Iran the victor
Bush administration officials have long insisted that Washington must maintain its political and military presence in Iraq lest the country fall under the sway of Iran. Writing in the New York Review of Books, Peter Galbraith argues Iran is already the biggest beneficiary of the American occupation and that on a number of thorny issues, such as the threat posed by the radical militias of Moqtada al-Sadr, Iran is even on the same side as the United States.
Iranian political analysts are perplexed by the attention paid to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad by the rest of the world, particularly by Washington. They suggest that Ahmadinejad is far less significant - and far more isolated - within Iranian politics than it may seem from the outside.
As he flirts with controversy with his visit to New York, Ahmadinejad insists that he "comes in peace".
Iranian officials insist that they are monitoring US troop movements in the Persian Gulf region, and that US military targets would be in missile range should Washington launch an attack on Iran. However, the same officials were confident that the United States would be unable to attack Iran as American forces remain bogged down in Iraq.
Imperial fallacy
Keep up to date with the latest developments and sharpest perspectives in a world of strife and struggle.
Sign up to receive toD's daily security briefings via email by clicking hereWriting in the American Prospect, openDemocracy author Michael Lind asks what happened to the idea of the United States as an exemplary model of liberal democracy?
Talk to Hamas
Israeli authors Amos Oz and David Grossman have launched an appeal with the support of some of the leading intellectuals in the country calling on the government of Ehud Olmert to negotiate with Hamas. It was revealed last week that an approach by Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was rebuffed by Israeli officials.
Israeli officials have released ninety Palestinians linked with Fatah from prison as part of a wider bid to strengthen the hand of Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah-controlled West Bank as the rift between Hamas and Fatah persists.
Washington has invited Syria and Saudi Arabia, along with a number of other Arab states, to a "peace conference" on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Both Damascus and Riyadh do not maintain official relations with Israel. Syria's involvement is particularly in doubt after Israeli fighter jets raided the country earlier this month.
Niger Delta not on the MEND
After the arrest of Henry Okah, a factional leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, the Nigerian insurgent group has threatened to resume attacks on the oil industry of the oil-rich region of southern Nigeria. The move would end a four month ceasefire struck between MEND and the Nigerian government.
Poverty in Thailand's restive south
The insurgency-hit, predominantly Muslim provinces of southern Thailand comprise the poorest part of the country. The region missed out on many of the development schemes put in place by deposed former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Yet, thanks to renewed governmental interest, the activity of NGOs and help from wealthy Muslim states like Kuwait, community development initiatives are slowly taking root in the impoverished south.
Kosovo bomb
A bomb tore through a shopping mall in Kosovo's capital of Pristina, killing two people and injuring ten. As Kosovo inches towards officially breaking away from Serbia, security concerns are on the rise.
Justice for extra-judicial murders?
The Philippine military is set to put thirteen of its soldiers on trial for their involvement in the killing of left-wing activists. Defendants will face new tribunals set up to hear human rights complaints.
European convoy struck in Algeria
A suspected al-Qaida suicide bomber hit a convoy of European engineers near the town of Lakhdaria, southeast of Algiers. Al-Qaida has recently called for attacks on French targets. The north African off-shoot of al-Qaida, the so-called "al-Qaida in the Maghreb", continues to wage a campaign of bomb attacks and ambushes in Algeria.
Violence in the republics
Russian forces killed two alleged rebel gunmen in the restive republic of Dagestan, which borders Chechnya. The shootout was the second such incident in the space of a week in Dagestan.
