IDN-InDepthNews

Middle East2013-02-122023-07-10

Syrian Civil War Grounded To A Stalemate

By Zachary Fillingham* | Geopoliticalmonitor.com
IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

TORONTO (IDN) – Opposition troops in Syria have largely come to be referred to as the Free Syria Army (FSA), but this title belies the fact that the anti-Assad side of the civil war equation is composed of several disparate groups, all with conflicting visions for a post-Assad Syria. In reality, the FSA was born out of a group of largely Sunni Syrian Army deserters led by Riyad al-Assad, and that is likely more or less the composition that remains to this day.

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT2013-02-102023-07-10

The Longest War is the War on Global Poverty

By Nimal Fernando* | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

WASHINGTON DC (IDN) – The ‘new year’ is already over a month old and all pointers are that at least one very old global issue is only that much older.

There is much reference to the ‘longest’ wars of the fiery kind, but less, perhaps, to the often silent, near-Sisyphean struggle against global poverty. Many concerned voices would argue that 2013 could be among the worst years in which to even embark on any kind of lasting progress on this front.

USA and Canada2013-02-092023-07-12

‘Coercive Diplomacy’ With Iran is Questionable

By Jeremy R. Hammond* | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

TAIPEI (IDN | Foreign Policy Journal) – The January/February issue of Foreign Affairs features an article titled ‘Getting to Yes With Iran: The Challenges of Coercive Diplomacy‘ by Robert Jervis. By ‘Getting to Yes’, of course, Jervis means compelling Iran to obey Washington, and by the Orwellian phrase “Coercive Diplomacy”, of course, means issuing ultimatums and threats of criminal violence.

USA and Canada2013-02-082023-07-12

US-Israel: Peace Needs More Than Handshakes and Photo-Ops

By Ernest Corea* | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

WASHINGTON DC (IDN) – Hear those sounds? They are probably the echoes of Israel’s fervent supporters in the US erupting in hosannas when the White House recently confirmed that President Barack Obama is due to visit Israel in March 2013. On the same safari, he will stop over in Jordan and in the Palestinian territory universally known as the West Bank.

The visits are of regional and international significance because they raise the possibility that Obama intends to be directly engaged in the Middle East peace process and that this time around he will be more focused, and supported by more decisive aides, than he was during his administration’s previous attempt to support effective peace negotiations. That effort now lies as inert as road-kill on a highway.

ARMAMENTS2013-02-072023-07-10

33 States Push For Nuclear Disarmament

By J C Suresh | IDN-InDepth NewsReport

TORONTO (IDN) – Thirty-three Heads of State of Latin America and the Caribbean have pledged to work towards a world free of nuclear weapons and emphasized “the commitment to participate actively and share a common position at the High Level Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on Nuclear Disarmament” on September 26, 2013 in New York.

GLOBAL ISSUES2013-02-062023-07-10

Back to the Future With Eyes Wide Shut

By R. S. Kalha* | IDN-InDepth NewsViewpoint

NEW DELHI (IDN) – Just before he was overthrown, former Libyan ruler Gaddafi warned the West that his ouster would result in chaos and holy war overtaking North Africa. His forebodings, now so accurate, were at that point in time dismissed by western governments as the ranting of a megalomaniac. It is now admitted that “Gaddafi’s overthrow broke all kinds of local ethnic, tribal and commercial bargains and power broking arrangements that we never understood”.

Middle East2013-02-062023-07-10

Who is Afraid of Iran’s Space Program?

By Ajey Lele* | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

NEW DELHI (IDN | IDSA) – Iran has successfully sent a monkey to space and also retrieved it back alive. Has Iran thereby “made a ‘monkey’ of its adversaries”? Or was this demonstration just a smokescreen to experiment with its ballistic missile capabilities? Or is it actually a signal to the rest of the world about Iran’s technological progress?

GLOBAL ISSUES2013-02-052023-07-10

Arms Aid to Fragile States Can Backfire

By Eva Weiler | IDN-InDepth NewsReport

STOCKHOLM (IDN) – The need for security forces in a fragile state to be adequately trained and equipped is recognized as a precondition for stability and development. However, supplying arms to security forces in fragile states can contribute to armed conflict and instability, warns a new report by the eminent Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)

GLOBAL ISSUES2013-02-022023-07-10

Poor Countries Robbed Of 6 Trillion Dollars

By Jaya Ramachandran | IDN-InDepth NewsReport

BERLIN (IDN) – Crime, corruption, and tax evasion recorded near-historic highs in 2010, with illicit financial outflows costing the developing world $859 billion in 2010, just below the all-time high of $871.3 billion in 2008, the year preceding the global financial crisis. Besides, nearly $6 trillion (6000 000 000 000 000 000 U.S. dollars) were stolen from poor countries in the decade between 2001 and 2010, says a new report and urges world leaders to increase transparency in the international financial system.

Europe2013-02-022023-07-10

Development Has Limited Role in CAP Reform Debate

By Alan Matthews* | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

DUBLIN (IDN | CAP Reform) – Olivier De Schutter, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, called January 17 for members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to take into account the impact on developing countries when voting on amendments to the draft CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) regulations post-2013. Among other issues, he called on MEPs to support the views of the European Parliament’s Development Committee, which voted unanimously in favour of a mechanism to monitor the CAP’s development impacts. In the voting January 23-24, COMAGRI (Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development) MEPs declined to do this.