Monday, April 28 08

Rwanda is rebuilding partly on memories of tragedy. BBC takes a look at Somalia's insurgents. Upsurge in "honour killings" raises questions about Iraq's new constitution. NATO's Afghanistan mission holds the cities but leaves rural areas largely untouched. Escalation in Sri Lanka shows Tamils highly motivated and tenacious. Vehicle filled with weapons, ammunition and Kosovo Albanians seized by Kosovo police before crossing Macedonian frontier.

Sunday, April 27 2008

Moscow-supported Kadyrov is only a year in power, but today his grip on Chechnya is about to unravel. Hezbollah militias are recruiting heavily, setting sights once again on Lebanon's Israeli border. Following Russian escalation, the view that Georgia is an ally and friend of the United States is filtering through U.S. foreign policy circles: will accelerating NATO membership augment regional security?

Last gasps of Mugabe era in Zimbabwe are forcing us to consider the relative benefits and costs of the five strategies of forcing illegitimate dictators out of power. U.S. Marines re-deploying in Afghanistan signals parallels in military strategy as well as in the nature of evolving conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Saturday, April 26 08

Signs of success in East Timor allow Australia to bring home 200 stabilization troops. Humanitarian crisis in Somalia indicates how civil strife often makes access to civilians in need impossible. Opposition party repression continues in Zimbabwe as election results are kept in limbo. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon sparks a new debate for a power sharing framework, contending that Iraq "continues to face formidable challenges to reaching a national consensus on how to share power and resources". Foreign Policy comments on the Iraq war's dire effects on overall U.S. military capacity. The UNHCR will probe deaths of four Iranians expelled by Turkey on Iraqi border.

Friday, April 25 2008

Disputed Darfur civilian death count by U.N. immediately makes headlines (1,2). Georgia receives assurances of U.S. Government's commitment to territorial integrity and state sovereignty. Pakistan's military presence in NW tribal areas has lowered volatility and made terrorist attacks less frequent. Ethiopia denounces Qatar publicly for covertly supporting insurgents. Massive U.S. embassy in Baghdad becoming an unsettling symbol for Iraqis. Uganda's peace process is falling apart, as the LRA re-groups for battle. The Canadian military underestimated the Afghan quagmire, where it will indefinitely remain.

Thursday, April 24 2008

In Sudan, efforts to accelerate deployment of co-ordinated U.N./A.U. forces as mandated in Security Council Resolution 1590 (March 05) continue, the Darfur crisis only worsens, with UNMIS too weak to provide safety to aid workers. Zimbabwe's crisis exemplifies the 21st century struggle for political freedom. U.N. human rights expert Ghanim Alnajjar condemns killings of civilian religious leaders in Somalia, calling for expeditious and impartial investigations.

Kosovo's February 17th unilateral declaration and official recognition generated considerable anger inside Serbia. With Serbian parliamentary and local elections set for May 11, questions surface: Will Western-friendly democrats prevail or unfriendly socialists? Will NGOs and Westerns governments have leverage? Will the new leadership respond to possible offers of rapprochement by Washington/Brussells? Meanwhile, with the new precedent in firmly hand, Russia plows forward by recognizing Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, against protest and bellicose announcements.

Tuesday, December 11 07

NATO stays busy in Afghanistan, as Kosovo talks end and E.U. appears dumbfounded. Cuba is set to sign into civil and political rights. Darfur engagement liable to distractions. Lester Pearson's international contribution is being commemorated and better understood.

Friday, December 7 07 (1)

U.N.'s Monday deadline for resolving Kosovo's political status approaches, as the international community's 'unfinished business' there gives rise to fears of a new Balkan war. If NATO's 26 don't act after today's last minute talks, their wrangling and worrying over Moscow's growing influence (1, 2) will lead unnecessarily to threatening rhetoric and securitization. One hopes the ICG's "Kosovo Blueprint" finds its way to Brussels. The outcry has faded, and the junta's grip remains firm; have Myanmar's Generals weathered the storm?

Friday, December 7 07 (2)

After a year or more of Darfur in the epicentre of the global political spotlight, the interests of vulnerable and impoverished civilians, caught between the government and warring factions, threaten to submerge. International justice unfolds at glacial speed, as the International Criminal Court in Tanzania renders former Rwandan provincial Governor Karera guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity. Different conflicts reveal an identical pattern, as Pakistan's Musharraf and Chechnya's Kadyrov flirt with radicals to retain domestic standing.

Monday, December 3 07

Lebanon's political deadlock makes General Suleiman the likely choice as a new consensus head of state. Star power pushed Darfur into the headlines, yet civil wars of equal brutality in Sri Lanka and Ethiopia's Ogaden continue to ravage civilians under the radar. The politics of humanitarian intervention plays right into Sudanese government's hands. Iranian President Ahmadinejad appeals to Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) for "peace and security without foreign intervention". Strong criticism and suggestions of future instability plague Russian parliamentary vote. Is there no difference between falling short of OSCE standards and outright election-rigging? In Canada, Privy Council purse strings are tightening as Afghan mission costs go through the roof.

Monday, November 26 07

Is there consensus or simply headlines in Annapolis? The politics of humanitarianism in Africa ignore Somalian civilians in harms way (1,2). A new International Crisis Group (ICG) report suggests that 2006's Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) is quickly falling apart, as Darfur rebels predictably challenge the neutrality of Chinese military contribution. With recent heavy-handedness, is Russian President Putin suppressing the peoples' will (1,2,3)? Last week's labor victory will usher change in Australian Iraq policy.

Sunday, November 25 07

Return of Sharif to Lahore is followed by Musharraf vow to rule Pakistan as a civilian(1,2) Withdrawal of U.S. troops set to begin as Iraq 'surge' is declared a virtual success. Annapolis negotiations showing how extremism can't be ignored after success at the polls. For many this is little more than "posing for peace". U.S. military now recognizes the link between peace enforcement, nation-building and "local knowledge". Dayton architect Holbrooke remains pessimistic about averting war following Kosovo's upcoming UDI from Serbia. Security Council rubberstamps ostensibly permanent E.U. peace operation (EUFOR) in Bosnia. New riot police crackdowns and political arrests raise fears among pro-democracy activists--in St. Petersburg.