SOUTH ASIA: Musharraf's Exit Leaves India Confused

India's Pakistan policy is in disarray following the resignation of Pervez Musharraf as president, to avoid impeachment, after almost nine years of authoritarian rule.

AFGHANISTAN: Taliban Fill Power Void in Kabul?

The ambush that killed 10 NATO soldiers outside of Kabul on Tuesday, the worst battlefield loss for western forces since the war began, was the capstone in a week of high-profile insurgent activities in Afghanistan.

POLITICS: Bush Covered up Musharraf Ties with Qaeda, Khan

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's resignation Monday brings to an end an extraordinarily close relationship between Musharraf and the George W. Bush administration, in which Musharraf was lavished with political and economic benefits from the United States despite policies that were in sharp conflict with U.S. security interests.

ISRAEL: Mr. Security versus Mrs. Clean

Members of Kadima face a vexing choice ahead of the ruling party's leadership primary next month: Do they support Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz, who may have the best chance of cobbling together a new governing coalition, or do they back Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni because polls show that Kadima under her leadership would significantly outperform a Mofaz-led Kadima in a general election?

EAST TIMOR/INDONESIA: 'Restorative Justice' Is Justice Denied?

East Timor’s most prominent independence leaders - currently holders of the young nation’s two highest political offices - may now be the main obstacles to obtaining justice for victims of the 1999 referendum-related violence.

POLITICS: U.S. Debates Putin’s Ambitions

Just days after the outbreak of war between Russia and Georgia, the debate in Washington over how to view the crisis historically has become nearly as contentious as the debate over how to respond politically.

US/IRAN: Nothing Behind U.S. Allegations?

While the United States has repeatedly accused Iran of providing lethal weapons to Shiite militias, last week, U.S. officials once again failed to provide solid evidence for this charge, raising questions about the actual level of Iran’s meddling in Iraq.

POLITICS-CHINA: Tough Policy in Xinjiang Backfires

China’s success in eliminating clusters of Muslim insurgencies in the western province of Xinjiang may have pushed an alleged separatist movement across the border into Pakistan and Afghanistan, exposing it to greater influences by jihadist groups in those countries.

GEORGIA: Where the Cold War Never Ended

As war breaks out in Georgia, the geopolitical struggle between the U.S. and Russia becomes more violent and closer to Russia's border than ever.

POLITICS-US: How Tenet Betrayed the CIA on WMD in Iraq

Journalist Ron Suskind’s revelation that Saddam Hussein’s intelligence chief was a prewar intelligence source reporting to the British that Saddam had no weapons of mass destruction (WMD) adds yet another dimension to the systematic effort by then Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director George Tenet to quash any evidence - no matter how credible - that conflicted with the George W. Bush administration’s propaganda line that Saddam was actively pursuing a nuclear weapons programme.

INDIA/US: Racing to Clear Last Lap of Nuke Deal

As the Bush administration pushes the outer limits of the political timeline for the passage of the controversial nuclear cooperation deal with India in the United States Congress, two potential stumbling blocks have become apparent in securing exemptions for the agreement from the tough export rules of the Nuclear Suppliers' Group (NSG).

TURKEY: Government Survives Shakily

Turkey has barely managed to avoid a 'judicial coup' to overthrow its elected government, but others may be in the offing.

TRADE: ''Doha Collapse Won't Mean Suffering for The Poor''

At the heart of the collapse of the World Trade Organisation’s Doha Round last week are the different opinions on liberalisation and its relation to development. Developed countries promote the idea that liberalisation will bring about development and thus that the failure of the Round constitutes a blow for the poor.

POLITICS-US: No Traction in the Middle East

More than five years after invading Iraq as a first step towards "transforming" the Middle East, the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush seems to have lost its footing - let alone its unquestioned domination - throughout the region.

TRADE-AFRICA: Safeguards for Small Farmers Straw That Broke Doha

Safeguards to protect small farmers’ livelihoods in African and other developing states, as opposed to subsidies for commercial agricultural interests in rich countries, remained an insurmountable obstacle in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks, leading the Doha Round to collapse last week.

TRADE-INDIA: Mixed Feelings Over WTO Failure in Geneva

The collapse of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations at Geneva has left Indian analysts with mixed feelings. One view is that no deal is better than a bad one. The other is that because the alternative for developing countries is far worse, India should have been more flexible.

MIDEAST: Arabs Despair of U.S. Even More

For decades, the U.S. has jealously guarded its role of sole arbiter of the Arab-Israeli dispute. In light of recent shows of support for Israel by U.S. presidential hopeful Barack Obama, however, many Arabs fear that Zionist influence on the U.S. body politic - across the political spectrum - has made the notion of 'U.S. even-handedness' a contradiction in terms.

CLIMATE CHANGE: Insubstantial Shadows

Amidst the cacophony of discussions and negotiations within the international climate change caucus, one particular group, the G8, had held out hope for effective implementation - more than the United Nations Kyoto Protocol (KP), which remains bogged down in various degrees of non-compliance.

POLITICS: Bush Forced al-Maliki to Back Down on Pullout in 2006

Many official and unofficial proponents of a long-term U.S. military presence in Iraq are dismissing Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's demand for a U.S. timeline for withdrawal as political posturing, assuming that he will abandon it under pressure.

FIJI: Another Move to Muzzle the Media

Since independence in 1970, this Pacific Island nation has had a succession of elected and unelected prime ministers. Both sets of leaders have tried to muzzle what they see as errant, if not dangerous, media.

MIDEAST: In Israel, Obama Looks to Votes Back Home

Lighting a remembrance flame at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial. Speaking against the backdrop of a pile of empty rocket casings in the southern town of Sderot. Standing solemnly, face close to the stones of the Western Wall in Jerusalem.