How Widodo won the election — and Modi could too

(Indonesian President Joko Widodo meeting supporters at a campaign rally.) The reports from Jakarta indicate that the incumbent president Joko Widodo has won the election on April 17 and secured another five-year term in office. Widodo draws comparison with Prime Minister Modi. Both are charismatic figures. Both surged in national politics as rank ‘outsiders’. They …

Who’s afraid of Afghan peace talks – Kabul and Delhi?

(A transfer case containing the remains of Staff Sgt. Christopher Slutman at Dover Air Force Base, Del. who was among 3 American soldiers killed near Bagram base, Afghanistan on April 8, 2019)  Henry Kissinger wouldn’t have approved the way Zalmay Khalilzad, US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, handles the Afghan peace talks. Even if Tweeter …

Putin votes for Modi. Can he help Modi win?

(Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi react while walking near the Constantine Palace, St. Petersburg, June 2017.) The Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree in Moscow on April 12 conferring on Prime Minister Narendra Modi Russia’s highest state award, the Order of St Andrew the Apostle the First-Called. This …

Don’t expect US-Iran war before 2021

(Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders report directly to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (R))  There is no reason to disbelieve the boast by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claiming credit personally for US President Donald Trump’s decision to designate Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) as a “foreign terrorist organisation” under American law. It …

Trump takes his Venezuelan itch to the UN

(President Maduro’s supporters mark 20th anniversary of rise to power of socialist predecessor Hugo Chavez, Caracas, Feb. 2, 2019) The phone briefing by a “high-ranking” US official on Friday regarding the situation in Venezuela triggered speculation that the Trump administration is considering the use of military force against the Maduro government. The US official said …