Mar 17, 2012

U.S. soldiers consumed by wars without end

by Robert H. Scales

I guess I knew it would eventually come down to this: Blame the U.S. Army’s institutions in some way for the horrific and senseless slaughter of 16 innocent Afghan civilians in Kandahar, allegedly by an infantry noncommissioned officer (NCO). In their search for a ...

Feb 27, 2012

Pragmatic Islamists of the Maghreb countries

by Moha Ennaji

Just over a year ago, the Arab Spring sparked dramatic change throughout the Arab world. Popular movements have brought a range of avowedly Islamist political parties to power, replacing the largely secular former regimes. What that will mean for these countries, and for the ...

Feb 24, 2012

An alternative to Putin's way

by Andrey Borodaevskiy

A “frosty Saturday” Feb. 4 confirmed the deadlocked nature of the situation that has ripened in Russia for more than a decade of Vladimir Putin’s rule (as president and senior partner in the infamous “tandem”). The elections March 4 unequivocally mean a dozen more ...

Feb 18, 2012

Religion an increasing source of strife in Africa

by Gwynne Dyer

Sudan was bombing South Sudan again last week, only a couple of months after the two countries split apart. Sudan is mostly Muslim, and South Sudan is predominantly Christian, but the quarrel is about oil, not religion. And yet, it is really about religion ...

Feb 2, 2012

Demilitarizing Muslim politics

by Shahid Javed Burki

Can Muslim governments free themselves from their countries’ powerful militaries and establish civilian control comparable to that found in liberal democracies? This question is now paramount in countries as disparate as Egypt, Pakistan and Turkey. To predict how this struggle will play out, it ...

Feb 2, 2012

What does Egypt's military leadership want?

by Omar Ashour

“Whatever the majority in the People’s Assembly, they are very welcome, because they won’t have the ability to impose anything that the people don’t want.” Thus declared Gen. Mukhtar al-Mulla, a member of Egypt’s ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF). Al-Mulla’s message ...

Jan 30, 2012

Islamist military coups and nuclear weapons

by Gwynne Dyer

The eastern half of what used to be Pakistan narrowly escaped a military coup last month. Brig. Masud Razzak, spokesman for the Bangladeshi Army, announced Jan. 19 that “a band of fanatic officers has been trying to oust the politically established government. Their attempt ...

Jan 13, 2012

21st-century U.S. defense strategy

Two basic principles guide the United States National Defense Strategy unveiled Jan. 5. The first is the rising significance of the Asia-Pacific region to U.S. national interests. The second is a new fiscal environment: Washington just does not have the resources to fund a ...