The Times (London)

Bloodshed of Desperation Becomes the Real Threat to Pakistan

Articles — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 14:14:00 -0400

The attack on the Marriott hotel is a shocking blow to Pakistan. What is really frightening is that the security measures in place worked: the lorry was stopped by guards at the barrier outside. As I found during visits to the Marriott during my recent stay in Pakistan, they were vigilant and effective.

Against a tonne of explosives, however, there is not much that can be done – except to cordon off the entire neighbourhood. Most of the Western embassies and consulates in Pakistan are protected in this way, but the Marriott, like other international hotels, government buildings and media offices, is on a main road that cannot… more

Power Cuts Fuel Pakistan's Power Struggle

Articles — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:05:00 -0400

Given all this, one might ask whether it was worth getting rid of Mr Musharraf. Although he too pursued an alliance with the US, he was at least personally honest, whereas Mr Zardari is widely known as “Mr Ten Per Cent”, because of his behaviour when his wife was Prime Minister in the 1990s.

If things go badly, many Pakistanis may come to regret Mr Musharraf's overthrow. But it's no good crying over spilt milk. As I found talking to ordinary people in the weeks before his resignation, his popularity had sunk so low that he could have remained in power only through ruthless repression, which would have… more

Don't Pick a Fight You Can't Finish, Mr. Miliband

Articles — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 09:37:00 -0400

Before making his speech on policy towards Russia in Kiev, Ukraine, later this week David Miliband would do well to ponder some wise advice from a great predecessor. Lord Salisbury, Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister in the days of the British Empire, dispensed immense global power; but that did not mean that he liked playing about with that power.

Faced with proposals for British policy that he understood to be deeply damaging to the interests of other great powers, Salisbury would look his colleagues in the eye and ask simply: “Are you really prepared to fight? If not, do not embark on this policy.”

If the events… more

Roots of the Conflict Between Georgia, South Ossetia and Russia

Articles — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 08:17:00 -0400

Many factors are involved in the present conflict but the central one is straightforward: the majority of the Ossetes living south of the main Caucasus range in Georgia wish to unite with the Ossetes living to the north, in an autonomous republic of the Russian Federation; and the Georgians, regarding South Ossetia as both a legal and an historic part of their national territory, refuse to accept this.

Twice in the past century, when the empire to the north weakened and Georgia declared its independence, the southern Ossetes revolted against Georgian rule. It happened in 1918-20, between the collapse of the Russian empire and the Soviet Union’s conquest… more

Anatol Lieven on the Blair-Bush Relationship in The Times

Communications — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 13:21:00 -0500

New America in the News:

From the outset, Kendall Myers appeared determined to explode what he described as the “myth” of the special relationship between Britain and the United States. It had never existed, he said in his opening remarks, “or, at least, not one that we noticed”.

Instead, relations had been “altogether too one-sided” for a very long time. “The poodle factor did not begin with Tony Blair, it began, yes, with Winston Churchill.”

At this point Dr Myers acknowledged that “as an employee of the State Department” he perhaps ought not to say so much. But analysis is what he does for Condoleezza Rice, he was at an academic forum — speaking at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington on Tuesday night — and his provocative historical views were gathering an unstoppable momentum...

The other speakers on Tuesday night all agreed that, if there ever had been a special relationship, it would never again be quite as special as it had been during the Bush-Blair era — even though culture, economy and defence would still bind the two nations.

Anatol Lieven, a fellow of the New America Foundation, described how British public opinion had moved decisively against America, and not just against Mr Bush...

For the complete article, please visit The Times website.

The US Is Up For Grabs and Anyone Could Win It

Articles — Fri, 08 Aug 2003 00:00:00 -0400

All politics is local, the saying goes. The adage is particularly true in the United States. The attempt to understand next year's presidential election contest in simple terms of Left versus Right is profoundly misleading. The US is a country with culturally distinct regions bigger than many nation states. The party that wins next year will represent a confederation of regions, not a consistent political ideology.

Consider Howard Dean, the charismatic Vermont Governor who has emerged as front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination. According to the media, he is a "liberal". But Dean is considered liberal chiefly because he opposed the… more