At the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit meeting in Da Nang, Vietnam, US president Trump met with his Russian counterpart and as many believe, his kingmaker. Trump comfortably believed Putin about the election meddling issue. Trump said of Putin, “Every time he sees me he says, ‘I didn’t do that,’ and I really believe that […]
Do more — Chinese version
American policy makers always want something from nations around the world. Oil from Saudi Arabia, the dirty work Israel does for America, torture sites in Poland and Thailand, and so forth. The US demands from Pakistan for over a decade have been to disassociate itself from the Sopranos of the Afghanistan war or what the […]
Would justice prevail or will the Hague be invaded?
Howard Zinn once said, “Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.” The prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC), Fatou Bensouda has decided to request judicial authorisation to open in investigation into crimes that have been committed during the armed conflict in Afghanistan. She has concluded that all the legal […]
Bowe Bergdahl — selective liberty and justice
Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl has pled guilty to charges of desertion and misbehaviour before the enemy, though there have been hints that a plea deal may have been struck. Bergdahl is facing a possible five year sentence for desertion as well as a potential life sentence for misbehaviour before the enemy. While much of the […]
The emperor’s terrorism
The threatening message was conveyed to Pakistan through Ambassador David Hale. Either you do it or our Navy SEALS would. Pakistan rescued the American-Canadian family. And now Pakistan is in self-deception mode. It needs to come down from this cloud nine of ‘relations getting better with America’. The drones are back with terror. Whether in […]
Of kings party and campaign finance
I am a Pakistani-American, one who straddles two distinct cultures. Living in both Pakistan and America, my take home lesson about politics in both countries is this; the power systems on both sides have the ultimate power over all that matters. In July, there was an opinion piece published in the New York Times, which […]
Words speak louder than actions
Trump has trumpeted the ‘do more’ rhetoric with his signature style of making hubris more pronounced. The ‘do more’ is not new; and neither is it going to be old anytime soon. But there is something very interesting about this ‘do more’ mantra: one, it is a testament to the privilege of powerful nations […]
Panama and ICC
Let me tell you three stories today — the first story is about the removal of Nawaz Sharif from the office of the Prime Minister, as a result of the Panama Papers revelations. The Supreme Court of Pakistan conducted a massive investigation, which found Nawaz guilty — he is gone. It had all started […]
The question of legality of US attacking North Korea
Trump needs something to entertain his white supremacist racist traits and more importantly to shift the focus away from the Russian investigation currently done by Robert Mueller III. A war or talk of war helps in rallying the people around the flag and forgetting pretty much everything else The war of words between Trump […]
Campaign finance Vs Trump-Russia connection
AS is typical of any American political issue, the two sides of the debate are really just one side. Much of it is just noise; meaningless noise. In the hubbub, the public loses sight of the real issue, failing to ask the real questions. For Example, the noise about the issue of Ukraine concerned putting […]