Punishing Pakistan may punish the U.S. too

The decision to suspend $800 million in military aid is understandable, but the move could end up increasing anti-Americanism in Pakistan and complicating joint efforts to fight terrorism.

A decision by the United States to suspend $800 million in military aid to Pakistan is both understandable and regrettable. Understandable because this country clearly feels the need to respond to provocations unworthy of an ally, but regrettable because the suspension could have the effect of increasing anti-Americanism in Pakistan and complicating joint efforts to fight terrorism.

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Pakistan won’t give in to US bullying

The country’s top military brass on Tuesday rejected ‘conditional aid’ from the US, saying the armed forces would utilise their own resources to fight the menace of terrorism.The military commanders also refused to bow to US pressure for taking back the decision to send back the American military trainers, and allow the dozens of CIA operatives forcibly sent from Pakistan to return to the country.

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A.Q. Khan’s Twisted Tricks and Washington Post Propaganda

Washington and Pyongyang may be on the verge of another attempt at negotiation. After a stroke in 2008, Kim Jong Il seems to have spent much of 2009 getting his groove back—launching missiles, testing a nuclear weapon, and separating more plutonium—while Washington looked for new sources of pressure, having cut off North Korea’s access to the international market for everything from yachts to iPods.

Signs that Six Party Talks might resume have triggered another round of debate about the wisdom of engaging North Korea. These debates play out in the pages of newspapers, like the Washington Post, which published a pair of stories at the end of 2009 based on a letter written by A.Q. Khan, the father of Pakistan’s nuclear bomb and notorious nuclear smuggler. The articles contained some striking claims about Pakistan’s involvement with North Korea’s nuclear weapons programs: first, that North Korean officials showed Khan three disassembled nuclear weapons in 1999; and second, that North Korea, in 2002, was constructing a large uranium enrichment facility.

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U.S. Can’t Find Iran’s Spy-Tech Suppliers

Want to know which companies are playing a double game of doing business with America and selling spy gear to Iran? Well, so would the Government Accountability Office, Congress’ investigative arm. They just released a report saying they can’t find any examples. But don’t take comfort in the absence of suspects. The reason might just be because Iran is getting pretty good at building its own snoop tech and buying it covertly.

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US fears cuts to Afghan supply lines

THE US military is rapidly expanding its aerial and central Asian supply routes to the war in Afghanistan, fearing that Pakistan could cut off the main means of providing US and NATO forces with fuel, food and equipment.

Pakistan has not explicitly threatened to sever the supply lines, but US officials said they were concerned the routes could be endangered by the deterioration of US-Pakistan relations, partly fed by ill will from the cross-border raid that killed al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.

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Urban Planning in Pakistan

From the let-downs of the present to the hopes of the future 

In Pakistan, because of continuously dwindling land holdings and the exponential rise in population, the majority of the people are migrating from the rural areas to the cities. The UN estimates that at present approximately 35 per cent of Pakistanis live in “urban areas”, and in another ten years, more than half the Pakistanis will start residing in these urban areas. Some argue that the figures underestimate the reality of the situation and that Pakistan’s population has already become more than 50 per cent urbanized. These urban areas account for nearly 80 percent of the GDP, yet constitute no more than 3 percent of the country’s overall land mass. The state of these urban areas is abysmal and in Punjab, which happens to be the most populous province, nearly 50 percent of urban residents live in slums or katchi abadis. In contrast, some argue that almost 70 percent of the people are living in slums in Karachi. Before delving further into the specifics of the plethora of urban problems faced by Pakistan, let us first indentify what urban planning really is and how it has continued to influence the human civilization.

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Europe's Elusive Gold Reserves: Are Greece, Portugal Sitting on Billions of Dollars?

The first thing any insolvent private person is forced to do is relinquish the family silver. But other rules seem to apply to governments. Whether they've been living above their means for a few years or for decades, certain countries hold on tight to their assets, declare themselves unable to pay back their debts and turn to other countries for help.

The European Union has seen many an example of this. Right now, Greece is negotiating with the troika of the E.U., the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a new rescue package while Athens sits on an impressive 114-ton stash of gold, about what four large, fully loaded trucks could carry.

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Military Balance of South Asia

Hosting some of the world’s largest economies and militaries, the region must purposefully and wholeheartedly move towards a perception of threat reduction and collective security

China’s military spending was approximated at US$ 77.95 billion in 2010, and is expected to grow by 12.7% to US$ 91.5 billion by 2012. Estimates of China’s military budget have always different, and according to various standards, may either range between the range of US$ 35-60 billion, or may even be as high as US$ 200 billion. The US DoD, SIPRI, RAND, CIA and DIA all have different estimates of China’s military budget, according to different sources as well as different standards. Due to China’s incomparable economic growth, it state services and military apparatus have achieved quantum leaps during the last two decades. Perceived designs of China’s political economy paint it as a hegemonic power that seeks to destabilize its neighbors and usurp the resources and riches of the region that is in its reach. Sino-Japanese confrontations and other engagements in South China sea – especially around the disputed Spratly Islands – have been painted as aggressive maneuvers where China was to blame; in reality, it was China’s awesome military capacity in the tactical dimension, coupled with tough diplomatic engagement in the strategic dimension, that helped China achieve her objectives, regardless of how the international media shaped public opinion about it. The so-called string of pearls that China is creating in the Pacific and Indian oceans is also a globalist theory that is designed to push Japan, South Korea, Taiwan (or the disputed Republic of China, rather), the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, and even India, closer to the American perception of China’s military ‘designs’. Despite such concerns, China’s military modernization and secretive development is unparalleled; the People’s Liberation Army, Navy and Air Force operate at the cutting edge of military technology, and are significantly developing their conventional capabilities through research, development, testing and improvement.

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Why Cairo's Tahrir Square Is Heating Up Again

Tahrir Square on Wednesday, a day after another round of clashes between police and protesters, resembled its old war-zone self. Crowds of Egyptians trampled over the broken shards of glass and pavement that littered the street outside Cairo's interior ministry. Tear gas lingered in the air, as the remains of burning tires cooled near the lines of military police who had arrived when the regular police made their familiar exit. Traffic moved haltingly through the swarms of spectators. And then there were the vendors who had wheeled in their juice and snack carts to capitalize on the crowds.

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India: Gujarat riots records ‘destroyed’

Official records relating to the 2002 riots in India’s Gujarat state were destroyed in line with regulations, the government tells a panel probing the riots.

Documents with records of telephone calls and the movements of officials during the riots were destroyed in 2007, five years after their origin Officials say this is standard practice and in line with civil service rules.

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