The west is strategically wrong on Georgia By Kishore Mahbubani

FT.com / Comment & analysis / Comment – The west is strategically wrong on Georgia

Published: August 20 2008

Sometimes small events can portend great changes. The Georgian fiasco may be one such event. It heralds the end of the post cold-war era. But it does not mark the return of any new cold war. It marks an even bigger return: the return of history.

The post cold-war era began on a note of western triumphalism, symbolised by Francis Fukuyama’s book, The End of History. The title was audacious but it captured the western zeitgeist. History had ended with the triumph of western civilisation. The rest of the world had no choice but to capitulate to the advance of the west.

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Palestinians Calculating Next Move: Coexistence with Occupation Not an Option By: Sam Bahour

02 September 2008

Source: http://tinyurl.com/6jse2p

Palestinians have been historically outmaneuvered, politically neutralized, and made totally dependent on international handouts. Or have they? A newly released Palestinian strategy document which outlines strategic political options gives witness to a renewed breath of fresh air in the Palestinians’ struggle for freedom and independence.

After 60 years of dispossession and 40 years of a brutal Israeli military occupation, many of the world’s power brokers are convinced that the Palestinians are successfully being forced into submission and acceptance of the colossal injustices that have been carried out against them. Leading the choir is the U.S. and its Israeli ally, along with several undemocratic Arab regimes.

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The Medvedev Doctrine and American Strategy By George Friedman

The Medvedev Doctrine and American Strategy By George Friedman

[Note: According to the blurb on its Website:

“Stratfor provides published intelligence and customized intelligence service for private individuals, global corporations, and divisions of the US and foreign governments around the world. Stratfor intelligence professionals routinely appear at conferences and as subject-matter experts in mainstream media. Stratfor was the subject of a cover-story article in Barron’s entitled The Shadow CIA” www.stratfor.com

which should you give you some idea of the context to this essay. That said, it’s a highly informative document and of immense relevance to any understanding of what’s going on at this critical juncture and of the corner the US has backed itself into. Ed.]

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