United States

Former U.S. Soldier Charged with Conspiring to Use Destructive Device While Fighting with al Qaeda-Affiliated Group in Syria

U.S. Attorney’s Office March 28, 2013 Eastern District of Virginia (703) 299-3700 ALEXANDRIA, VA—Eric Harroun, 30, of Phoenix, was arrested and charged with conspiring to use a rocket propelled grenade (RPG) while fighting with the al Nusrah Front, an organization commonly referred to as “al Qaeda in Iraq” and designated […]

How Obama Is Failing Syria

By Fouad Ajami Bloomberg In the matter of the Syrian rebellion, the U.S. hasn’t even “led from behind.” The Obama administration has pioneered a new role for a great power: We are now the traffic controllers, directing the flow of weapons to the rebels. The money isn’t ours; it is […]

US, China and playful AfPak frogs

Source: A times: By M K Bhadrakumar Writing in the Los Angeles Times a year ago, predicting with extraordinary prescience how exasperating the American efforts to negotiate an Afghan settlement would turn out to be when the crunch time comes, Peter Tomsen who was president Ronald Reagan’s special envoy to […]

Cutting classes – As Chicago plans to close more than 50 schools, we ask what it means for the students who will be forced to relocate.

There is outrage in Chicago over plans to close more than 50 public schools – most of them in poor and minority neighbourhoods. Chicago’s Mayor Rahm Emanuel says the closures are tough but necessary in order to deal with a $1bn deficit and what he called “underutilised” schools. He also […]