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| Iraq, Iran, China: the emerging axis, Paul Rogers | ||||
The transfer of authority in Iraq's Anbar province from American to Iraqi security forces on 1 September 2008 is an index of confidence that the situation in Iraq is indeed improving. There are indeed signs of progress across much of the country, though some of these have to be qualified by noting the context in which they are emerging. It is also important to keep an eye on the larger strategic picture in Iraq and the region, where the United States is surrounded by both familiar and... more »
The mark of a leader is how he or she responds to tough rather than favourable circumstances. By this standard, Mikheil Saakshvili has so far managed well his military defeat in South Ossetia and the subsequent Russian onslaught. Even the continuing presence of Russian troops on the soil of "Georgia proper" - that is, excluding the territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, almost all of which were outside Georgian control before the war of August 2008 - has not put into question his... more »
Letter to Turkey's secularists: please talk , Kalypso Nicolaïdis Hakan Altinay
The question of whether European Union officialdom has taken sides in the ongoing clash between "secularists" and "Islamists" in Turkey is of profound current concern. Many in the first camp seem to believe so, citing as evidence the way that one EU representative after another dismissed the grounds of the indictment denouncing Turkey's ruling Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi (Justice & Development Party / AKP) as the "focal point for anti-secular activities."... more »
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