Ian Swanson, The Scotsman
We've heard the arguments repeated so often we could recite them in our sleep.
Emily Tamkin, New Statesman
The US president has a significant geopolitical imperative for supporting India through its Covid-19 catastrophe.
Steven Metz, Defense One
President Joe Biden's recent announcement that all U.S. military forces would leave Afghanistan this year drew immediate criticism from a wide range of national security experts and elected officials. Some of this reflected fear of a human rights disaster if the Afghan government is unable to hold out against the Taliban once the American military leaves. But most of the pushback was based on the claim that the U.S. counterinsurgency campaign...
Scott Malcomson, Foreign Affairs
The most striking geopolitical feature of the past four years has not been bipolarity or multipolarity—or even great-power conflict. It has been the spectacle of major economies pursuing self-sufficiency and a partial retreat from globalization in order to ensure their security, innovative capacity, domestic stability, and economic prospects. The United States, China, and India are each now engaged in what seems like a paradoxical enterprise: the quest to... Читать дальше...
Harold Maass, The Week
India on April 23 reported more than 332,000 infections over the previous 24 hours, the most ever confirmed by any country in one day. The day before, the country confirmed more than 310,000 new cases, breaking the previous single-day high of 300,669 set in the United States on Jan. 8, at the peak of America's deadly winter surge. This wave hit fast. India was averaging about 11,000 new cases and losing fewer than 100 lives per day to the virus in...
Sara Harrison, Wired
One new study found that radiation exposure didn't genetically harm future generations, while another offers insights into how radiation causes thyroid cancer.
W. Courtney, RCW
Russia's defense minister says that the troops Moscow moved closer to Ukraine and into Crimea will now be reduced in numbers. However, much of their equipment will be left behind, and the danger will remain.
M.F. Bozmoski & W. Mowla, RCW
Hurricane season is fast approaching, and natural disasters will complicate Central American and Caribbean states' efforts to vaccinate their populations. A recent volcanic eruption on the island of Saint Vincent offers a preview of just how disruptive these disasters can be. Further, stalled vaccination efforts as a result of climate-related events will add to the existing structural and economic issues facing an already vulnerable and distraught region... Читать дальше...
Lee Smith, Tablet
It's too late to do anything about China. The contest for global supremacy is over. Beijing now sets the pace—economically, politically, even militarily—and there's nothing for America to do but accept China's inevitable victory.
Читать дальше...
Stratfor Worldview
Despite attracting global attention and domestic support, the Russian political movement led by jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny faces severe challenges that will probably leave it unable to meaningfully contest legislative elections later this year. On April 23, Navalny announced on social media that he was ending his prison hunger strike on the advice of his doctors, saying he had "achieved enough" in drawing attention to his case and deteriorating health condition. Читать дальше...
Tim Willasey-Wilsey, Cipher Brief
EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — The misleading narrative of ‘endless wars' has undermined Western resolve. In fact, since the end of direct involvement in combat missions, the cost of the Afghan war has been relatively small, has enabled the counterterrorism mission to continue, has prevented the return of the brutal Taliban to Kabul and (until last week) had not added to NATO's harmful string of failures.
Anchal Vohra, Foreign Policy
The recent sabotage of the Iranian nuclear program has been spectacular—and strategically incoherent.
Sholto Byrnes, The National
The credibility of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) was at stake in the run-up to what was widely billed as an emergency summit on Myanmar over the weekend. The international community reacted with condemnation and sanctions to the
Andrew MacDowall, WP Review
A display of hubris by Slovakian Prime Minister Igor Matovic over a controversial Russian coronavirus vaccine has cost him his job and shaken a reformist government in which many Slovaks had invested so much hope.
Ruslan Trad, Newlines
Methods perfected during the occupation of Afghanistan are now in wide use among Russia's corporate guns for hire.
Kavi Chongkittavorn, Bangkok Post
After a little over three hours of meetings on Saturday in Jakarta, the Asean leaders agreed on a five-point consensus regarding the current crisis in Myanmar, placing the 54-year-old organisation in the driver's seat in this regional process. In the beginning, critics expressed concern that it would be impossible for Asean to persuade the military junta, headed by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, to accept the cessation of violence against protesters. Even on the day of the summit... Читать дальше...
Cengiz Candar, Al Monitor
It is no secret that since the day of Joe Biden's inauguration on Jan. 20, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was nervously waiting to be called by the President of the United States. That call would be interpreted as affirmation that relations between the two countries would go on as business as usual.
Eric Bordenkircher, 1945
The Biden administration recently announced a new condition for the successful withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. A
Gideon Rachman, Financial Times
The resurgence of the pandemic in India holds dangers and lessons for the world.
