May 2, 2011 :: staff :: Comments Off
Pakistan’s president Asif Ali Zardari, whose late wife Benazir Bhutto was assassinated by extremists shortly after returning to her homeland to seek the presidency, said he was not informed prior to the operation that it was taking place, but that his government, and all of Pakistan should celebrate Bin Laden’s demise. Bin Laden had repeatedly tried to kill Bhutto, and was suspected of plotting to assassinate Pres. Zardari.
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May 1, 2011 :: staff :: Comments Off
Tonight, the news is breaking across global television and online media that the president of the United States will be making a special televised address to announce that Osama bin Laden has been confirmed killed. NBC News’ Chuck Todd is reporting the news began to leak out after Pres. Obama began informing, by telephone, the key leaders in Congress, that he would be making this announcement.
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December 2, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
Afghanistan is not lost, but for several years it has moved backwards. There’s no imminent threat of the government being overthrown, but the Taliban has gained momentum. Al Qaeda has not reemerged in Afghanistan in the same numbers as before 9/11, but they retain their safe havens along the border. And our forces lack the full support they need to effectively train and partner with Afghan security forces and better secure the population. Our new commander in Afghanistan — General McChrystal — has reported that the security situation is more serious than he anticipated. In short: The status quo is not sustainable.
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November 24, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is in Washington, DC, for the first official state visit of Pres. Barack Obama’s presidency. PM Singh was chosen by the Obama administration for the occasion in order to highlight the complex strategic partnership the US enjoys with India and to build a closer alliance on a range of issues. The bookish economist-turned popular PM is said to have a close working relationship with the legal scholar-turned popular president. Singh praised Obama for “the breadth of his global vision for peace and prosperity”.
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October 19, 2009 :: The Editors :: Comments Off
A suicide bombing yesterday in Pishin killed at least 6 Revolutionary Guards commanders and 37 other people and appears to be an attempt to strike at the leadership of the nation’s premier security forces. Tehran attributes the bombing to what it alleges are “western” efforts to destabilize Iran. There are also concerns the bombing may [...]
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July 19, 2009 :: staff :: 7 Comments
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is back on the world stage, making a major visit to India, to discuss strategic issues, energy, diplomacy and counter-terrorism. She used her arrival to warn India not to make the same mistakes the US has made in delaying action to reduce emissions and combat climate change. She suggested “a great country like India” has the resources and ingenuity to avoid falling into the same traps of political inaction.
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July 5, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: 2 Comments
Barack Obama has been observing, researching and critiquing nuclear weapons policy for three decades. He seeks to put in motion the most ambitious global denuclearization effort ever conceived, grounding his approach in a hard pragmatist awareness of what drives the build-up of ever more destructive weapons arsenals. He has said throughout this year that his plans would never remove the US nuclear deterrent capability while any nuclear threat remains in the world. Now, he goes to Russia to seek a bilateral strategic arms reduction treaty.
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May 31, 2009 :: Anjika Sridhar :: Comments Off
As the UN and the Red Cross express dire concerns over the humanitarian crisis emerging among the estimated 2 million people who have fled their homes in the Northwest Frontier Province, Pakistan says its military has recaptured the city of Mingora, in the Swat Valley. Taliban factions have claimed responsibility for major bomb attacks in Lahore, and have vowed to target Pakistan’s major cities.
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May 20, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
The United States Congress yesterday approved new legislation putting restrictions on credit card companies, limiting the leeway banks have in specifying terms and conditions in complex wording in long pages of fine print. The measure would also require that no lender see interest rates escalate until being at least 60 days delinquent and that rates [...]
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May 16, 2009 :: Anjika Sridhar :: Comments Off
The ruling party of Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh has expanded its presence in parliament. Singh is expected to be asked to serve a second 5-year term for the professorial PM. Singh is also credited with a unique reputation for clean dealing and a steady term of service presiding over 9% growth for the Indian economy.
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May 15, 2009 :: Denver Lessing :: Comments Off
New reports from Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) suggest as many as 1 million people may have fled their homes to escape fighting between Taliban insurgents and government military forces. The Pakistani military lifted a curfew in the town of Mingora, in the Swat Valley, for 8 hours to allow civilians to evacuate, in advance of what it says will be a total assault against all militant positions there.
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May 8, 2009 :: Anjika Sridhar :: Comments Off
Pakistan’s prime minister, Yusuf Raza Gilani, yesterday announced the military had been ordered to “eliminate” Taliban militants in the Buner district and the Swat Valley, after the Taliban violated a peace agreement with the Zardari government. The UN estimates over 1 million people have fled their homes to escape the fighting. Pakistan has warned civilians to leave the area, as the Taliban is accused of hiding in densely populated areas to avoid bombardment, and the military plans an all-out offensive.
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May 8, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
Newt Gingrich is trying to reinvent, or rehabilitate, himself. And he’s doing it by trying to whip up reflexive anger across his party’s base. Without citing one single point of Pres. Obama’s policy or one single piece of historical evidence, he has classed Obama’s call for a world free of nuclear weapons as “a dangerous fantasy”. He is situating himself firmly in the camp of make-believe “values conservatives” whose world view is actually an adolescent reading of Machiavelli (and a fantasy already proven to be dangerous).
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May 5, 2009 :: Anjika Sridhar :: Comments Off
Pakistan’s military is stepping up its offensive against Taliban militia factions in the Northwest Frontier Province. The government has reported daily tallies of dozens of militants killed in fighting in the Buner district. Yesterday, it accused the Taliban of using over 2,000 civilians as “human shields” to prevent a military action against militants. Today, there were reports from the BBC about “helicopter gunships” being used in the assault against militia positions.
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April 30, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
Countless families and communities touched by our auto industry still face tough times ahead. Our projected long-term deficits are still too high, and government is still not as efficient as it needs to be. We still confront threats ranging from terrorism to nuclear proliferation, as well as pandemic flu. And all this means you can expect an unrelenting, unyielding effort from this administration to strengthen our prosperity and our security in the second hundred days, in the third hundred days and all of the days after that.
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April 30, 2009 :: Anjika Sridhar :: Comments Off
Pakistan’s government, under pressure from the US and other governments, has stepped up its offensive against Taliban militants in the Buner district. When Taliban forces were said to have withdrawn last week, they also left behind newly recruited local cadres through whom they might seek to expand their reach. According to the AP: “The military said more than 50 Taliban fighters and one member of the security forces died in the offensive launched Tuesday amid U.S. pressure”.
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April 24, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
The central government of Pakistan has reportedly deployed 300 paramilitary soldiers to Buner district to counter a Taliban incursion from their recently consolidated stronghold in the Swat Valley. International media today reported that the first Taliban soldiers began withdrawing from Buner, which they had overtaken with no police resistance.
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April 23, 2009 :: Anjika Sridhar :: 2 Comments
With an Afghan-Pakistani hybrid Taliban taking hold of significant areas inside Pakistan, the nuclear-armed nation has become a grave security risk to the rest of the region and the world. After signing a deal with Pakistan’s government to take control of the Swat Valley and impose a brutal distortion of shari’a law, the Taliban almost immediately launched attacks deeper into Pakistan, taking control of parts of the Buner district.
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April 22, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: 3 Comments
Because there’s something in it for everybody. The current global nuclear weapons-control regime operates on a dangerously untenable false premise: that only ‘responsible’ nations can or should be allowed to make and maintain arsenals of nuclear warheads. At first blush, it may seem highly rational: only those who will behave responsibly should have the most dangerous weapons; but, then, upon further examination, who is qualified to make that judgment?
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April 21, 2009 :: Anjika Sridhar :: 2 Comments
After just over two weeks of sporadic fighting in the Buner district of Pakistan, between the Swat Valley —now under shari’a law and run by the Taliban— and the nation’s capital, Taliban fighters have reportedly forced the local government to flee. This leaves them within 100 km of the capital, Islamabad, where the insurgents may seek to claim control of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal.
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April 21, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: 4 Comments
Today comes the news that the Taliban have taken more territory in Pakistan’s Buner district, just 100 km from the capital Islamabad. The shockingly weak government of Pres. Zardari has already ceded the Swat Valley to the Taliban, allowing harsh shari’a law to be imposed. The local government has been forced out of Buner, and the area is becoming a stronghold. If the Taliban reach Islamabad, they may be able to seize control of the one of the world’s 9 known arsenals of nuclear weapons.
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March 17, 2009 :: Anjika Sridhar :: Comments Off
Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhary, the former chief justice of the Pakistan Supreme Court, who was dismissed by extraconstitutional means by then Pres. Pervez Musharraf, during the general’s desperate efforts to retain power in late 2007, will be reinstated by Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan’s current president.
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March 3, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
Zimbabwe has released a top human rights activist whose detention was illegal, according to activists, the opposition and foreign governments. Zimbabwe power-sharing arrangement still under strain as Mugabe regime seeks to guard against prosecution for past crimes. After a sustained series of bombings across Pakistan, an attack by gunmen in Lahore, this time targeting a [...]
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January 22, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
Timothy Geithner, whose nomination for secretary of Treasury has been questioned due to a tax-filing mistake he made years ago, which has been accounted for and paid in full, has been approved by a Senate committe vote, clearing the way for an approval vote before the full Senate in coming days. Sec. of State Hillary [...]
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January 14, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
Reports from Gaza now place the number of Palestinians killed in the ongoing Israeli offensive against Hamas at over 1,000. Israel says it does not target civilians, but top UN officials have questioned whether Olmert’s government is doing enough to abide by legal requirements to avoid civilian deaths. Ban Ki-moon, secretary general of the United [...]
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December 25, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
The global aid group, Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF / Doctors Without Borders) has released its 11th annual report on the ten most severe humanitarian crises around the world. This years list cites mass poverty, resource scarcity and ungovernability in Somalia, Ethiopia and DR Congo, severe health risks to the populations of Zimbabwe, Burma (Myanmar) and DR Congo, and the constant danger of violence against civilians in Iraq, DR Congo, and Sudan’s Darfur region, along the Chad border.
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December 23, 2008 :: Anjika Sridhar :: Comments Off
Pakistan’s defense minister, Ahmed Mukhtar, has said there will be no nuclear conflict with India, in the event that armed conflict breaks out over last month’s Mumbai terrorist seige. Indian authorities and other intelligence agencies have alleged that Lashkar-e-Taiba, a militant group outlawed by Pakistan, had launched the attack from Pakistani soil, and pressure is on both governments to reach an agreement for peaceful political cooperation to eliminate the threat of another attack and find those responsible for the deaths of nearly 200 people in Mumbai.
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November 30, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
Throughout the siege of Mumbai, we have been hearing that India suspects the plot must have had its roots in Pakistan. Between Friday and Saturday, we began to hear Indian diplomats expressing concern that reflexive anger might cause people not to distinguish between Pakistan’s government and militant groups operating out of Pakistan. Now, we are seeing increasing concern that the attack could be designed to destabilize Pakistan itself and create an opportunity for Taliban-linked groups to seize control of some parts of the country.
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November 30, 2008 :: Anjika Sridhar :: Comments Off
For days, news reports heralded the end of the Mumbai siege, though it continued, with fierce gunbattles and intermittent explosions, amid a raging inferno, at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel. There was death and destruction at no less than 9 separate locations in what some headlines termed “the battle for Mumbai”. Diplomatic tensions were high throughout, as foreign governments sought to ensure the safety of their citizens. The dead were of many distinct nationalities, including highly publicized French, American and Israeli victims.
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November 30, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: 2 Comments
The three-day siege of Mumbai has come to a fateful, bloody end, leaving at least 183 dead and over 270 injured. The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, a 105-year-old landmark, the scene of the worst fighting, was described by one witness as “totally burnt”, with bodies bloodied and badly damaged by fire, strewn around. The attack began Wednesday evening as 8 to 10 gunmen reportedly landed in a small inflatable boat on a city beach, and proceeded to assault civilians at cafes and hotels, using high-powered automatic weapons and grenades.
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November 30, 2008 :: Denver Lessing :: One Comment
We have to think very carefully about what it would mean if we took the accusations of some political leaders in India seriously when they say the origin of the attacks can be linked to Pakistan. More careful, more thoughtful intellectual lights in the Indian diplomatic corps or in party politics, have noted that while it is likely fair to say the official government of Pakistan was not responsible, it may also be true that there are militant “roots” somewhere in Pakistani society that supported or enabled the attacks. It must be said, there is no publicly known evidence to date.
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November 10, 2008 :: Denver Lessing :: Comments Off
A new report —drawing from “More than a half-dozen officials, including current and former military and intelligence officials as well as senior Bush administration policy makers, [who] described details of the 2004 military order on the condition of anonymity because of its politically delicate nature”— says the United States has conducted more than a dozen secret special forces raids, across borders around the globe to target Al Qaeda or other terrorist-linked sites, since 2004.
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August 19, 2008 :: staff :: Comments Off
Pres. Pervez Musharraf, the former general who seized power in a military coup, and whose rivals have now won back control of Parliament, was facing impeachment for allegedly violating the constitution in the course of his efforts to control the political environment through use of the military. Facing what looked like near certain impeachment, Pres. Musharraf has announced his resignation in a nationally televised address, turning over the reins of power, and hoping to escape conviction.
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March 25, 2008 :: The Editors :: Comments Off
25 March :: Yousaf Raza Gillani, newly appointed Pakistan PM of coalition gov’t frees judges deposed, detained under Musharraf’s martial law decree; Gillani was once jailed by Musharraf over corruption allegations when he seized power… US Dept. of Justice yesterday announced approval merger of two satellite radio giants XM and Sirius, leading to potential absolute [...]
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March 9, 2008 :: The Editors :: Comments Off
9 March :: Sharif, Zardari form coalition gov’t in Pakistan, calling into quesiton the viability of Pres. Pervez Musharraf, politically; Musharraf has lost substantial support for his hardline attempts to reform the nation’s government structure in his favor, declaring martial law, throwing out judges who ruled against him, detaining lawyers and muzzling the press; former [...]
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February 17, 2008 :: The Editors :: Comments Off
17 February :: Kosovo to declare independence from Serbia today, according to reports from Pristina, EU agencies; EU officials said “around 1,900 international police officers, judges, prosecutors and customs officials and approximately 1,100 local staff will be based in headquarters in Pristina or located throughout the judicial and police system in Kosovo”, according to CNN, [...]
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January 18, 2008 :: The Editors :: Comments Off
18 January :: LA Times quotes unnamed CIA operative as saying US concurs with Pakistan on Bhutto killer; the official is quoted as saying “There are strong indications that Baitullah Mahsud was behind the Bhutto assassination”, adding “There is certainly no reason to doubt that Mahsud was behind this”, though Mahsud has publicly denied involvement, [...]
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January 10, 2008 :: The Editors :: Comments Off
10 January :: Suicide bomber strikes Lahore, Pakistan, killing at least 23 riot police and injuring dozens of other people, raising fears that political crisis in troubled nuclear state could result in prolonged campaign of violence… Concerns about integrity of US election process spread as more states take action to bar use of touchscreen voting [...]
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January 8, 2008 :: The Editors :: Comments Off
8 January :: Son of Benazir Bhutto calls for UN-led investigative commission to determine responsibility for his mother’s assassination, saying Pakistan gov’t lacks “transparency” required to conduct an effective and credible investigation… New Jersey’s state legislature has officially apologized for practicing slavery, the first state north of the Mason-Dixon line to do so, though it [...]
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January 5, 2008 :: The Editors :: Comments Off
5 January :: WSJ reporting “After a week of political stalemate and bloodshed, Kenyan president Mwai Kibaki said Saturday that he was prepared to form a government of national unity with the opposition, easing tensions between the two side and potentially setting the stage for negotiations to end violence that has so far killed at [...]
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January 2, 2008 :: The Editors :: Comments Off
2 January :: Crude oil prices hit record $100, before falling to $99, amid claims of high demand, violence in oil producing countries, driving prices higher; the rapidly weakening dollar is also considered to be a factor in the rising prices… US Justice Dept. launches criminal probe of CIA destruction of hundreds of hours of [...]
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January 1, 2008 :: The Editors :: Comments Off
1 January 2008 :: Le Monde has acquired a document that outlines irregularities recorded by observers of the Kenyan presidential poll, appearing to demonstrate fraud amounting to the altering of millions of votes: according to Le Monde, the report shows that opposition leader Raila Odinga led by as much as one million votes, a lead [...]
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December 31, 2007 :: The Editors :: Comments Off
31 December :: Reports suggest Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party now seeks to mount firm opposition to Musharraf rule, creating concerns of unrest, political instability as troubled nation seeks return to democratic government; WSJ reports new PPP co-chair Asif Ali Zardari “yesterday repeatedly referred to the Pakistan Muslim League (Q), a party affiliated with Mr. Musharraf [...]
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December 30, 2007 :: The Editors :: Comments Off
In the wake of the assassination of Pakistan People’s Party leader Benazir Bhutto, stability seems to be the key goal among top rivals in secular political leadership. The PPP has announced that in keeping with Ms. Bhutto’s wishes, her son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, a 19-year-old student at Christ Church College, Oxford, will take the helm [...]
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December 28, 2007 :: The Editors :: One Comment
Fmr. Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto, whose father was executed in the process of a military coup in the 1970s, and who has said she remained “broken” by what had happened to her during 5 years in military prison, was assassinated Thursday, while campaigning to restore free elections to her country. She had been the [...]
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November 23, 2007 :: The Editors :: Comments Off
23 November :: Discovery of skin-cell property that allows stem-cell behavior hope for researchers, conservative candidates; the discovery means research into curing diseases through stem-cell treatments need not be held back by ban on research that destroys human embryos, conservative candidates in US need not face criticism for opposing life-saving research… Pakistan has been suspended [...]
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November 20, 2007 :: The Editors :: Comments Off
20 November :: US military to turn over AP photographer to Iraqi authorities for prosecution, accusing him of links to terrorist groups; AP says no such links have even been demonstrated, Iraq native —who won Pulitzer Prize with team of AP photographers— was detained by US after offering shelter to people fleeing a bombing raid [...]
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November 17, 2007 :: The Editors :: Comments Off
17 November :: Bank of England governor warns coming year will be hardest economically for Great Britain, with credit problems, banking tightness and housing slump contributing to general tightening of purse-strings, possible consumer slowedown as well; Bank gov. Mervyn King said it will be 2009 “before growth picks up and inflation is brought under control”, [...]
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November 13, 2007 :: The Editors :: Comments Off
In many parts of the world, people are presently facing the question, on a societal scale, of whether or not free and open democracy can coexist with measures taken to protect against extremism. The question is an old one and goes to the root of whether it is possible, as a matter of natural law, [...]
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November 13, 2007 :: The Editors :: Comments Off
13 November :: New report by Congressional Joint Economic Committee says wars in Iraq, Afghanistan have already cost taxpayers $1.5 trillion over last 6 years, including long-term cost rises related to oil, veterans’ healthcare, borrowing… Bhutto again under house arrest, calls for Musharraf to resign office, form interim “coalition of interests” to govern in run-up [...]
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