The Burma sanctions debate in the West is made largely immaterial by the investment currently flooding the country, mostly from Asian nations that have few moral reservations about enriching the Burmese ruling generals. Chief among the eager investors are China, Thailand, South Korea, Singapore and India. Their target? Burma’s rich …
By Leaving Regime Change to the Libyans, Obama Aligns U.S. and Arab Goals
The U.S. and its allies saved the Libyan rebellion from being crushed by Gaddafi, and will continue to restrain the dictator from rolling back rebel gains. Now, “We will deny the regime arms, cut off its supply of cash, assist the opposition, and work with other nations to hasten the day when Gaddafi leaves power,” President Obama said …
Obama, Gaddafi and American Credibility
“My fellow Americans,” said President Ronald Reagan during a soundcheck for a TV appearance in 1984. “I’m pleased to tell you today that I’ve signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes.”
Reagan was joking, of course. Not only was the U.S. not going to bomb the Soviet Union; he knew full well …
Israeli Historian Reckons Syria’s Assad Will Fight to the End
Moshe Ma’oz has spent his adult life studying Syria. He advised Israeli Prime Ministers Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin on how best to make peace with the regime headed Hafez Assad, the father of the current president, Bashar Assad, who faces protests across the country. The rebellion is clearly triggered by the revolts known …
More Polling, More Bad News For Sarkozy
French pundits who had feared an historically high score by the extreme-right National Front (FN) in Sunday’s second round of local polling breathed a sigh of relief when the party’s tally didn’t meet expectations. But while the FN’s 11% performance was well below its 15% first-round take—and nearly half of the 20% result some …
Researchers in Afghanistan Stumble Upon a Natural Wonder
The Pentagon often cites Afghanistan’s vast untapped mineral wealth when asked how, exactly, the country’s government will fund its security forces when the coalition leaves. The reality, of course, is that it will be several decades before any of those underground resources ever see the light. But there is another wealth to be found …
Global Briefing, Mar. 28, 2011: The Cost of Reconquest
The Cost of Reconquest — Eastern Libya is a “morbid playground of war-ravaged streets and shredded tanks,” writes Abigail Hauslohner for TIME. Her piece evokes the human toll of the still-raging battle between Gaddafi loyalists and rebel fighters.
Voice from the Grave — In the New Yorker, David Grann investigates the case of a …
Why NATO May Stop Short of Bombing Gaddafi’s Regime to Smithereens
The question is not whether Libya’s rebels will capture Colonel Gaddafi’s birthplace of Sirte, or storm his citadel in Tripoli; it’s whether NATO will hand them those prizes by escalating its air war with the aim of destroying Gaddafi’s regime. Coalition air strikes have broken the grip of Gaddafi’s forces on the cities of eastern Libya …
Nuclear Crisis Continues, But Not for Caregivers in Japan’s Shelters
The crippled nuclear plant at Fukushima continued to grab headlines on Sunday, as Japanese media reported that radiation levels in the water at reactor 2 are now 10 million times above normal levels (a reading the Tokyo Electric Power Company now says was a mistake — though radiation levels are still worryingly high). As of Sunday …
Canada’s Government Collapses: What’s Next?
Guest post written by TIME’s Megan Gibson
In a year when myriad governments have had their authority challenged, add one more to the list. We’ve seen Libya and Syria’s regimes reel in the face of mass uprisings, and Tunisia and Egypt’s leaders depart. And now… Canada?
Though not quite as tumultuous as events in the Middle …
Couch Potato Briefing: Genocide, Gold and Liz Taylor
Global Spin’s weekly guide to five rental movies that will bring you up to speed with with the past week’s global events. Compiled by Tony Karon and Ishaan Tharoor.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYwuXvA589A]
Hotel Rwanda
The point about genocide movies like Hotel Rwanda is to reinforce a message of “never again!” Well, …
Cold Case: How Libya’s Revolution Might Solve a 1984 Murder
One April evening in 1984, an after-work drink took a surreal turn. On the way to a bar, we skirted a police cordon at the entrance to St James’s Square in central London; we had barely lifted our pints before armed officers clattered into our midst and informed us that the cordon had been extended. We were not to leave. The Libyan …
After Libya, the Ivory Coast: Should the U.N. Sanction Military Intervention?
Yesterday, TIME’s Monica Mark reported from Abidjan of the spiraling crisis in the Ivory Coast:
The erstwhile beacon of prosperity and stability in West Africa has been held hostage for five months by incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo, who has refused to cede power after losing a November runoff presidential election. Instead, he has
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