Conferences and suggestions about what to do in Afghanistan are chock-a-block, but the reality speaks for itself, says Eric Walberg The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s Special Conference on Afghanistan, held in Moscow on 27 March, marks a new stage in the international community’s relations with this beleaguered country. It reflected the growing clout of Russia and [...]

Instability in Georgia puts US geostrategic plans at risk, observes Eric Walberg   The bloom has officially faded on Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili’s 2003 rose revolution. The 13 opposition parties in this nation of 4.7 million are united and determined, and began their latest series of demonstrations 9 April, when as many as 100,000 demonstrated [...]

INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP Somalia: To Move Beyond the Failed State Nairobi/Brussels, 23 December 2008: Somalia’s latest transitional government is collapsing, but there is a chance to rescue a dire humanitarian and security situation if Western and other powers fundamentally revise their approach to a political solution. Somalia: To Move Beyond the Failed State,* the latest [...]