We never will achieve a nuclear free world. Getting very close to zero is highly dangerous for obvious reasons; and modest reductions in the arsenals of the United States and Russia are strategically meaningless. Yes, it is a talking point in the proliferation context since we have a legal obligation under the NPT to lower the number of warheads in the arsen...
An oddity of our times is the cavalier manner by which analysts of public issues ignore acquired understanding and history. Their motto seems to be: the world begins anew when I first take note of it. We have seen this phenomenon in the rolling discussion of responses to the Great Financial Collapse. For many, Keynes might as well never have existed and the ...
These days, Jerusalem could compete with Davos and Bilderberg. Most distinguished, high and mighty gentlemen have met here, at the Auschwitz Forum in Yad Vashem, The World Holocaust Remembrance Center: kings, presidents, prime ministers; a living proof the Jews have some pull in the world. The British Court of St James was represented by Prince Charles; Fran...
Prior to the impeachment of Trump, not by Congress as presstitutes report but by self-interested House Democrats, during the entirety of US history there have been only two attempts to impeach a president - Andrew Johnson in 1868 and 130 years later Bill Clinton in 1998. Clinton was impeached by House Republicans when he clearly lied under oath by denying hi...
Russia, a leader in the large, economy-of-scale nuclear power plants, possesses a small nuclear power plant manufacturing capability, but has not revealed its intentions concerning SMRs. From what can be gleaned, however, Russia will soon opt for developing SMRs of its own design. Following Jordan’s decision to abandon the plan, signed in 2015, to get two 1,...
Mass production of modular nuclear reactors to industrialize developing countries, until fusion power comes online! That was the title I used when I last wrote about the ongoing efforts to make small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) [EIR, November 16, 2018]. SMRs will be a reliable source of a steady supply of electrical power. Some few positive steps have...
On Friday, January 17, 2020, three thousand salvos shook the earth of the Russian capital city; the sky over Moscow had been emblazoned by glorious fireworks. This was the repeat of the memorable salute given seventy-five years ago, on January 17, 1945 by 24 salvos of 324 heavy cannons at liberation of Warsaw by the Red Army. Ruined Warsaw had been saved...
India celebrates Army Day on January 15 every year with great fervour. This has historical significance as it was on this day, in 1949, that the Indian Army divested itself of British control with General (later Field Marshal) K.M. Cariappa taking over as first Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army from Sir Francis Butcher. The parades, memorial lectures, eq...
The ongoing catastrophe that would typically be referred to as the US “military presence” in Afghanistan has lasted for almost two decades, yet Washington has so far failed to demonstrate to the rest of the world its “humanitarian intentions” in this country. At the same time, we’ve seen no shortage of bold statements made by US officials on all levels that ...
For most, the Kingdom of Thailand is nothing but a resort zone, a place of fun and relaxation. However, the country has many problems that international media rarely touch upon, all of their attention focused on the West, China, Russia and the Middle East as of late. One of these problems is separatism in the southern regions of Thailand, in the provinces of...
Few would have missed the videos of children (under 10 years old) chanting “azadi” and abusing the Prime Minister and Home Minister for alleged animosity and evil intent towards one community. Since one cannot expect children of such tender age to have knowledge or understanding of the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Population Register (also called...
Disclosures of taped phone calls between embattled former prime minister Najib Razak and a person believed to be United Arab Emirate crown prince Mohammed bin Zayed go a long way to explain Malaysian efforts to counter UAE and Saudi influence in the Muslim world. The disclosures are the latest incident in what have been complex, if not strained relations wit...
(On the thirtieth anniversary of the painful exodus of the tiny Kashmiri Hindu community from the then State of Jammu and Kashmir, we publish (as an exception to our norm) a poem of wounded yearning by one of the victims. The poet has dedicated it to all those who have suffered the agony and pain of living in forced exile from a much loved homeland,...
For many years, the Middle East has been a turbulent region, where military clashes and terrorist attacks occur regularly. The Middle Eastern governments pay therefore special attention to security issues and the development of military technologies. It is especially valuable for them to cooperate with Russia in these areas, as Moscow is an established autho...
An Iran hawk who advocated killing general Qassim Soleimani, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, has ordered his diplomats to limit contacts with militant Iranian exile and opposition groups that support either regime change or greater rights for ethnic groups like Kurds and Arabs. Coming on the back of the Soleimani killing, Mr. Pompeo’s directive appears to...
Trump was panting heavily, like Darth Vader on the Death Star. The mike was too close to his mouth. His laboured speech and strange look did not match the comforting words as he spoke to the American people. But the meaning was clear: the world sheriff had received a ringing slap in the face. First time ever, a regional power brazenly shelled a...
The romance of ‘The Great Game” lingers. Abandoned as a pointless draw a century ago, its power to evoke stirring images endures. The fabled lands of Central Asia long have been the stuff of dreams – Samarkand, Balkh, Hotan, Chitral, Ladakh, Timur, the Khans, the Khyber Rifles, mysterious Tibet concealed behind the Himalayas. Kipling and Kim engraved it on...
Information has come to light that indicts the United States not just for the Soleimani killing but also for the over 300 killings during the Iraqi protests in late 2019. In fact, it can be proven that the United States not only organized the protests but also is responsible for killing protestors as well, hundreds of them, something we have seen before,...
There have been a series of events that have shaped the overall political landscape in East Asia, and all of the events which have been more or less significant are worth reflecting on. After all, this is the first place where we see the interests of the world’s two most powerful countries collide - the United States and China. Japan’s return to the “Great G...
They say he came from a humble background, and worked himself up the ranks, becoming, as many believe, the second most powerful man in Iran. They say he had the chance to become the next Supreme Leader of the country. Whenever I visit Iran, I am told how much he is loved by his people. He became the symbol of resistance against the West; the symbol of the st...
While General Qassim Soleimani’s death in a US air strike may apparently seem not big enough a development to start an all-out war, or even World War 3, there is no gainsaying that this deliberate attempt to escalate tensions in the region will have severe consequences. For one thing, Soleimani was no ordinary Iranian soldier, for another, his death is a US ...
The US killing of Iranian general Qassim Soleimani has further opened the door to a potential restructuring of the Gulf’s security architecture. In line with an Iranian plan launched at last year’s United Nations General Assembly by president Hassan Rouhani that calls for a security architecture that would exclude external forces, cooler heads in Tehran argu...
Interestingly, after the US attack on Iraqi Militia fighters on 31 December 2019, and the assassination of General Qassem Suleimani, the first thing President Trump could come up with was bragging that it was him who gave the order to murder the popular military leader. General Qassem Suleimani was the commander of the Iranian special Quds Force. The Quds Fo...
It does not matter where the green light came from for the US targeted assassination of Quds Force commander Major General Qassim Soleimani and the Hashd al-Shaabi second in command Abu Madhi al-Muhandis. This is an act of war. Unilateral, unprovoked and illegal. President Trump may have issued the order. Or the US Deep State may have ordered him to issue...
The paroxysms of religious intolerance increasingly engulfing Pakistan and sections of its civil society, not to mention the frenzied anti-India exhortations of its favourite militant outfits, are inexorably pushing the nation towards political incoherence and religious apoplexy, from which return to sanity seems unlikely. Two recent events best exemplify...
The incident of mob violence at Gurdwara Nankana Sahib in Pakistan on Friday, January 3, has raised deep concern worldwide, especially amidst the Sikh community. Reports suggest that, post the afternoon Friday prayers, a mob comprising of hundreds of Muslims laid siege on the gurdwara. The holy premises were pelted with stones and Sikhs offering prayers in...
The killing of Iranian military leader Qassim Soleimani proves the point: The United States has perfected the art of strengthening Iranian hardliners fuelled by an apparently ingrained misreading of Iranian politics and strategy sustained over decades. It also suggests that the Trump administration has walked into a trap in which spiralling tension between...
In 1909, Mahatma Gandhi was invited by the Indian diaspora in the UK to attend a Dussehra function. It was attended by Savarkar, then a student in London. The two finally shared a stage. While Gandhi talked about Lord Ram as selfless and conciliatory, Savarkar spoke of Durga as destroyer of evil. Both pitched for an inclusive India where all religions live i...
After Israel was created in 1948, Turkey became its most important partner in the Middle East. Ankara recognized the Jewish state as far back as 1949, establishing official diplomatic relations with it, which clearly illustrated the direction of Turkey’s foreign policy. The first two Israeli prime ministers, David Ben-Gurion and Moshe Sharett, spoke Turkish....
Does anyone know what COP25 stands for? Probably very few. Its unimportant. As unimportant as the whole roadshow itself. Just for the hell of it, for those who read this article, COP means Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The 25 stands for the 25th year that such annual conferences have ta...
A new world order is here, and Trump’s impeachment is playing a roll. For nearly three years the planet has been turned upside down, threats of war, endless sanctions, treaties tossed aside, trade agreements trashed and, just perhaps, a pattern is emerging. “Madness or method,” these are the questions we will examine. Inside the US, it is much more. While...