Beware of blowback from Afghan policies

The site of a suicide attack by Taliban in Parwan province, Sept. 17, 2019, targetting a campaign rally by President Ghani, killing over 20 people. Ghani escaped unharmed.  During an exclusive interview with the Associated Press this week, the former Afghan president Hamid Karzai severely questioned the rationale behind the presidential election which is due to …

Iran’s tango with Europe is rooted in its traditions and culture

French President Emmanuel Macron and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani met at UN, New York, Sept 23, 2019. The joint statement issued by the leaders of France, Germany and the United Kingdom on September 23 indicting Iran for the attacks on the Saudi Aramco plants two weeks ago is at once consequential and declaratory.  The joint …

Howdy Modi had nothing of enduring value for India

The US President John F. Kennedy (R) received India’s Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru (L) at the airport in Rhode Island, Washington, November 1961. The art of flattery, contrary to what one might think, is a complicated affair. If it is too straightforward, it runs the risk of appearing artificial, especially when the flatterer contrives to combine …

Aramco attack a defining moment in US-Saudi alliance

Soldiers prepare a Patriot missile launcher for reloading, March 7, 2019. US Army Photo  A series of interviews of Democratic presidential candidates opposing President Trump in the 2020 election by the Council of Foreign Relations in New York reveal that the perceptions regarding US-Saudi ties have dramatically changed in the Washington beltway.   Two issues …

Russia is auxiliary to US-India partnership, not balancer

The Chinese Communist Party tabloid Global Times has featured a stimulating commentary entitled Modi does balancing act between US and Russia. It discusses the ‘Chanakyan’ moorings of India’s diplomacy vis-a-vis Russia.  The hypothesis is uncomplicated — namely, that India ‘balances’ its relations with the US and Russia with a view to get a good deal …

Houthis strike at Saudi Arabia’s throbbing heart

Drone attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels caused major fires at two of Saudi Aramco’s oil facilities, Sept 14, 2019. A terrible beauty is born on the Middle East’s strategic landscape with the massive drone attacks Saturday on two Saudi Aramco refineries. Saudi Arabia, which has a record of sponsoring terrorist groups to destabilise foreign lands …

India prepares to shed legacy of protectionism

India has invited officials of the member countries of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) to a meeting in New Delhi on September 14-15 for “discussing ideas.”  This is happening only a week after the 7th RCEP Ministerial Meeting at Bangkok on September 8 in Bangkok and a week before the next negotiating round scheduled to be …