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Chrystia Freeland, The Financial Times | August 22, 2008 A sharp consensus between Europe and the US emerged at the NATO summit that they can not deal with Russia as usual. ++ Regarding the question what to do instead, one answer could be: concentrate on Russian oligarchs. ++ They have close ties with Putin, but also operate globally and depend on Western capital markets, Western consumers and foreign bank accounts. ...More

Husain Haqqani, Pakistan's ambassador to the US | August 22, 2008 Musharraf's resignation as president allows the country to move toward full democracy and this process should not be seen as a threat in Washington. ++ With Musharraf's exit the "war against terror will in fact be pursued with much more vigor and much less political manipulation" and anti-Americanism among the Pakistani population is likely to decline. ++ Now, ...More

Nauman Asghar, Punjab University | August 22, 2008 A strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, whether by the US or Israel, is a disastrous idea. ++ If Iran is attacked oil prices may rise to $200 a barrel which would be a hard hit for the global economy. ++ Iranian nuclear facilities are too widely dispersed to be fully destroyed by warplanes, which means an attack would only delay the progress towards getting a ...More

Richard Weitz, Hudson Institute | August 22, 2008 Even though both Washington and Warsaw deny it, it was the Russian attack on Georgia that broke the stalemate in negotiations and pushed Polish government towards signing the missile defence treaty on Wednesday. ++ A garrison of American soldiers who will protect the US Patriot air defense battery on the Polish territory is supposed to act as a tripwire - any ...More

Seumas Milne, The Guardian | August 22, 2008 Instead of demonstrating the noble character of NATO, the so called "good war" in Afghanistan is running out of control. ++ The death toll is rising inexorably, the security situation for aid agencies and women deteriorates and the local population is turning more and more against the Alliance. ++ The only way to resolve the conflict is to withdraw the foreign ...More

Kishore Mahbubani, National University of Singapore | August 21, 2008 The Atlantic view that it's necessary to protect the underdog from its powerful neighbour is isolated; most of the world is bemused at Western double standards and sees Russia as bullied by the West. ++ Events in Georgia show that the West lacks strategic thinking. ++ Instead of dealing with Russia, Western thinkers should decide what the greatest long-term ...More

Gabriel Schoenfeld, Wall Street Journal | August 21, 2008 In the discussion of US-Russian relations, one element has been overlooked: the shift in the nuclear balance. ++ After the cold war both powers agreed to reduce their tactical nuclear arsenal, but Russia started from a much higher level and still has 10 times the number of weapons held by the US. ++ This disparity is alarming because the weapons not only play ...More

Samantha Power, Harvard University | August 21, 2008 UN officials and aid workers are frequently killed - both on purpose and accidentally - in Iraq, Algeria, and Afghanistan. ++ In fact, al-Qaeda declared the UN to be a central target. ++ Facing this danger, the UN needs to "nationalize" field operations and replace foreign workers by local nationals. ++ It should also spend more money on security and as a last ...More

Gareth Porter, US security policy analyst | August 21, 2008 Musharraf's resignation ends an exquisite relationship between him and the Bush administration. ++ The latter created the myth that Musharraf had "joined the free world in fighting the terrorists" after 9/11. ++ The truth is, Musharraf neither supported the war on terror, nor stopped making deals with the militants. ++ But the Bush administration chose to hide ...More

Stephen Hockman, former chairman of the Bar Council | August 21, 2008 So far all global efforts to tackle climate change have lacked impact, legitimacy and transparency - the situation is dire and calls for more radical solutions. ++ It is crucial to create a global legal structure of control in the form of an international court for the environment. ++ Such a powerful and imperial body could provide the catalyst for a global ...More