Thursday, August 24 06

Projections for future peacekeeping operations will make the U.N. second to the U.S. in overseas troop deployments. For the U.N. in Lebanon, stop hostilities first and hope diplomacy resolves the crucial issues: little progress on which countries will send troops, some indication of what the mandate will look like. Afghanistan's President Karzai petitions the international community for help dealing with domestic narcotics trade. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin explains Moscow's concerns to Izvestia about the West imposing what he calls the 'sovereigntization' of Serbian province of Kosovo. Leif-Eric Easley argues in The Korea Herald that nationalism is cheap and powerful.

Wednesday, August 23 06

As Italy gets set to assume lead role in Lebanon peace operation, Italians are re-assured disarming Hezbollah is not in the plan. Will adequate resources and support be provided? Syrian President Assad declares that international peacekeepers along the Lebanon-Syria border will be viewed by Syria as a sign of hostility. Amnesty International (AI) accuses Israel of targeting civilians. Signs that Sri Lanka is descending into civil war as the international community departs and four young Canadian men are arrested in U.S. for conspiring to acquire heavy arms for Tamil Tigers. With capacities stretched and U.N. preoccupied, the E.U. quickly deploys peacekeeping forces to stabilize crisis in D.R. Congo. An attempt to tighten the noose on former Bosnian Serb leader Karadzic by NATO and the EU. In The Weekly Standard, Jeremy Rabkin looks at criticism of Israel and the 'fantasy world of international law', and Michael Eisenstadt discusses the sectarian dimension of insurgency in Iraq.

Tuesday, August 22 06

D.R. Congo election leads quickly to intense armed conflict in Kinshasa between incumbent President Kabila and security forces of opponent Bemba's party. Today's U.N.-brokered ceasefire is the best scenario to keep civil strife at a slow boil until long-standing electoral confusion is sorted out or public confidence can be put behind October 29 election run-off. The effects of chemical weapon use presented as evidence in war crimes trial of Iraq's former President and military commander Saddam Hussein. A bizarre exchange between U.S. President Bush and press gallery over his administration's Iraq occupation strategy is parsed in The Nation. Proposals from the U.K., France, Germany, Russia, China, and the Swiss (negotiating for the U.S.) are rejected by Iran's government, setting up a historic standoff. Conflict in The Sudan will be remembered as an instance of U.N. inaction, but UN Dispatch explains how international reluctance emanates from powerful member states.

Monday, August 21 06

UNESCO is called in to participate in Lebanon rebuilding as the ceasefire continues to hold. U.S. President Bush calls for multilateral participation in Lebanon force. Does the middle east war call the U.N.'s future into question? U.N. Secretary General Annan is now 'extraordinarily concerned' about Sudan government's continued policy in Darfur region. With insurgency temporarily subdued, common ground surfaces about a new constitution for Nepal. Burundi's former President Ndayizeye arrested today for plotting to stage a military coup.

Saturday, August 19 06

It's no surprise that the recent push into Afghanistan's south faces challenges five years after the military intervention began. Azeris living in the Armenian breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh lose their cultural connections but live mainly in peace. In D.R. Congo, a run-off is likely to follow the split decision that marginally favoured President Kabila, as the country's 'political class' is seen as necessary to a peaceful solution. U.S. President Bush points out that Lebanon is a fragile democracy, and U.S. and Israeli militaries focus on Lebanon's borders and weapons smuggling. In the summer 2006 Dissent, Michael Walzer argues that regime change was an insufficient just war rationale for the 2003 Iraq invasion, and Jean Bethke Elshtain responds.

Friday, August 18, 06

It's called 'before and after': two weeks prior to the middle east ceasefire, several European countries are willing to dispatch troops to southern Lebanon. Most have backed out already. Questions are being raised about government claims of a militant Islamic uprising in Tajikistan. Hoping to stem militant violence, Iraq's regime takes aim at extremists. As military intervention continues in Ethiopia, heavy flooding puts vulnerable tribal peoples at risk.

Thursday, August 17 06

As a September 2006 independence referendum in Moldova's breakaway Transdniesteria approaches, regional power politics and recent efforts to tighten an insecure Moldova-Ukraine border become paramount. In Chechnya, attacks by Russian armed forces on civilian areas are shocking even for this war, and usually concealed from the international spotlight. The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace has posted important video footage of the May 2005 Babur Square uprising in the major Uzbekistan city Andijan. A new book by an Indonesian diplomat and U.N. representative tells the painful story of Indonesia's brutal military occupation of East Timor (1975-1999). The U.N.'s Working Group on Minorities convened last week, and extensive working papers, recommendations and conclusions have been posted on the website of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). A new website gives letter-grades to members of the U.S. congress for action and commitment to the Darfur crisis in The Sudan.

Wednesday, August 16 06

Serious and systematic human rights abuses in Kyrgyzstan. For impoverished Zimbabwe, Mugabe develops a luxuriant lifestyle. Hezbollah pledges to rebuild from Israeli strikes. Sri Lankan government officials now consider children legitimate military targets. The Minorities at Risk (MAR) Project posts risk assessment data on the world's national minorities.

Tuesday, August 15 06

With early signs of stability, Lebanese civilians start to return home and U.N. aid is on the way. Washington moves decisively to extend blame to Iran, as rumors persist about U.S. involvement in Israel's strategy. Democracy Arsenal picks the winners and losers. Civil society is losing ground against Turkmenistan's repressive President Niyazov. An article by Suisheng Zhaoon about 'China's liberal nationalism'. In Uganda, rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) drop demands for a ceasefire, paving the way for upcoming negotiations. Cause for alarm as civil war in Sri Lanka intensifies.

Monday, August 14 06

Middle east case-fire establishes a fragile peace and dramatically alters the strategic situation. Macedonia considers full inclusion of ethnicity-based political parties, as aggressive rhetoric re-emerges. Tamil Tiger leadership turns down peace negotiations, bringing Sri Lanka still closer to civil war. The U.N. Security Council holds a 'secret poll' to forecast upcoming competition for 'the most impossible job in the world' (U.N. Secretary-General).

Saturday, August 12 06

A collective feeling of relief as lengthy U.N. Security Council talks produce unanimous resolution 1701. Dangers remain: the text is ambiguous, will be viewed in Israel as weak, as Israel's international legitimacy continues to slide. Signs that Nigeria will adhere to President Olusegun Obasanjo's June commitment to cede the Bakassi peninsula to Cameroon in accordance with World Court ruling. Here's some information about Canada's international policy on Afghanistan. A tense situation is set to boil over as violence escalates between Ingush and North Ossetians.