The Politics

Kidnapping Children For Fun and Profit

Lessons from the French school. Back in the day there was a guy called Chad, and also a country, somewhere down there in the dirty sands of Africa, where a bunch of those little kiddies ran around playing and screaming and falling over stuff and sometimes even picking up guns to kill each other –

Afghanistan – The Origin Of Terrorism?

This transcript arrived at Polo’s Bastards via an email from Khaleeq Ahmad, the Assistant Spokesman on International Affairs at the Office of The Spokesperson to the President of Afghanistan. It was presented by Afghan President, Hamid Karzai, in London’s Chatham House on 20th July 2005. I’ve taken the liberty of posting it in it’s entirety.…

Turkey: With the PKK

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…

Liberia Needs ‘Men With Ears’

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…

Free Trade: what’s government got to do with it?

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…

What Next for the US and Saudi?

What Next for the US and Saudi? Author: Rob Wood Note: This piece was written on 1 April, 2003, a month before the announcement that the US was withdrawing forces from KSA. It would almost be an understatement to say that relations between the US and Saudi Arabia (KSA) have been strained over the last…