February 2009
As Sri Lanka’s armed forces battle the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in their last stronghold, India is trying to mediate to save civilians trapped in the war zone.
NEW DELHI, Feb 27 (IPS) - As Sri Lanka’s armed forces battle the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in their last stronghold, the island country’s influential neighbour, India, is weighing diplomatic options to goad President Mahinda Rajapakse’s government to save civilians trapped in the war zone.
The number of civilians is estimated to be as high as 200,000 to 250,000.
February 2009
If Obama's announcement had meant the withdrawal of all US troops and mercenaries, it would be something to celebrate, says Phyllis Bennis, but the reality of 50,000 troops remaining in Iraq means that the occupation is far from over.
President Barack Obama said directly that he would be announcing "a way forward in Iraq that leaves Iraq to its people and responsibly ends this war." As far as it goes, that sounds good.
February 2009
India must craft an independent policy towards Pakistan and Afghanistan without relying on the United States, argues Praful Bidwai.
ON February 12, Pakistan did something that no state barring Libya has done in recent times. It admitted that some of its nationals were involved in a terrorist act – specifically, the November 26-29 attacks in Mumbai – and that the conspiracy to carry it out was at least partially planned on Pakistani soil.
February 2009
A.H. Nayyar and Zia Mian
The government of Pakistan released A.Q. Khan from house arrest earlier this month. The former head of the country's nuclear weapons uranium enrichment program had been detained since 2004, following revelations of his decades-long role as part of a nuclear black market selling nuclear technology, materials, and even nuclear weapon designs.
Washington responded with an awkward shuffle. When asked if, during his visit to Islamabad, White House Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke had expressed U.S.
February 2009
It is clear that Pakistan's stonewalling tactics have strengthened the
hands of Indian hardliners, who now advocate covert action in Pakistan,
or coercive diplomacy targeting the shared waters of the Indus River
system with a view to reducing their flows into Pakistan.
February 2009
The timing of the December-January Israeli assault on Gaza had everything to do with the Israeli elections, and the results are showing rise of the right, the extreme right, and the fascist right, writes Phyllis Bennis.
The timing of the December-January Israeli assault on Gaza had everything to do with the Israeli elections. (Well, almost everything - there was that little item of finishing the military attack before Barack Obama's inauguration.)
But now the elections are over. And while final tallies are not officially finished, a few things are already clear.
February 2009
NEW DELHI, Feb 12 (IPS) - Five weeks after India handed over a dossier to Islamabad containing detailed evidence on the Nov. 26-29 Mumbai terror attacks, Pakistan has finally promised an official response, based on investigations by its Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
However, the Indian government is disappointed at a statement issued on Feb.
February 2009
Phyllis Bennis interviewed by Thalif Deen
The extreme lawlessness of Israel's attack on Gaza, the shocking human devastation that it caused, and the direct attacks on UN facilities and personnel all elevate the possibility of holding its leaders accountable, in spite of Israel's history of impunity.
UNITED NATIONS, Feb 2 (IPS) - Despite widespread accusations of war crimes by Israel, there is growing scepticism of any Israeli leader being brought before an international tribunal for the killings of civilians and the targeting of schools and medical facilities during the 22-day conflict in Gaza last month.
"The number an
February 2009
Interviewed by José Manuel Pureza
Talk of "human security" asserts a prerogative of the powerful to say whose rights are to be respected, whose not respected, and to say who shall be system of domination now in place -– a risky thing, given that “stabilisation” practices have a way of triggering a lot of instability.
January 2009
An unfortunate consequence of vitiated India-Pakistan relations immediately after the Mumbai terrorist attacks was the relatively muted response of civil society organisations (CSOs) in the two countries. Earlier, they had campaigned for peace while braving hostility from both establishments.
But the shock from the world's worst-ever case of extremists ruthlessly mowing down 180 innocent civilians in public places--as distinct from using bombs--didn't leave them unaffected.
