Taliban risks losing international legitimacy

A high-powered Taliban delegation led by Mullah Baradar arrived in Tehran for consultations on January 26, 2021  A high-level delegation led by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the senior leader of the Taliban and its chief negotiator at the Doha talks, held consultations in Tehran and Moscow this week through January 26-29 amidst growing uncertainty over …

US-Pak reset to advance Biden’s Afghan settlement

Barack Obama (C) with advisers reviewing Afghan exit plan, vice-   president Joe Biden (L), White House, Washington, DC, circa 2010 Mark Twain is credited with the saying ‘History never repeats itself, but it does often rhyme.’ The echoes of history resonate as the new US administration prioritises the Afghan problem for policy review.  The …

Biden’s Idea of India and Savarkar’s are poles apart

Kamala Harris being sworn in as US Vice-President. At right extreme is President Joe Biden. Washington, DC, January 20, 2021 According to media reports, the US President Joe Biden has picked as many as 20 Indian-Americans for senior positions in his government, and the common thread running through them is that none of them had …

Blinken’s diplomatic cart will have a bumpy ride

US Secretary of State-designate Antony Blinken at confirmation hearing of Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Washington, Jan 19, 2021 The confirmation of Antony Blinken as US secretary of state by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is a foregone conclusion. That makes his opening statement at the senate hearing Tuesday an important document. Blinken did not throw …

US makes aggressive opening move on Russian chessboard

Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny was detained at the airport in Moscow upon arrival from Germany, January 17, 2021   A regime change project in Russia was launched on Sunday with the return of political activist Alexei Navalny to Moscow. It was a highly symbolic event — except that Navalny was travelling by an aeroplane …