Pakistan: Elections Won’t Change Status Quo; Media Darlings Unlikely to Generate Votes
Pakistan is preparing to hold general elections sometime in the next two months and even though the country’s relative importance has dimmed, its presence as a fulcrum on a number … Continue reading
Iraq: Compliance with US Demand to Stop Allowing Iranian Support for Syria Unlikely
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki found himself in US Secretary of State John Kerry’s cross-hairslast week when the two leaders engaged in “spirited discussions” regarding Iran’s use of Iraqi airspace … Continue reading
Iraq: Moving Forward Will Need International Guidance in Managing Influential Neighbors and Internal Pressures
Over the past few days, there have been a number of excellent articles and posts written on the reasons for and behind the US invasion of Iraq. While these have … Continue reading
Pakistan: Iran’s Plan to Develop Gas Pipeline and Refinery Unlikely to Amount to Anything
Energy shortages are fast becoming the norm in most nations and nowhere is this truer than in Pakistan where energy demand far outpaces resources and supplies. These shortages hurt multiple … Continue reading
Syria: Refugees Wait for Support while Rebels Prepare to Receive Lethal Aid
The growing violence of Syria’s two-year old Arab Spring uprising has claimed 70,000 lives and made four million of the country’s 22 million residents refugees. While the international community argues … Continue reading
Middle East: Musing on How Commonalities between Iran and Israel Provide Significant Opportunities for Both Countries and the World
The two primary reasons why other nations remain interested in stability in the Arabian Gulf are oil and natural gas. While the Gulf provides a host of opportunities for entrepreneurs … Continue reading
The Koreas: North and South Exchange Words; Likely Much Ado About Nothing
The increasing terse back and forth between North and South Korean leaders has raised alarms in the world’s diplomatic centers and press rooms. While there is always a slight chance … Continue reading
Industry: The Consistent Strength of the Defense Market Continues to Provide Opportunities
The basic assumption behind multinationals corporations (MNCs) is that a weakness in one geographic region – setting aside the vicissitudes of market sectors – can be compensated by a corresponding … Continue reading
Bangladesh: Political History Causes Current Violence as the Begums Look to the Future
Protests continue to roil Bangladesh as government supporters and opposition activists battle each other over sentences handed down by the country’s International Criminal Tribunal (ICT). The ICT began hearing cases … Continue reading
Venezuela: Hugo Chavez Dies and Successor Plans for Elections; Let the Accusations and Money Flow
Hugo Chavez’s 14-year reign as president of Venezuela ended today as the long-time leader succumbed to the cancer he had been fighting for the past two years. Chavez, who had … Continue reading
All Sorts of Things 