Militants in no mood to talk By Syed Saleem Shahzad ISLAMABAD – Pakistan stands at a crossroad in its battle against militancy. On the one hand, its Washington ally wants to turn their strategic partnership into a closer military alliance in which the United States would help the Pakistani military significantly ramp up the war against militancy – meaning opening a new battlefield, as the Americans did in Laos during the Vietnam war. Alternatively, Pakistan is tempted to set aside American interests and apply its own mechanism to defeat militancy – which means striking deals with the “good” Taliban and … Continue reading Pakistan stands at a crossroad in its battle against militancy.

By Sami Moubayed DAMASCUS – Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will be receiving his Syrian counterpart, Bashar al-Assad, in Cairo this May. The Syrian leader makes his first visit to Egypt in four years to congratulate Mubarak on a successful gall bladder operation performed in Germany in March. The presidential visit also aims to bury tension between the two countries that began in 2005 and improve relations that hit dramatically low levels during the Israeli war on Gaza in 2008. The Syrians were ardent supporters of Hamas in the Gaza Strip while Cairo was close to the rival government in the … Continue reading Mubarak in a dilemma

India steals a march on the high seas By Sudha Ramachandran BANGALORE – India’s first indigenously designed and manufactured stealth frigate, commissioned late last month, sees the country join an elite of just eight nations that have built warships with naval stealth technology – it’s also a likely boost for New Delhi’s hopes to establish a warship-building industry. The 6,200-tonne Indian Naval Ship (INS) Shivalik, commissioned into the navy by Defense Minister A K Antony in Mumbai on April 29, is the world’s largest stealth ship. Despite it weight and size, Shivalik will be able to tiptoe through the high … Continue reading India’s first indigenously designed and manufactured stealth frigate

THE ROVING EYE The American Taliban are coming By Pepe Escobar Intricate shadowplay surrounds the (failed) smoking sports utility vehicle Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad. Earlier in 2010, the Central Intelligence Agency warned al-Qaeda might try an attack inside the US “within the next six months”. It did happen – like clockwork – with the added bonus that the alleged perpetrators are even more convenient than al-Qaeda. United States Attorney General Eric Holder is now sure “the Pakistani Taliban was behind the attack. We know that they helped facilitate it. We know that they probably helped finance it and that … Continue reading The American Taliban are coming? Or are they already here?

Karzai in the lion’s den By Heather Maher WASHINGTON – Afghan President Hamid Karzai has arrived in Washington with an entourage that includes 12 cabinet ministers and several other high ranking officials from his government. Beginning on Tuesday and for the next three days, Karzai will spend several hours in meetings with top administration officials, most notably Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama. The rest of his team will sit down to talks with their counterparts in the US government to discuss cooperation on everything from education and health to employment and agriculture. The visit comes at … Continue reading Karzai in the lion’s den?

Doubts grow on McChrystal’s war plan By Gareth Porter WASHINGTON – Although General Stanley McChrystal’s plan for wresting the Afghan provinces of Helmand and Kandahar from the Taliban is still in its early stages of implementation, there are already signs that the setbacks and obstacles it has experienced have raised serious doubts among top military officials in Washington about whether the plan of the commander of North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces in Afghanistan is going to work. Skepticism about McChrystal’s ambitious aims was implicit in the way the Pentagon report on the war, issued April 26, assessed the progress of … Continue reading McChrystal’s war plan – does he have one?