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SPEAKING
FREELY
Bush: The strategist in the
shadows
Is
US President George W Bush really a
"bumpkin"? An examination of the past few years
suggests - despite popular belief - that he might
not be just another neo-conservative puppet. In
fact, Bush may even be following a plan, partially
based on invading Iraq under false pretenses. -
Robert A Juhl
BOOK
REVIEW
More than just a
game
Twenty-Two Yards to Freedom: A Social
History of Indian Cricket by Boria
Majumdar
The megalithic proportions cricket
has assumed in India is astounding in terms of its
value in national consciousness. This compelling
account captures the euphoria and the politics
that have been part of the game ever since the
British carried it to Indian shores in the 18th
century. - Sreeram Chaulia
GREATER
CHINA:
 Taiwan's
president has struck a deal with the
devil. - Laurence Eyton
China's
feared anti-secession bill could end up working to
Taiwan's advantage.
SOUTHEAST
ASIA:
Indonesia's
rainforests are facing even more peril, at home
and from abroad.
SOUTH
ASIA:
Oscar-winning
Born into Brothels has failed to
impress Indian sex-worker
organizations.
China's pearl in Pakistan's waters
 Gwadar
port in Pakistan, which China helped build, provides a strategic foothold in
the Persian Gulf, allowing China increased access to global oil supplies. The
port, to be inaugurated this month, is part of what the Pentagon refers to as
Beijing's "string of pearls" strategy, which the US claims is causing
uncertainty on the high seas. - Sudha Ramachandran
(Mar 3, '05)
It sounds crazy, but ...
Bush administration policy toward the Middle East is run by
men routinely referred to in high circles in Washington as "the crazies". After
Iraq, their target now is Iran, and they won't be deterred unless the US
undergoes a radical, and honest, reassessment of its relationship with Israel.
- Ray McGovern (Mar 2, '05)
The oil factor in Bush's 'war on
tyranny'
There has been a recent significant shift in the Bush
administration's rhetoric of war, now aiming at "tyranny". The US of course has
a history of targeting only those "tyrants" it does not find useful, but what
is interesting now is where the latest "emerging targets" are, and to what
extent oil geopolitics is involved. - F William Engdahl
(Mar 2, '05)
Bush has a clear run at Syria
Despite the highly questionable assertions that form the basis of President
George W Bush's antipathy toward Syria, there have been no serious challenges
to his views on Capitol Hill: Bush appears to have few obstacles should he once
again choose to lead his country to war. (Mar 1,
'05)
China fuels energy cold war
Driven by the lack of a coherent multilateral approach to energy security in
Asia and by China's already tense relations with neighboring states,
competition for energy resources may prove to be the spark for regional and
international conflict. Ultimately, this would bring China into confrontation
with the world's largest energy consumer, the US. - Chietigj Bajpaee
(Mar 1, '05)
Cornering the dragon
The goals of confrontationists in the Bush administration are to ring China
with military bases, support Taiwanese independence, and work for the fall of
the Communist Party. In short, corner the dragon. (Mar
1, '05)
Five days that shook world
politics
He went to Europe to heal trans-Atlantic rifts. Instead, President George W
Bush's trip exposed the global fault-lines more than ever before, not just over
Iraq and Iran, but over China, Russia, energy, and the once almighty dollar. - M
K Bhadrakumar (Feb 28, '05)
The House of Saud's eternal
dilemma
Sixty years ago, Saudi Arabia and the US laid the foundations for a "special
relationship" based on an oil-for-security alliance. This partnership, though,
was laid on forces that today pull the House of Saud in opposite directions:
appeasing anti-Western Wahhabis at home, while pacifying those "infidel allies"
abroad.. - John R Bradley (Feb 28, '05)
Hillary Clinton woos India
She may deny having aspirations to follow in the footsteps of her husband, but
Hillary Clinton isn't fooling anyone in India, where on a recent visit the New
York senator aroused much speculation that she aims to become the Democratic
nominee for US president in 2008. - Siddharth Srivastava
(Feb 28, '05)
SPENGLER
The unmaking of the
neo-con mind
 The
neo-conservatives are not malign but irrelevant. They play at faith rather than
live it, and a world dominated by faith politics has passed them by. Professor
Gertrude Himmelfarb's fascination with the High Modernist apostle T S Eliot
sheds light on the neo-conservative state of mind.
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Online Ltd.
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Ba'athist ideology in Syria has
traditionally placed emphasis on "Arabism first".
This has landed the country in endless trouble, no
more so than its adventurism in Lebanon. Now,
President Bashar al-Assad is leaning toward "Syria
first" - a strategy that would not only ensure
Syria's future, but break the Middle East log-jam.
- Sami Moubayed
