All Backchannels
- Iraq risks 'return' to war? Maybe the wrong question.Iraq is less violent than it was and the press frequently wonders if the country could descend into war again. What if the war never ended?
Egypt to global democracy NGOs: Drop deadA group of democracy activists, 16 of them US citizens, were sentenced to jail for their activities by an Egyptian court today.
An Egyptian preacher and a US senator compete over Syria's futureBoth Yusuf al-Qaradawi and John McCain want Bashar al-Assad to fall. But in their competing visions you'll find reasons for the White House's reticence over deeper military involvement.
'Occupy' is not a good model for change, in Turkey or anywhere elseAny protest movement that insists on a leaderless, non-ideological approach to political change is unlikely to accomplish much.
In Turkey and Syria, diplomacy by snarkSyria lashes out at Turkey's brutality in a case of the pot calling the kettle black.- Why do they hate our NGO funding?Well, because it is threatening to foreign governments.
Why Syria is (still) different for the WestThe drumbeat for war, or 'intervention,' in Syria continues to build, but it's still a dangerous proposition.
Should we stop worrying and learn to love the 'Muslim bomb?'Pakistan's first nuclear test 15 years ago today frightened the world. But folks have gotten used to it.
Egypt's antiquities face bigger problems than Chinese graffitiHow a young Chinese boy defaced an ancient Egyptian temple, and unwittingly joined a long tradition in the process.
Obama rhetorically ends the 'war on terror'... while vowing it will go on by other means.
Did similar detours bring terrorism to streets of Boston and London?The early indications point to both sets of killers being second generation immigrants, who either through their social networks or online media came to militant Al Qaeda-style Islam later in life.
Iraqi government still using bomb detectors it knows are faultyJames McCormick was sentenced in Britain weeks ago for selling the same fake bomb detectors in Iraq during the war.
Are tit-for-tat sectarian killings enough to tilt Iraq back to war?Bouts of sectarian fighting have worried observers many times over the past few years, but so far the worst has not come to pass.
Should use of chemical weapons in Syria be a 'game changer?'Last month President Obama called chemical weapons use by Syria a 'game changer,' but why do US interests change if chemical weapons are used?- As Indonesia gears up for election, fears of corruption soarIndonesia has set itself up nicely for fair presidential elections next year, but corruption and party oligarchs threaten the its future.
- From Bali to Boston, terrorists chase the same goal: infamyFueled by a fringe brand of Islam,聽the Boston bombers may have been motivated by the same desire that drove bombers in Indonesia a decade ago to go down in history as vigilantes.
Myanmar's ruler to get peace prize, despite 'ethnic cleansing' chargeOn the same day that Myanmar's president is set to receive a peace award, Human Rights Watch accused his government of failing to stop ethnic cleansing carried out against ethnic Rohingya.- Heavy metal, Islamist politics, and democracy in IndonesiaHeavy metal band Jamrud and a major Indonesian Islamist party throw a gig together. That's one of the smallest changes in Indonesian politics.
- Is Indonesia finally going after its feared special forces unit?The murder of four inmates by Kopassus members has put pressure on Indonesian authorities to end the unit's impunity.
How Myanmar's Buddhist-Muslim conflict has reached into IndonesiaIn Indonesia, a brawl between Muslim and Buddhist detainees from Myanmar left eight dead today. Both sides are caught in a painful cycle of events.
