By Kaveh L Afrasiabi On the eve of the major conference on Thursday in London that will bring together senior officials from all of the governments taking part in the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan as well as Afghanistan’s neighbors, donors and the United Nations, Iran was still debating whether or not to attend. However, even if the Iranians do not show up, they will for the immediate future continue to push internationally for a regional approach to stabilizing Afghanistan. This was one of the conditions Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki set for Iran to attend the meeting. “The occupying … Continue reading Iran waits in the wings

By M K Bhadrakumar British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s attention is likely to be divided as hosts long-awaited international deliberations in London on the war in Afghanistan on Thursday. To be or not to be in the British capital was the question as Brown rushed to Belfast on Monday to “talk through the night” to save the Ulster power-sharing process from collapse. In a manner of speaking, power sharing also forms the agenda of the London conference, attended by some 60 countries. Cynics label the meeting a public relations stunt by Brown at a time when two-thirds of Britons oppose … Continue reading Circles within circles around the Taliban

In an interview with RFE/RL, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that he expected concrete results from this week’s London conference on Afghanistan. Speaking to RFE/RL correspondent Abubakar Siddique, Rasmussen also said that the NATO mission in Afghanistan was not an “occupation force”. “We will stay as long as it takes to finish our job, but our ultimate goal is to hand over responsibility to the Afghan people,” he said. RFE/RL: The Afghan government is expected to present a detailed plan for reconciliation with the Taliban in London. Previous plans have failed to win international … Continue reading NATO head says Taliban will not win

The King of Spades finally falls By Sami Moubayed DAMASCUS – Three big stories came out of the Arab world on Monday, starting with the explosion of an Ethiopian airplane in the skies off Beirut, which led to the death of all 90 passengers, on to three deadly attacks in Baghdad, which killed 37 people, and finally, the execution of Ali Hassan al-Majid, the notorious cousin of Saddam Hussein. The death of Majid – known as “Chemical Ali” – has caused a stir among ordinary Iraqis, who remember well how feared and brutal he was. Few will shed a tear … Continue reading

By Wu Zhong, China Editor HONG KONG – China’s top soccer officials have been booted out and put under investigation in a high-profile crackdown on rampant corruption and match-fixing that also smacks of political maneuvering. While fans and the media cheered the sackings, it is said on the grapevine in Beijing the stand may be part of Vice President Xi Jinping’s bid to gain popularity in the runup to the 18th Communist Party Congress in 2012, when he is expected to succeed President Hu Jintao as supreme leader. Xi, who organized the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, has followed soccer … Continue reading Xi blows whistle for the big match

By Ramzy Baroud The assessment by veteran Israeli human-rights and political campaigner Uri Avnery of the recent Israel-Turkey diplomatic and political row – that “the relationship between Turkey and Israel will probably return to normal, if not to its former degree of warmth” – seems sensible and daring. In my view, however, it is also inaccurate. Simply put, there is just no going back. In a recent article entitled “Israel Must Get Used to the New Turkey”, Suat Kiniklioglu, deputy chairman of external affairs for Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party wrote, “Israel appears to be yearning for the golden … Continue reading Turkey seizes its moment

By Julian Delasantellis Very much by design, visitors to Disney-themed amusement parks share a common introductory sensory experience. After passing through the gates, they emerge in the middle of what is called “Main Street, Disneyland”, a block-long depiction of life in an American small town from around the start of the 20th century. Since just about no one now has much memory of what life was actually like in a small American town at the dawn of the 20th century, the experience of the town has developed into something originating from others’ memories (in particular, Walt Disney’s memories) of what … Continue reading Main Street’s Disneyland folly

By Vijay Sakhuja In an apparent attempt to overcome deeply embedded suspicion and concern, Chinese telecommunication giant Huawei has pledged to expand its operations in Bangalore, the Silicon valley of India. In the next five years, Huawei plans to invest US$500 million in its research and development center and boost its employee strength from 2,000 to 6,000 personnel. Such a bold expansion from Huawei, which already has a leg up in the Indian telecommunications market but is believed to have ties with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), could be a welcome development for other Chinese state-owned companies wanting to … Continue reading Huawei points way into India

By Keya Acharya BANGALORE – “It is a fact that global warming is happening. If the Arctic Sea ice is melting, how can the Himalayan glaciers not be melting?” glaciologist Syed Iqbal Hasnain asked indignantly. Amid the brouhaha over last week’s retraction by a United Nations body of its 2007 report that the Himalayan glaciers would disappear by 2035, global warming skeptics quickly seized on the error, noting the rash of media reports on the issue, which they believe bolstered their position. But Hasnain, who found himself at the center of the Himalayan meltdown controversy, said it is “ridiculous” to … Continue reading Indian glaciologist fires back at skeptics

By Peter Lee Google isn’t doing well in China, and President Barack Obama isn’t doing well in the United States. These twin realities have helped trigger a high-profile confrontation with China. On January 12, Google responded to a sophisticated hack of its Google.cn servers, apparently emanating from within China, with the threat that it would stop filtering its Google.cn search results in compliance with the demands of the Chinese government, even if that meant Google would have to close its China operations. Google’s high-profile response will contribute, perhaps inadvertently, to fraught broader US-China relations in the coming year. Inevitably, the … Continue reading Winner of Google-China feud is – India