Tag: cancelled

"This power vacuum again exemplifies that the Arab Spring has effectively sidelined the issues of minority groups within the Arab states namely the Kurds and the Saharawis of the Western Sahara. However it also raises questions as to whether Erdogan can fulfil the responsibility given to him by justice and honour. After all Ataturk’s quote was not meant to be read as two alternatives – “Peace at home” or Peace in the world”; but rather as a holistic instrument by which to rule – peace at home amounts to peace in the world. This is the lesson Erdogan should learn from the Ottoman experience in order to capitalise on the noble status Turkey now holds in the global community."

"...in Pakistan some 2% of population owns some 80% of the wealth. If this is an Islamic Republic then I would be happier in a sweaper non-Islamic but more egalitarian pariah state....Such is the love for Islam that Islam is discovered by this country's elite only when US Dollars are required or the elite is under threat."

"Is it not strange that the robust debates surrounding the Zuma trials and questions raised about Mbeki's presidency are tolerated, yet different standards are applied when the politics of Israel warrant similar discussion?"

"...the view which Israel used to rely on – that the road to Washington passes via Israel. What any Arab or Muslim country can do now to win American support is to back the American anti-terrorism policy. This is the very thing the USA needs now. If Sharon achieved some progress in the Islamic world by withdrawing from Gaza, many doubts still surround his measures taken after the withdrawal."

"The reality is that torture is and probably always will be standard operating procedure of the American military and government. Senator McCain is trying desperately to hide public knowledge of torture by erecting a barrier, a shield to public awareness. McCain wants to be able to say, "We don't torture anyone, we have a firm policy against it" and then perfect methods of keeping actual torture secret. The fact that McCain approves of Israeli methods means he is not sincere in stopping torture."