By William Pfaff It is not widely understood that the policy objective of al-Qaida is not to attack the Western countries, an objective that would accomplish nothing for the cause. Bringing down a Western airliner or blowing up a building in the United States or Britain is of no interest in itself to the terrorists, since the Islamic radical does no good by simply killing unbelievers. The ultimate purpose of al-Qaida is to bring about an upheaval in the Islamic world in which Islam can be rescued from corrupted governments and degenerate practices. When Gordon Brown or Barack Obama say … Continue reading Al-Qaida Uses U.S., U.S. Plays Along

By Syed Saleem Shahzad ISLAMABAD – At a time when Islamabad is trying to implement a United States-sponsored initiative for a spirit of dialogue between Pakistan and India, an Indian general has stirred up a hornet’s nest, eliciting a belligerent response from across the border. Indian General Deepak Kapoor, according to media reports, last week said in a closed-door seminar that his country could take on Pakistan and China simultaneously and “bring it to a satisfactory conclusion in 96 hours”, and even suggested that a “limited war under a nuclear overhang” was possible in South Asia. Pakistan, tightly allied with … Continue reading General alert in Pakistan

By Benjamin A Shobert The Chinese propaganda posters, carefully set inside the windows of the Chinese/American Friendship Center in Detroit, say it all: the first, a picture of the Capitol in Washington DC having its rotunda blown off, with the words “Defeating Your Enemy” running along the top. The second, a Chinese hand reaching down to help up an American, with the phrase “Helping You Back On Your Feet”, and the last, a burly laborer hammering away at an anvil, a figure of the US dollar beneath his descending hammer, with the slogan “Repairing Your Economy” in large white letters … Continue reading US paranoia seen in an embarrasing Anti China film – Red Dawn

By Charles Fromm WASHINGTON – In the wake of a botched Christmas Day airliner bombing claimed by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the direction of what used to be called the “global war on terror” settled on Yemen this week, with the United States slated to escalate economic and military assistance to the country’s beleaguered government. Yemen has long been on the brink of failed statehood, plagued by corruption, poverty and violence. More than a decade after civil war and reunification, a secessionist movement in the south of the country still threatens stability, as does an insurgency on its … Continue reading Yemen hard-pushed to deliver

By Francesco Sisci BEIJING – In 2005, Zheng Bijian, then executive vice-president of the Central Party School, a former political adviser to Communist Party secretary Hu Yaobang, and for years right-hand man to President Hu Jintao, published an essay in the US detailing China’s doctrine about its peaceful rise. [1] The article argued that China would not seek hegemonic status in the world and would not engage in expansionist wars. It explained how historic Imperial China, although very powerful at times, never went out of its own political basin. Zheng’s argument was a response to Western allegations that China, as … Continue reading The peace imperative

By Syed Fazl-e-Haider KARACHI, Pakistan – As the human cost of Pakistan’s position in the frontline of the “war on terror” grows, the economic burden is also mounting through growing military activity and damage to commercial activity. In Karachi, the country’s commercial capital and home to a large number of foreigners, the December 28 suicide attack on a procession of Shi’ite Muslims raised security concerns among investors. It was the city’s deadliest attack in over two years, with at least 43 people killed and businesses facing a loss of billions of rupees through the attack itself and from riots that … Continue reading Karachi Mullahs blast bill mounts