By Stephen Zunes The United States may be on the verge of involvement in yet another counter-insurgency war that, as in Iraq and Afghanistan, may make a bad situation even worse. The attempted Christmas Day bombing of a Northwest Airlines flight by a Nigerian and apparently planned in Yemen, the alleged ties between the perpetrator of the Fort Hood massacre to a radical Yemeni cleric, and an ongoing US-backed Yemeni military offensive against al-Qaeda have all focused US attention on that country. With a population of about 24 million, Yemen has almost as large a population as Saudi Arabia, yet … Continue reading Yemen left with little wiggle room

By Eli Clifton WASHINGTON – United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is traveling in the South Pacific this week to strengthen longtime US alliances with Australia, improve relations with New Zealand and bring some forward momentum to US-Japanese negotiations over the controversial relocation of the US air station in Okinawa. While not traveling to China and Japan, as US President Barack Obama did in November, Clinton’s trip will likely be dominated by the role of an increasingly powerful China in the Pacific, tensions in the US-Japanese relationship and vocal Chinese objections to the US decision last week to sell … Continue reading Clinton has some fences to mend

By Wu Zhong, China Editor HONG KONG – A Chinese millionaire’s record-setting donation of nearly US$9 million to his graduate school at Yale University has become explosive news in China, sparking a nationwide debate on whether he should have instead given the money to a Chinese school. Following a Yale announcement, one of China’s state-run newspapers, the Global Times, broke the story on January 8 that Zhang Lei, a graduate from Yale’s School of Management and the founder and managing partner of Hillhouse Capital Management – a New York-registered, Beijing-based company – would donate $8,888,888 to his alumni school. Sounding … Continue reading Yale donation sets tongues wagging

By Anil Netto PENANG – Now that the dust has settled on the attacks against nine Christian churches, eight on the peninsula and one in northern Borneo, Malaysians are left to reflect on the consequences. Many were horrified to learn that four church properties around the capital, Kuala Lumpur, had been hit with firebombs last Friday. Similar attacks followed in subsequent days in the states of Perak, Malacca, and Negri Sembilan on the peninsula, and another across the South China Sea in Sarawak. On Tuesday evening, stones were thrown at a Sikh temple, cracking a mirror at the shrine’s entrance. … Continue reading Malaysian attacks leave ash of confusion

By Sami Moubayed DAMASCUS – After the Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in Ankara, many in the West referred to a new Turkish foreign policy called “neo-Ottomanism”, suggesting a revival of the intellectual, political and social influence of the Ottoman Empire, which departed the scene 92 years ago. That policy was attributed to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his advisor, now foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu. Quickly, however, the term “Ottomanism” began to fade, given that it was difficult to market in countries formerly controlled by the Ottoman Empire due to continued indoctrination against Ottomanism by the … Continue reading Turkey embraces role as Arab ‘big brother’

By M K Bhadrakumar A tipping point comes when confusion arises about the identity of the adversary on the battlefield. Who is the United States’ number one enemy in the Hindu Kush: the Taliban and al-Qaeda or Afghan President Hamid Karzai? United States President Barack Obama isn’t a “hands-on” president. He has scores of preoccupations. In addition to Yemen, The New York Times reported last week that six million Americans – one in 50 people in the US population – are living with no income other than food stamps. Like its economy, America’s tattered image also needs repair. Muslim anger … Continue reading Kabul anxiously beckons Obama

By Dilip Hiro The dramatic images of protestors in Iran fearlessly facing – and sometimes countering – the brutal attacks of the regime’s security forces rightly gain the admiration and sympathy of viewers in the West. They also leave many Westerners assuming that this is a preamble to regime change in Tehran, a repeat of history but with a twist. After all, Iran has the distinction of being the only Middle Eastern state that underwent a revolutionary change – 31 years ago – which originated as a mild street protest. Viewed objectively, though, this assumption is over-optimistic. It overlooks cardinal … Continue reading Regime change in Tehran? Don’t bet on it