Hamas is currently treading a very risky line. For the Salafi-Jihadists, Hamas has de-legitimised itself as an Islamic group and as a leader of the resistance against Israel. Rather ironically, Hamas will be better off in the short term continuing to simultaneously straddle positions of moderation and extremism – basically maintaining the status quo.
The self-immolation of Mohammed Bouazizi instilled enough courage in the Arab people to demand the democratic and human rights that they deserve. If the present protests on the Arab streets are sending tremors across the world, then in the near future, an unexpected political event in the region will be potent enough to hit globally with the force of a tsunami.
The massive expansion and technological maturation of PLA land-based aerial and ballistic forces indicates the rise of a “Fortress China” doctrine in Beijing. China sees national defense and regional security as a function of its own ability to control its local periphery.
The raising of the US national debt ceiling authorizing America to borrow money on global financial markets has become one of the most under-reported topics of our time. What was usually a minor issue has become a game of “Russian roulette”. The stakes could not be any higher. Forget American decline, global chaos would result.
Greece has been financially ill even before it joined the then EEC. The symptoms were chronic cronyism, high levels of nepotism, severe clientelism and acute individualistic mentalities. Why did banks continue lending to a country like Greece, especially since they knew the economic state of affairs the country has been in for decades?
CIA director Leon Panetta is currently engaged in talks in Islamabad, arriving the day after the head of the Pakistani Army, attempted to win back some respect from the Pakistani population by urging the US to divert some of its $3 billion a year aid to ‘help the common man’ while also forcefully re-asserting Pakistan’s sovereignty. These concerns would be heartening if they were not so transparent.
The outlook for maritime Asia appears increasingly desolate. Should China rule the skies while the United States commands the depths, surface fleets on both sides — not to mention the merchantmen that transport the raw materials and finished goods that sustain our globalized economy — will be caught in the no-man’s land between.
The Chinese Communist Party has maintained political office and subsequent control in China since 1949. Chinese leaders now draw their legitimacy from the state’s amazing economic growth. China now looks to Africa for resources and offers African nations an economic model they can emulate that is vastly different than western standards.
On 17 November, the residents of Ghajar took to the streets to protest against the Israeli Security Cabinet’s approval of a plan to unilaterally withdraw the Israel Defence Force (IDF) from the northern half of the village. This move is only the latest episode in the unfortunate history of Ghajar.
The Euro will survive. Survival is an economic, political and social necessity, central to Europe’s success. That the Euro must not fail should encourage Europe to take measures to overcome the current challenges the single currency faces. As Richard Youngs of the think tank FRIDE hopes, Europe should adopt a unity in adversity approach.
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