Perspectives

"One hopes that as the Tehreek ratchets its campaign, it will work in subtle ways to win the esteem of the rank and file in Pakistan’s army. The knowledge that their own rank and file have their eyes on their backs will restrain the generals who may want to extend their profitable partnership with the United States....The Tehreek should also send out signals – convincing signals – that it has a second arrow in its quiver. It must let Pakistanis know that it is ready to mobilize its ranks for more forceful action if the corrupt political elites will use dirty tricks to extend their corruption binge for another five years."

"What the Norwegian incident illustrates is that the preoccupation of mainstream society to stigmatize Muslims has provided ample opportunity for other marginalized groups to implant their ideas and attract new recruits to their detestable ideologies. One must wonder, how many other home grown right-wing extremists lurk in European cities waiting to pounce against their governments and fellow citizens, whilst politicians struggle to replace multiculturalism with other fad ideas like assimilation, and integrations that will no doubt lead to the same result."

"The leadership is in a bind for sure, but the question is whether holding on to the nearly invisible string left from the peace process is the right way to go. After Netanyahu comes back with his expected response to Abbas’ letter, perhaps it may be time to throw caution to the wind. Forget about letters and negotiating over land after it has already been stolen; the leadership – the PA, the PLO and Hamas to boot – should tap into the strength and potentials of a people just waiting for its leadership to push ‘go’. Who knows? It may just pay off after all."

"The Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 was deployed to the Norwegian Arctic island city of Tromsø for the exercise. NATO established a Joint Warfare Centre in Stavanger, which at the time hosted the nation's military command headquarters, in 2003. According to NATO's Norfolk, Virginia-based Supreme Allied Command Transformation, the center is "the jewel in the Crown of Allied Command Transformation."

"It would be commendable to see Nobel Literature laureates sign a statement calling on Israel to stop the policy of banning books for Palestinian prisoners....It would be great if universities around the world and academics would push Israel to allow prisoners to take the high school examination and enroll in distance college education."

"The Kabul government’s 300,000-strong security forces actually make this easier, Talha explained. “The bigger the Afghan police, army, and intelligence services grow, the less effective they become. Kabul’s intelligence and police are weaker than ever, allowing us to carry out these stunning episodes.”

"A government simply cannot afford to appear nonchalant with corruption of one of its own ministers. Leaders must be bold enough to correct their stupid decisions. It is never too late for correcting one’s mistakes."

"Built on lies and political deception, the on-going wars were suppose to create a new culture of fear amongst the American and European common masses, enabling the ruling elite to sustain their grip over the powerhouses for long time to come as did the Nazis, a war of thousand years to dominate the world. Instead, it has backed fire; the leaders are fearful day and night from the masses and unable to cope with the challenging public concerns on the war causalities or to answer rational questions about the outcome of these self-generated conflicts. Ironically, the American and British leaders are fighting wars they cannot win, nor afford to lose in the public eyes."