Paul Woodward Archive
Showing 41 - 50 articles of 326
Dec 07, 2009
The US President Barack Obama has authorised the CIA to expand the areas in which it conducts remotely-controlled missile attacks, most likely inside Pakistan's vast south western province of Baluchistan. The province's governor Zulfiqar Magsi said on Saturday that Washington can do 'whatever it pleases' because it is 'paying money' to Pakistan. Mr Obama's directive had yet to receive consent from the Pakistani government. Read Article Will the war in Afghanistan spill over into Baluchistan?
Dec 06, 2009
The US president has set July 2011 as the date at which 'the transfer of our forces out of Afghanistan' will begin, yet his national security adviser says 'in no manner, shape or form' would the US withdraw from Afghanistan in 2011. Whatever happens in 2011, one thing is already clear: Barack Obama, like his predecessor George Bush, is now viewed as a 'war president'. Read Article A firm date for uncertain action in Afghanistan
Dec 04, 2009
After a three-month policy review, the US President Barack Obama presented a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan based on the hope that escalation will provide the path leading to the way out of the conflict. While the latest version of Washington's approach to the war attempts to distance itself from the goal of nation-building, in its implementation that is what it will entail. Read Article Week in review: Obama's Afghan strategy
Dec 03, 2009
After declaring Iran will construct 10 new enrichment facilities, President Ahmadinejad now says it will enrich uranium to 20 per cent purity, rejecting an earlier proposal of sending low-enriched uranium for conversion in Russia and France. In an arrangement initially agreed upon in October, Iran was to have delivered the bulk of its low-enriched stockpile to Russia and France and in return receive fuel rods for its small Tehran reactor producing medical isotopes. Read Article Iran to expand its nuclear capabilities
Dec 02, 2009
In its first comprehensive ideological declaration since releasing its original manifesto in 1985, Hizbollah has issue a new political statement, an appeal for national unity: "We want Lebanon for all Lebanese alike, and we want it unified." Last week Lebanon's new cabinet agreed on a policy statement acknowledging Hizbollah's right to use its weapons against Israel, despite disagreement by some members of the ruling majority. Read Article Hizbollah's new manifesto
Dec 01, 2009
By voting on Sunday in favour of an initiative banning the construction of minarets, the Swiss may have caused real harm in an attempt to remedy a non-existent problem. The measure may turn out to be illegal but the damage to Switzerland's reputation has probably already been done. Yet the intolerance that the Swiss will be seen to represent, extends much more widely across Europe. Read Article Swiss voters seen as fearing Islam
Nov 30, 2009
Even if the EU has yet to grasp its value as an integral part of Europe, Turkey's status as a regional power is rapidly rising as it advances its "zero problem" policy in fostering close relations with its neighbours. Turkey's ascent in regional influence has corresponded precisely with the dwindling power of the United States whose own regional ambitions tumbled in Iraq. Read Article Turkey's widening arc of influence
Nov 29, 2009
While the US and its allies use the threat of isolation to pressure Iran to limit its nuclear ambitions, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's tour of Latin America and Africa shows that the Islamic republic does not lack friends. While the US President Barack Obama ran for office promising that he would engage with Iran, Brazil's embrace with Iran has provoked alarm in some quarters. Read Article Ahmadinejad strengthens ties with Latin America
Nov 27, 2009
A new report on climate change concludes that global emissions must peak then decline rapidly within the next five to ten years for the world to have a reasonable chance of avoiding the very worst impacts of climate change. To stabilise climate, global emissions of carbon dioxide and other long-lived greenhouse gases need to reach near-zero well within this century. Read Article Week in review: climate crisis
Nov 26, 2009
The Philippines now surpasses Iraq as the most dangerous place in the world for journalists. While 74 journalists have been killed over the last eight years, there have been only four convictions for crimes against media workers. A massacre in which at least 57 people were killed, including 21 journalists, was unprecedented even by Philippine standards where political rivalry is so often dealt with through violence. Read Article 21 journalists killed in Philippines massacre
