Tuesday, March 30, 2010

A Must Read for all Policy Makers


Global Warring: How Environmental, Economic, and Ploitical Crises will Redraw the World by Cleo Paskal.

Combining climate research and interviews with geopolitical strategists and military planners, Paskal identifies the environmental problems that are most likely to start wars, destroy economies and create failed states. Global Warring is a fascinating tour through our uncertain future and is essential to understanding tomorrow's world.

Contents
Introduction
PART I: THE USS SIEVE
The Coming Storm
PART II: THE NEW GEOPOLITICAL ICEBERGS
Life On The No Longer Permanent Permafrost
The Global Economy: Waiting for the Ship to Come in
A Short History of Modern Geopolitics, As Seen From the Deck Of A Ship
The Great Cold Rush of '08
PART III: PRECIPITATING CHANGE IN ASIA AND BEYOND
Today's Weather
The Story So Far
Interesting Times, Narrowing Options
PART IV: WATER
Building a Geopolitical Ark
Drawing Lines in the Water
Fighting Over Atlantis
PART V: YOUR POINT IS?
Conclusion

'Cleo Paskal is original and compelling; a pioneering scholar of the new terrain where climate change confronts national security, she charts the dramatic implications not just for the game of nations but for their geographic borders, their resources and their fundamental interests.'- Martin Walker, senior director of the Global Business Policy Council and Editor-in-Chief Emeritus of United Press International. More >>>

Monday, March 29, 2010

Give Pakistan a nuclear deal


Washington, March 26th - Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi came to Washington this week armed with a long list of topics to discuss.

Or to be more accurate, he arrived with a hodgepodge wishlist of unrealistic propositions. However, the most unlikely proposal -- that Pakistan be given a civilian nuclear deal similar to the one India was granted in 2008 -- could be the one that finally wins those elusive "hearts and minds."

It has become a mantra of the war on terror that poverty, desperation, and hopelessness breed militancy. A population that is contented, it is said, will never strap on suicide vests. Solving Pakistan's power crisis, a source of great exasperation for many Pakistanis that is getting progressively worse with each passing year, should be a priority in Washington. And providing nuclear energy may be the cheapest, most efficient way to deal with this crisis. More >>>

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

US Federal Auditors Stop Billion-Dollar Army Contract for Blackwater/Xe


Wednesday, March 17, 2010 - Denied the chance to bid on a lucrative security contract to train Afghanistan’s new police force, DynCorp International managed to convince the Government Accountability Office to halt the company’s rival—Xe (formerly Blackwater)—from moving forward with its no-bid work.

Xe was given the $1 billion job of training new Afghan police when oversight of the program was switched from the State Department to the U.S. Army. DynCorp, which already was training some police under its deal with the State Department, complained when it was shut out of the bidding for the contract that went to Xe, which has done extensive work for the Department of Defense. More >>>

Monday, March 1, 2010

US plans 'dramatic reductions' in nuclear weapons


President Obama speaking in Prague 5 April 2009 (file photo)
Mr Obama outlined his vision of a world free of nuclear weapons last April.

US President Barack Obama is planning "dramatic reductions" in the country's nuclear arsenal, a senior US administration official has said.

This would come as part of a sweeping policy review designed to prevent the spread of atomic weapons, he said.

He added that the new strategy will point to a greater role for conventional weapons.

Mr Obama is holding a meeting with his Defence Secretary Robert Gates to discuss the new nuclear strategy. More >>>