Alastair Crooke Whilst America has been absorbed by the Afghan election imbroglio, a less-noticed event slid into place in the Middle East. It is less dramatic than President Karzai’s near removal; but this event tilts the strategic balance: Turkey finally shrugged off its US straight-jacket; stared-past any beckoning EU membership, and has fixed its eyes toward its former Ottoman Asian and Middle Eastern neighbours. Turkey did not do this shift merely to snub the West; but it does reflect Turkey’s discomfort and frustration with US and EU policy – as well as resonate more closely with the Islamic renaissance that … Continue reading President Obama: Getting to ‘Yes’

Submitted by Chip The year is beginning with President Obama proposing more money for war and a budget freeze for most social programs. This is occurring despite the insecure and often desperate financial straits in which most Americans find themselves. The military is coming before the needs of the people. Last year, President Obama broke all records of military funding. Not only did the DoD budget reach new heights, but so did his war-funding supplemental budgets. Now, Obama begins the year ready to break even those records. He is asking for another $30 billion war supplemental and the next military … Continue reading Voters for Peace: What Would An Effective Peace Movement Look Like?

By John Byrne Only one in four Americans know how many votes a Senate filibuster requires. One in three know the name of the chairman of the Republican Party. One in two know the Democratic leader of the US Senate. Health care? Fewer than one in three Americans even know that no Republicans voted for the Senate health care overhaul. Americans’ ignorance about politics isn’t new, but the latest results from the Pew Poll suggest few are really paying attention. Half of Americans don’t even know that Stephen Colbert is a comedian. And among those surveyed, only one in three Democrats knew … Continue reading Poll: Americans pretty clueless about politics, world

The Republicans’ shock victory in the election for the US Senate seat in Massachusetts meant the Democrats lost their supermajority in the Senate. This makes it even harder for the Obama administration to get healthcare reform passed in the US. Americans voicing their anger at the healthcare proposals at a “town hall meeting” Political scientist Dr David Runciman looks at why is there often such deep opposition to reforms that appear to be of obvious benefit to voters.Last year, in a series of “town-hall meetings” across the country, Americans got the chance to debate President Obama’s proposed healthcare reforms. What … Continue reading Why Do People Often Vote Against Their Own Interests?

Tomgram: Anand Gopal, With the dawn of the Obama era, there has been much discussion of counterinsurgency, or COIN.  Far less discussed, or reported on, has been the counterterror war in Afghanistan which is evidently ramping up.  The truth of counterinsurgency (though you’ll seldom see it said) is that, as a strategy, it has no chance unless its underpinning is a robust program of counterterror. You don’t know what counterterror is?  Not so surprising.  The truth is, if you’re not a complete news jockey, you probably don’t know much about targeted assassinations, night raids, secret detention centers, disappearances, and other acts of counterterror … Continue reading Afraid of the Dark in Afghanistan

By Brian M Downing Surprisingly undiplomatic language came out of last week’s London conference on Afghanistan. [1] Statements from North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) chiefs and Kabul politicians are usually less direct. But all recognized that conflict is at a stalemate and peace talks with the Taliban the only alternative to a longer, perhaps inconclusive, war that has ravaged Afghanistan for most of the past 32 years. Insurgent limitations Since their expulsion from power in 2001, the Taliban have been able to reconstitute. In the past three years they have been built an impressive insurgency based on opposition to foreign … Continue reading Dialogue with Taliban seeks a middle ground