Book Review: The War of the World: Twentieth-Century Conflict and the Descent of the West

Posted by Matt in September 30th, 2006 | no comment

Published in Amazon.Com, Niall Ferguson, U.S., general, 20th_century, Aftershocks, Case In Point, Central Paradox, denial, empire, ferguson, Fergusson, First-World-War, Forethought, general, genocide, Global Progress, hatred, Human History, Imperial Power, imperial_power, invasion, iraq, middle_east, Modernity, Niall-Ferguson, Time Magazine, U.S., Undoing, Unprecedented Progress, Unprecedented Violence, Vast Resources, vast_resources, West Ferguson, Willingness

Ferguson maintains that the United States is unquestionably an imperial power, but because Americans don’t like to think so, the US often fails to fulfill its imperial responsibilities. One crucial case in point for Ferguson is Iraq, where, in his view, an imperial power less in denial about itself would have known that such an [...]

Book Review: Shopping for Bombs: Nuclear Proliferation, Global Insecurity, and the Rise and Fall of the A.Q. Khan Network

Posted by Matt in September 30th, 2006 | no comment

Published in Amazon.Com, Nuclear, Pakistan

JOANNE MYERS: Good afternoon. I’m Joanne Myers, Director of Public Affairs Programs. I am delighted to welcome so many old as well as new faces to the start of our new season at the Carnegie Council.
We have a very exciting fall planned for you, as evidenced by this, our first program, which is a spellbinding [...]

Book Review: The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11

Posted by Matt in September 30th, 2006 | no comment

Published in Amazon.Com, Islam, Terrorism

In its simplest terms, this is the story of how a small group of men, with a frightening mix of delusion and calculation, rose from a tormented civilization to mount a catastrophic assault on the worldï¿½s mightiest power, and how another group of men and women, convinced that such an attack was on the way, [...]

The State of Democracy in Europe

Posted by Matt in September 30th, 2006 | no comment

Published in Europe, general

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Democracy is floundering in . . . Europe? An Iranian nuke stand-off may not be so imminent. Musharraf is playing the spin doctor; the United States made Iraq a magnet for terrorists; and tanks rolled through Bangkok but bullets are still flying in Southern Thailand. And why can’t something be done about [...]

A new nuclear world

Posted by Matt in September 30th, 2006 | no comment

Published in Iran, Nuclear

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George W Bush has huffed and puffed about using force to thwart Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Now he may have to learn to live with them. A meeting of senior US intelligence analysts last week was unanimous in concluding that little can be done to stop Iran under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, its volatile president, [...]

Senate Passes Iran Sanctions Bill

Posted by Matt in September 30th, 2006 | no comment

Published in Iran, general

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(AP) The Senate, with no debate Saturday, passed and sent to the president legislation that would impose mandatory sanctions on entities that provide goods or services for Iran’s weapons programs.
This means you, Russia and China.

Photo of NORAD jet intercepting Russian bomber

Posted by Matt in September 30th, 2006 | no comment

Published in Russia, U.S.

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North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has released this photograph, taken on Thursday, of an F-15C Eagle from the 12th Fighter Squadron at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska, flying next to a Russian Tu-95 Bear Bomber during a “training opportunity” provided by the Russian 137th Air Army.
The following statement was issued [...]

Syria threat over Golan puts Israel on war alert

Posted by Matt in September 30th, 2006 | no comment

Published in Israel, War

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Israel has gone on heightened alert over a possible war with Syria amid reports that President Bashar Assad may be considering military strikes to regain the Golan Heights.
A signpost in Golan Heights
A signpost points out that Damascus is a mere 60kms from the Golan Heights
For years Israeli military intelligence has down-played Syria’s [...]

Few South Koreans Worry About North Korea

Posted by Matt in September 30th, 2006 | no comment

Published in Koreas, general

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Say the words Kim Jong-il and nuclear weapons to an American then fear enters their hearts and minds. The same could not be said for most South Koreans. But they should have cause for concern. North Korea remains one of the last Stalinist-military states. Their leader Kim Jong-il is recognized to the [...]

Venezuela and Argentina: The Hemisphere’s Troubling New Axis

Posted by Matt in September 30th, 2006 | no comment

Published in Argentina, Venezuela

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2006 Small Business Economic Summit to address Argentina’s dangerous embrace of Venezuelan Petro-dollars, influence
Former Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Roger Noriega and former National Security Council Staff and Clinton Administration Ambassador to the United Nations Nancy Soderberg will explore the alarming alliance of Venezuela’s Chavez and Argentina’s Kirchner and [...]