By M K Bhadrakumar In the world of diplomacy and politics, a “leak” invariably means something and its timing is never accidental. The leak is a form of diplomatic ingenuity. Two leaks in successive weeks, appearing in New York and London in the run-up to the visit by United States President Barack Obama to India in early November, raise tricky questions. They threaten to become the leitmotif of Obama’s visit. The thrust of the “original leak” on October 15 in ProPublica, aManhattan-based website that specializes in “investigative journalism”, can be summed up as follows: The US Federal Bureau of Investigation had advance … Continue reading Obama’s boat to India springs leaks

Extremists winning the mind games By Syed Saleem Shahzad ISLAMABAD – The promotion of a progressive intellectual movement in the Muslim world was the brain-child of various American think-tanks as a means to counter radical Islam and al-Qaeda’s ideological appeal. In Pakistan, the regime of General Pervez Musharraf (president from June 2001 to August 2008) adopted the idea and brought forward credible modernist Islamic scholars and their schools of thought. Another experiment after Musharraf stepped down and his idea fizzled was to launch a Sufi movement to confront radical Islam. Sufism is defined by its adherents as “the inner, mystical dimension … Continue reading Extremists winning as Mullahs are being given Pakistan on a plate again

By Nick Turse Some go by names steeped in military tradition like Leatherneck and Geronimo. Many sound fake-tough, like Ramrod, Lightning, Cobra, and Wolverine. Some display a local flavor, like Orgun-E, Howz-e-Madad, and Kunduz. All, however, have one thing in common: they are US and allied forward operating bases, also known as FOBs. They are part of a base-building surge that has left the countryside of Afghanistan dotted with military posts, themselves expanding all the time, despite the drawdown of forces promised by President Barack Obama beginning in July 2011. The US military does not count the exact number of … Continue reading US dug in for long haul in Afghanistan

By Chris Zambelis The lasting impact of the latest round of sanctions slapped on Iran in June by the United Nations Security Council – followed by an additional and more stringent unilateral sanctions regime levied by the United States, the chief proponent of sanctions, and theEuropean Union – over its uranium-enrichment program is unclear. To date, US-led efforts to punish Iran and countries and companies that do business with it have yielded mixed results. The latest measures ostensibly target Iran’s domestic energy and financial sectors. While upholding the intricate web of sanctions already in place against scores of Iranian companies, institutions, and citizens, the … Continue reading Sanctions won’t defang Iran

If you open a modern Oxford English dictionary, you would probably find the definition of Jihad as “a holy war undertaken by Muslims against non-believers”. This is a very poor definition. Before trying to define what Jihad is, we should first define what it is NOT. Jihad is NOT Holy War Jihad is NOT blowing up one’s self  (Suicide is a sin in Islam) Hadith  : Shahi Bukhari. Book 23. Funerals (Al-Janaa’iz). Volumn 002, Book 023, Hadith Number 445. —————————————– Narated By Thabit bin Ad-Dahhak : The Prophet (p.b.u.h) said, “Whoever intentionally swears falsely by a religion other than Islam, … Continue reading What Jihad NOT IS!