SUMMARY The leadership of al-Qaida is, by and large, on the run, says counter-terror expert Marc Sageman. Unfortunately, he tells Margaret Warner, more “lone wolves,” such as the accused Christmas Day airplane bomber, have emerged as the new face of the terror threat. GWEN IFILL: Finally tonight, another in our series of conversations about the state of al-Qaida. Last week, we heard from a former CIA field officer and top counterterrorism official, who said he believes al-Qaida is regaining momentum — tonight, a different view. MARGARET WARNER: Marc Sageman has spent most of his career studying terrorists and extremists networks … Continue reading In Hunt for al-Qaida, ‘Lone Wolves’ a Rising Threat

By Syed Saleem Shahzad ISLAMABAD – At the major international conference on Afghanistan in London last Thursday, Afghan President Hamid Karzai called on the Taliban to take part in a loya jirga (assembly of elders) – as a start to peace talks. The Taliban are widely reported as having responded that first they want all of the more than 110,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan to leave the country by 2011. Asia Times Online, however, has learned from well-connected sources in Afghanistan who have been directly involved in backchannel negotiations with the Taliban that there is an important nuance to the Taliban … Continue reading Taliban take on the US’s surge

By Matthew Berger WASHINGTON – A report and budget request from the United States Department of Defense reveal both new and old priorities for President Barack Obama’s Pentagon. Strategically, the military recognizes new, non-traditional threats ranging from failed states to cyber-warfare to climate change, but there is little change in the military spending habits of the Obama Pentagon versus that of his predecessor. The new Quadrennial Defense Review, a congressionally mandated report on the direction of US national security strategy, marks several major breaks from past reports. Whereas previous QDRs have had at their heart a strategy in which the … Continue reading US defense envisions multiple conflicts

By Olivia Chung HONG KONG – Hong Kong’s High Court on Tuesday rejected afeng shui master’s claim for the estimated US$4.2 billion fortune of late property tycoon Nina Wang Kung Yu-sum after a court case featuring a heady mix of sex, secrets and geomancy. Mr Justice Johnson Lam Man-hon said a 2006 will in the possession of Tony Chan Chun-chuen was a fake, and upheld a 2002 will giving the estate to a charity run by Wang’s family. Wang, Asia’s richest woman at the time of her death, succumbed to cancer in April of 2007. Her death triggering a battle … Continue reading Geomancer loses in battle of the wills

By Caleb Lauer ISTANBUL – Though genocide scholars around the world agree that more than one million Ottoman-Armenian civilians were deliberately killed during World War I when Turkish Ottoman authorities forced them to walk out of Anatolia into the Syrian desert, Turkey has always officially denied this was genocide. Ankara has insisted that a commission to study this tragic history be a pillar of its now fizzling peace deal with neighboring Armenia. The idea of the commission has caused much controversy. Armenia, bowing to Turkish pressure and eyeing the prospect of an open border with its much richer European Union-candidate … Continue reading Turkey changes course on Armenia

By Farid Ahmed DHAKA – Bangladesh has vowed to bring to justice the fugitive killers of the country’s founder president, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, now that five of his assassins have been executed 35 years since his murder. Six of the killers who were tried in absentia are still on the run and hiding out in other countries, a top police officer in Dhaka told local media. Another had previously died in Zimbabwe. Around midnight on Thursday at the Dhaka central jail, five of the 12 former army officers who killed Sheikh Mujib – as the country’s founding father is popularly … Continue reading A ‘black chapter’ closes in Bangladesh

By Kent Ewing HONG KONG – The warlords Cao Cao and Liu Bei were fierce rivals in life, with their exploits vividly described in the classic historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, one of the most revered classical novels in Chinese literature. Now, 1,800 years later, that rivalry has been renewed in death. In a game of archaeological one-upmanship, two teams of tomb warriors claiming to have found the burial sites of the legendary generals are battling it out in the Chinese media to gain official recognition for their claims. So far, neither party has been successful and, indeed, both … Continue reading Tomb warriors battle in China

The peculiar urge to sack the England captain Is adultery a sufficient reason? Or perhaps betraying a team-mate? A refresher in anthropology might provide an answer David Aaronovitch Footballers are not entirely like the rest of us. Yesterday, in a Sky interview, the former England forward, Steve Bull, was talking about the former England goalkeeper, Bert Williams, who celebrated his 90th birthday on Sunday. “If I get to half that age,” said Bull, “I’ll be happy.” It turns out that Bull will be 45 on March 28. I am afraid that I don’t find the John Terry story very much … Continue reading Englands peculiar urge to sack the England captain over sex! SO WHAT?