Route six, Iraq – AKA “MSR Topeka” (Main Supply Route Topeka), as named by the UK coalition forces, is a long, worn, and neglected jugular through the heart of Shia Iraq, running roughly south and east from Baghdad to Basrah – the second city.
Commentary
The Politics
Turkey: With the PKK
by Lee Ridley •
In a region dominated by the vast turquoise waters of Lake Van, the southeast corner of Turkey is a land of contrasts: From the lofty barren mountains to the broad green valleys; from the grey, noisy, urban sprawl of towns such as Van, Dogubeyazit and Hakkari to the scenic fields of wind swept grass just…
The Politics
Liberia Needs ‘Men With Ears’
by Samuel Duworko •
In 1986 when the international wires announced that the Liberian government was contemplating offering sanctuary to Haitian dictator Baby Doc Duvalier, the world community turned its spotlight on ‘The Love of Liberty.’ African watchers (including Liberians – I being one) could not fathom why the Liberian government of the day wanted to welcome the much-hated…
The Politics
Free Trade: what’s government got to do with it?
by lukebrown •
Someone once told me that he was all for free trade but couldn’t understand why free trade agreements needed thousands of pages. The simple answer is that this is not free trade. All that is required for free trade are willing buyers and sellers agreeing voluntarily to deal peacefully with each other, the eradication of…
The Places
Nicaragua Blockade
by Eric Becker •
I’ve never understood to what to attribute the prevalence of gold-capped teeth in Northeastern Nicaragua. For some, it seems like a fashion statement. For others, it seems the last line of defense against the total loss of dental capacity, a life restricted to mashed cassava and gummable beans. The truck driver was somewhere in the…
The Players
Uranium Revolution?: Abdul Qadeer Khan and Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions
by ROB •
When the IAEA recently announced that Iran was possibly in breach of the Nuclear Weapons Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) and had likely been developing an enrichment plant in the city of Natanz, the worst predictions of some appeared to have come true. The question on many people’s lips is where exactly they procured the expertise to…