Pakistan, US raise militant tempo
Thursday's missile attack by a US Predator drone in the Pakistan tribal areas has a significance far beyond the dozen or so militants killed. The pilotless craft was launched from a Pakistani airbase - a first - and the targets were hit in an Islamic seminary. In the border regions, these madrassas are widely used by militants to transfer weapons and for meetings - and until now they have fallen under the intelligence radar. - Syed Saleem Shahzad (Feb 29, '08)

Medvedev ready for his Russian moment Judging by his record, the presumptive next president of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, can be expected to pursue a concerted liberalization of politics as the next logical stage in the country's evolution. He aims to make business in Russia the most profitable in the world. And in foreign policy, the likely leitmotif is that security will be enhanced when countries share risk - that is, the West and Russia should cooperate. - Nicolai N Petro (Feb 29, '08) BOOK REVIEW From local fight to global struggle Russia's Islamic Threat by Gordon M Hahn Although the Chechen war started as a nationalistic exploit, with the desire to liberate Chechens from Russia and build an independent state, it has transformed itself into a jihadi movement with global appeal. - Dmitry Shlapentokh (Feb 29, '08)

A whole new game for Thailand's Thaksin
Thaksin Shinawatra's return to Thailand on Thursday marks the first time an elected prime minister who has been deposed from power has come back with politically active support and with the party in power backing him. All the same, Thaksin says it's sport he'll be playing, not politics. And fighting law suits. (Feb 29, '08)

Taliban can't stop Korean missionary zeal
The Taliban's abduction last year of 23 South Korean Christian volunteers shocked their country and prompted the leader of the missionaries' church to say there would be no more work in Afghanistan. Now, he's singing a different hymn and plans to send more people to the same area once his government lifts a travel ban. - Sunny Lee (Feb 29, '08)

SEX IN DEPTH
Cell swingers in Cambodia
From university sweethearts married in Paris to kingpins in the brutal Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia, 82-year-old Ieng Sary and his wife Khieu Thirith, 75, now bide their time in detention awaiting trial for crimes against humanity. They're in separate cells, and Sary has requested conjugal visits. While the two await an answer, they could reflect on one of the Khmer Rouge's practices - separation of man and wife. (Feb 29, '08)

William Sparrow writes a weekly column looking at issues relating to sex in Asia.



THE ROVING EYE
A long road from Kosovo to Kurdistan
The embrace by Washington of Kosovo's declaration of independence has less to do with democracy than with hard-nosed pragmatism. The US's biggest foreign military base since the Vietnam War - Camp Bondsteel - is in Kosovo, and the region will be home to a US$1.1 billion pipeline that will get oil from the Caspian Sea ultimately to refineries in the US. Kurds in Iraq, believing Kosovo to be a precedent for an independent Kurdistan, will be disappointed: the US-sanctioned Turkish invasion of northern Iraq has seen to that. - Pepe Escobar (Feb 28, '08)

Ambac bailout may cause crisis
There are solutions to the US financial crisis - the proposed injection of US$3 billion into bond insurer Ambac is not one of them. Prices have to come down, banks have to be recapitalized, risk premiums have to go up. But with little interest in tough medicine, we face higher inflation and a substantially weaker dollar. - Axel Merk (Feb 28, '08)

Indonesia's appetite for arms grows
Checks on US military aid to Indonesia are gone, and the floodgates are now wide open. Washington hopes beefing up Indonesia's military will help Jakarta counter terrorism and emerge as a regional leader able to thwart North Korea's nuclear ambitions and deter China's military build-up. Meanwhile, Washington is watching Russian President Putin's recent overtures to Jakarta with a wary eye. (Feb 28, '08)

Australia offers India hope on uranium
The decision of the Australian government under Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to pull out of an agreement reached under his predecessor to supply India with uranium may be reversed. First New Delhi will have to resolve its nuclear differences with Washington. (Feb 28, '08)

A sour note in Pyongyang
The music was great, but the New York Philharmonic Orchestra's performance in the North Korean capital this week was overshadowed by those who did not attend. Dear Leader Kim Jong-il and his chief nuclear negotiator were conspicuously absent, sending a message that is reverberating in the echo chamber of negotiations over Pyongyang's nuclear program and the future of US relations on the Korean Peninsula. - Donald Kirk (Feb 28, '08)

THE MOGAMBO GURU
TFC goes down on the upside
Growth in Total Fed Credit is slowing even as the absolute amount climbs towards the trillion-dollar mark. That is no comfort to hungry folk in Yemen getting wasted as they riot in protest at the rising cost of bread. But then they didn't have the foresight to build a bunker and stock it with that essential of inflationary times - gold. (Feb 28, '08)

IN THE DRAGON'S LAIR
US prowls for China in the Philippines
With China fast becoming the US's greatest competitor, Washington needs the Philippines more than ever. Not only is it ideally located, its government has been far more willing than other Southeast Asian countries to align itself with the demands of the US. Thus Washington is steadily transforming and deepening its military presence and intervention in the Philippines in preparation for any face-off with China. In return, Beijing is aggressively courting Manila. - Herbert Docena (Feb 27, '08)

Washington reaches out to Muslim rebels
The American envoy's recent meeting with the leader of the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the Philippines signals a softening of Washington's stance on the Muslim rebel group it once considered adding to its terror blacklist. The secretive meet also hints at a larger deal in which Washington will help to broker peace in Mindanao - as long as the rebels sever ties with any groups the US has identified as terrorists, including the Abu Sayyaf. - Romer S Sarmiento (Feb 27, '08)

DISPATCHES FROM AMERICA
'The world' according to Washington
According to Anglo-American rules of discourse, "the world" is the political class of Washington, London and their allies of the moment. For an example, take the recent killing of Hezbollah doyen Imad Moughniyeh, one of "the most wanted militants in the world". But, if "the world" adopted the perspective of the real world, other criminals would be worthy of the epithet "wanted the world over". - Noam Chomsky (Feb 27, '08)

THE BEAR'S LAIR
Booby-trapping the economy
If George W Bush left office next week, he could regard himself among the best of those outgoing presidents whose successors have to take the rap for the economic mess they inherit. But the 2009 president may just attack Bush's legacy head on. - Martin Hutchinson (Feb 27, '08)

CAMPAIGN OUTSIDER
Ding-dong, the witch is
... no, wait ...
Hillary Clinton's team says it faces do or die tests in Ohio and Texas next week, but it will carry on whatever the outcome. The real question is how did things get so grave in Hillaryland? - Muhammad Cohen (Feb 26, '08)

Turkey offers oil pipe lifeline
Turkey is offering India access to its network of pipelines running from oil-rich Central Asia - with Israel serving as a key link in the chain. A deal would be attractive to New Delhi, if it could secure the oil to course through the pipes. - Sudha Ramachandran (Feb 26, '08)

SUN WUKONG
Shares drive may
drown a golden goose
The Chinese government, keen to reduce the amount of cash in the economy, is encouraging more companies to raise money in the stock markets rather than through bank loans. The result is a plethora of proposals for new share issues by listed companies such as insurance giant Ping An, whose need for the cash is open to question. - Wu Zhong (Feb 25, '08)

Turkey's offensive comes at a price
Turkey is clearly acting in concert with the United States and Israel over its incursion into northern Iraq to attack Kurdish rebels. As a result, Ankara can shrug off international - including Iraqi - condemnation of its actions. But there will be a cost: Turkey will be expected to play a major role as the guardian of the stability of northern Iraq, and as important, to play a bigger role in Afghanistan. - M K Bhadrakumar (Feb 25, '08)

SPENGLER
Obama's women
reveal his secret
The public knows less about Barack Obama than any other presidential hopeful in American history. His career bears no trace of his character. But there is a real Barack Obama - a man shaped by the imprint of an impassioned mother, and the influence of a brilliant wife. Ultimately, the probable next president is a mother's revenge against the America she despised. (Feb 25, '08)