South Asia

“Ours is the cause of freedom. We’ve defeated freedom’s enemies before, and we will defeat them again… [W]e know our cause is just and our ultimate victory is assured… My fellow Americans, let’s roll.” — George W. Bush, November 8, 2001 ( Tomdispatch.com) – In the immediate wake of 9/11, it fell to President George […]

Authoritarianism

How the Big Oil – Dictator Complex Threatens our Planet

Basav Sen

( Foreign Policy in Focus) – This March, the leading global consulting firm IHS Markit held its CERAWeek conference, billed as the “world’s premier energy event” bringing together the “Who’s Who list of the global energy industry.” The conference’s keynote speaker and recipient of the Global Energy and Environment Leadership Award was Indian Prime Minister […]

Afghanistan

Two Decades on, can Biden End the War on Terror?

Karen J. Greenberg

( Tomidispatch.com ) – In the first two months of Joe Biden’s presidency, you could feel the country holding its breath. Sheltered in place, hidden behind masks, unsure about whether to trust in a safe-from-pandemic future, we are nonetheless beginning to open our eyes collectively. As part of this reemergence, a wider array of issues […]

Afghanistan

Biden branded Putin a Murderer, but can he get out of Afghanistan without Russian Help?

Nikola Mikovic

Belgrade (Special to Informed Comment) – Russia and the United States may be bitter geopolitical rivals, but sometimes, when they have a common interest they manage to act like partners. Even though the US President Joe Biden recently said that he believes his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin is “a killer”, it did not prevent the […]

Afghanistan

Women in Afghanistan worry peace accord with Taliban extremists could cost them hard-won rights

The Conversation

Mona Tajali and Homa Hoodfar | – Three Afghan women who worked at a media company were gunned down in Jalalabad in early March. In January, unidentified gunmen killed two female Supreme Court judges in Kabul. These are the latest victims on a long list of assassinations and attempted assassinations of female politicians and women’s […]

India

Nonviolent Noncooperation: Why Indian farmers’ protests are being called a ‘satyagraha’ – which means ’embracing the truth’

The Conversation

By Sumit Ganguly | – For the past few months, farmers protesting in India’s capital, New Delhi, have been demanding the repeal of three farm laws that were passed last year. These largely peaceful protests have been referred to as a “satyagraha” by many in the Indian media, politicians and activists. As a political scientist […]

Climate Crisis

Global heating from CO2 breaks Himalayan Glacier, floods sweep away Scores, destroy Hydroelectric Plant

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – A huge chunk of the Nanda Devi glacier in the Himalayas broke off Sunday morning, melting and crashing down on villages around Joshimath in India’s Uttarakhand state, leaving nine dead and 140 unaccounted for. The turbulent grey deluge of water, ice and rocks slammed into two hydro-electric plants, destroying one […]

India

The problem with India’s ‘love jihad’ laws

The Conversation

By Sumit Ganguly | – Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, the Bharatiya Janata Party government has put forward several anti-Muslim policies. The latest is a clampdown on what it sees as “love jihad,” the belief that Muslims are seeking to deceive Hindu women through marriage and convert them to Islam. Over the course of […]

Afghanistan

It’s almost 20 Years since 9/11; Can we finally End our Constant, Disastrous Wars?

Rebecca Gordon

( Tomdispatch.com) – It was the end of October 2001. Two friends, Max Elbaum and Bob Wing, had just dropped by. (Yes, children, believe it or not, people used to drop in on each other, maskless, once upon a time.) They had come to hang out with my partner Jan Adams and me. Among other […]