FILE PHOTO: US troops patrol in Logar province, Afghanistan. The sensational disclosure by the New York Times on June 26 that Russia’s military intelligence agency paid bounties to Afghan militants to kill American and NATO troops in Afghanistan, opens a can of worms. It pollutes the air of US-Russian relations with a powerful stench. The …
China warns Trump not to risk trade deal
The guided-missile destroyer USS Barry operates with the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan in the Philippine Sea on May 30, 2020. If there is one template on which the Carnegie Endowment of Peace for International Peace, CNN, New York Times, Washington Post can agree with China’s Xinhua news agency and the CGTN in the present-day …
Stars and stripes rise over Vistula River
US President Donald Trump (R) & Polish President Andrzej Duda (L) at a press conference, White House, Washington, June 24, 2020 The visit by Polish President Andrzej Duda to the White House on June 24 marks an important milestone in the United States’ transatlantic strategies. It comes at a time when a growing number of …
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Have Gun, Will Travel in Afghanistan
US war crime allegations cast shadow over Afghanistan’s future Britain has joined France and Germany to break with the United States over President Trump’s Executive Order on June 11 authorising economic sanctions against International Criminal Court [ICC] officials directly engaged in investigation over possible war crimes committed by American troops and intelligence personnel during the …
Turkey hangs tough on Libya
The series of debilitating military setbacks that Libya’s renegade general Khalifa Haftar suffered in the recent weeks have spurred diplomatic activities over the conflict in the country. But the war is far from over. Haftar’s dream of capturing Tripoli from the internationally-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) led by Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj has been …
Standoff in Ladakh needs political solution
Lone Indian soldier guarding northern border with China. File photo The good thing about the nihilistic Indian media narratives — relentlessly negative — over the military standoff in eastern Ladakh is that the government largely disregarded them. Hopefully, a de-escalation of tensions is on cards. Nihilists and cynics are best shunned. Especially when they also …
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‘German question’ back on centerstage
Working sessions of US-Russia summit at Camp David on the deck, outdoors –from top left, Secretary of State James Baker, President George HW Bush (3rd & 4th from left), Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze, President Mikhail Gorbachev (1st & 2nd from right), June 2, 1990. The high noon of the illustrious career of Ambala-born Lord Ismay who …
G7 walks towards a long sunset
President Trump vs. the West: Iconic picture out of the G7 summit, Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu, Quebec, Canada, June 8-9, 2018. The US President Donald Trump will be completing his first term with foreign-policy legacies, which, even detractors must grudgingly admit, are game-changing for world politics. Debris of monumental proportions surrounds him — Paris Accord on …
Trump’s China policy at a cul-de-sac
US President Donald Trump (R) and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He (L) after signing the US-China trade deal, Washington, Jan. 15, 2020 This past week has been a catastrophic seven days that shook America. Some of the debris may have inevitably fallen on President Donald Trump too. Most important, the Trump administration has lost …
Covid-19 impacts global alignments
Russia-China partnership challenges US global hegemony The sluice gates have opened, as it were, on world politics after the ‘timeout’ through the past 2-3 months due to Covid-19. The spectacle of America’s epic war with Covid-19 under President Donald Trump’s watch creates a range of emotions in the world community — ranging from sympathy and …