status as a victim. The Ghajar pullout
could also lead to United Nations pressure on Hezbollah to disarm, potentially
weakening Iran's proxy. - Victor Kotsev (Nov
19, '10)
ATOL EXCLUSIVE
Top al-Qaeda ideologue held in Syria
Egyptian Abu "Amr" Abd al-Hakim Hassan, popularly known as Sheikh Essa, is
imprisoned in Syria, Asia Times Online has learned. The 70-year-old Egyptian is
one of al-Qaeda's most influential ideologues, and in Pakistan almost
single-handed turned sizeable numbers of jihadis against the state. Al-Qaeda,
in an effort to regain ground in Iraq and surrounding areas, has dispatched
many more like him. - Syed Saleem Shahzad (Nov
18, '10)
Marjah residents take on the Taliban
In a poor part of Marjah in Helmand province in Afghanistan, villagers have
taken up arms to keep the Taliban - and by extension, foreign and Afghan
government forces - out of the area. While some worry this will cause problems
of its own, most residents say the strategy has improved their lives.
(Nov 18, '10)
THE ROVING EYE
Have (infinite) war, will travel
It's got night ops, air strikes, drone missions and special-forces
skullduggery. It's horrendously expensive, as bloody as a slasher film and it
keeps the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization busy in the
strategic heartland of the world. Withdraw from Afghanistan? The fun is just
getting started. - Pepe Escobar (Nov 17, '10)
Kabul gets its own stimulus package
While Americans bemoan unemployment and argue over economic stimulus measures,
in Afghanistan, Washington remains a profligate spender, lavishing many
millions of dollars on a massive extension of the US Embassy. Barely
describable as an "embassy" in the traditional sense, this vast, over-equipped
complex is clearly an outpost for a long-term war. - Tom Engelhardt
(Nov 17, '10)
Washington urged to engage Iran
The United States should forget about rattling sabers and instead sit down and
strategically engage Iran, a group of more than 40 foreign policy and
non-proliferation experts suggest. A military attack, either by the US or
Israel, on Iran would prove counter-productive in virtually every respect. - Jim
Lobe (Nov 17, '10)
US scheming to extend Iraq
adventure
In a secret meeting with Iraqi officials, the United States has offered to
leave 15,000 soldiers in the country after the 2011 deadline for withdrawal.
Such a deal could embroil American troops in Iraq's internal conflicts for
years to come. - Gareth Porter (Nov 16, '10)
Deadly retaliation ends Karachi
peace
The relative recent calm of Karachi was shattered on Thursday with an attack in
retaliation for the arrest and public display of alleged militants. With "on
again and off again" affiliations to al-Qaeda and Pakistani Taliban and a
string of Shi'ite killings under its belt, sectarian groups again show that
they are a volatile, uncontrollable quantity. - Syed Saleem Shahzad
(Nov 12, '10)
Moscow prods Afghan, Japanese
wounds
Russia picked at war wounds with Afghanistan and Japan this week with a
deliberateness betraying deeper calculations. An anti-drug operation in
Afghanistan underscored Moscow's dramatic march towards NATO, while prodding
old scars over the Kurile islands, just as Tokyo still smarts from a
territorial rift with Beijing, reaffirmed China as a core vector in Russian
foreign policy. - M K Bhadrakumar (Nov 5,
'10)
Rising security threat in Afghan
north
The governor of northern Balkh province is at his wit's end. Despite repeated
warnings about deteriorating security, Afghan security forces and North
Atlantic Treaty Organization-led international troops have failed to come up
with a coordinated response. The situation is similar in neighboring provinces
as the Taliban steadily spread their insurgency. - Abdul Latif Sahak
(Nov 4, '10)
AMERICA VOTES, THE WORLD WAITS
Polls set Middle East timetable
Weakened domestically by mid-term election losses, United States President
Barack Obama still holds tight reins on foreign policy and his initiatives
could set the pace for the Middle East peace process. Both the Israeli
government and the Palestinian Authority are on edge, afraid that the other
will strike the first deal. Regional politics and countless little
quagmires along the way could still bog down progress. - Victor Kotsev
(Nov 3, '10)
Parcel bombs point to al-Qaeda
switch
The foiled plan to blow up two air cargo planes bears the imprint of Egyptian
Saiful Adil, recently freed from Iran and reintegrated into al-Qaeda in
Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal area. Adil does not favor big-ticket
operations, preferring world-wide low-intensity attacks that will not provoke
the massive retaliation of the kind that led to the ouster of the Taliban after
September 11. - Syed Saleem Shahzad (Nov 2,
'10)
Torture of Iraqis part of US dirty
war
According to newly leaked documents, the US military in Iraq was ordered not to
investigate reports that US-backed Shi'ite forces were torturing Sunnis. This
was part of a deliberate American strategy of using Shi'ite torture-and-death
squads to crush the Sunni insurgency. - Gareth Porter
(Nov 2, '10)
Russia’s Afghan foray a subtle
stroke
Unlike in the Soviet era, Russia now uses its military power judiciously. Case
in point: its recent joint drug raid in Afghanistan with the US. In a stroke,
Moscow fired a warning shot at Pakistan and China, and showed the world it had
buried the hatchet with Washington. - Brian M Downing
(Nov 2, '10)
DISPATCHES FROM AMERICA
The face of war (don't look!)
It's hard for Americans to grasp the nature of the wars being fought in their
name when they are kept in a state of striking isolation from their horrors.
Regular export of large-scale violence is not something the American media have
cared to scrutinize. Isolation from war's savagery and sacrifices comforts some
and allows others free rein, but it's a false comfort. - William J Astore
(Nov 1, '10)
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ATol Specials
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Syed Saleem Shahzad reports on
the Afghan war from the Taliban side
(Dec '06)
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How
Hezbollah defeated Israel
By
Mark Perry and
Alastair Crooke
(Oct '06)
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Mark Perry and
Alastair Crooke
talk to the 'terrorists'
(Mar, '06)
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The evidence for and against Iran's alleged
nuclear weapons program
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Nir Rosen goes inside the Iraqi
resistance
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Nir Rosen rides with the 3rd
armored cavalry in western Iraq
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Islamism, fascism and
terrorism
by Marc Erikson
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For earlier articles go to:
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