In comments today Georgia’s former ambassador to Russia Erosi Kitsmarishvili said Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili was ‘itching’ to do battle over South Ossetia, and blamed the nation for sparking a brief August war with Russia that ended in the destruction of much of Georgia’s military and Russia officially recognizing the independence of the separatist enclaves [...]
Afghan President Hamid Karzai used a visit yesterday by a United Nations delegation to hit out at the international forces over their conduct in the war, expressing disbelief that after seven years “a little force like the Taliban” is continuing to flourish.
But today the Afghan President took his complaints to a new level, publicly lamenting [...]
Updated 10/26 10:20 PM EST
Indian Army commandos flood into the five-star hotels of Oberoi and Taj as the confirmed death toll in overnight violence in Mumbai passes triple digits. Police have killed at least four suspects and arrested nine others, but the violence is ongoing.
State government chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh termed the present situation as [...]
The Iraqi government continues to scramble to get ready for tomorrow’s talks on the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) and tentatively the vote (though it has already been delayed twice this week). It is now being reported that the government has agreed on a demand by the a key Sunni bloc for a national referendum [...]
Updated 11/27 10:35 AM EST
Attacks on at least ten sites in the Indian city of Mumbai targeted railway terminals, five star hotels, airports and hospitals, with officials saying 125 killed, 327 wounded and other reports suggesting nearly 1000 wounded. Among those killed was Mumbai’s anti-terrorism chief and other police and military officials. The attacks were [...]
When President-elect Barack Obama announces his national security team next week, the most obvious break ushered in will be from his promise for dramatic foreign policy change. For while Senator Obama ran his campaign around a mantra of change, his team will consist without exception of experienced, and hawkish, elder statesmen who seem set to [...]
As heated debate gives way to last minute negotiations, the Iraqi Parliament has delayed today’s anticipated vote on the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with the United States until at least tomorrow.
No official explanation was given for the delay, but Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his cabinet have been struggling to reassure opponents both [...]
As the war in Afghanistan continues to go poorly, Afghan President Hamid Karzai is hoping to negotiate a political sentiment with the Taliban insurgency. But the international forces seem intent on shoe-horning the strategy they are convinced “succeeded” in Iraq onto the ever-worsening situation in the region.
To that end, the British government is reportedly bankrolling [...]
Seven years into the war in Afghanistan, Major General Robert Cone sought to tout the “great progress” made in readying Afghanistan’s own security forces, but rather wound up giving the impression that little has really been accomplished and the US mission has, in his words, “a long way to go.”
After five years of US training, [...]
The Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between Iraq and the United States is scheduled for a vote tomorrow in the Iraqi Parliament, and while Maliki tries to shore up domestic support, he also faces growing concern among Iraq’s neighbors about the prospect that the over 150,000 US troops in Iraq being used to attack neighboring [...]
