360 Articles
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360° Analysis / Baba Amr / CNN / Politics / Safety Training / Syria / United States / Europe / Arts & Culture / Middle EastBy Tim CrockettAs new technologies make war coverage more immediate and demanding, safety expert Tim Crockett talks about the importance of preparation and training for journalists. What advice can you offer to journalists who are, for the most part, freelancers and don’t have the level of support larger networks provide when a story is so important, yet the risks are equally so high? Freelance journalists are in need of safety training more than ever before as kidnappings and death tolls continue to rise across many areas of conflict around the world. 72 Hours Under Fire As I write, it is 12 months to the day since I went with a small team of journalists – CNN reporter Arwa Damon and...
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360° Analysis / Afghanistan / al qaeda / corruption / Cunningham / good governance / Jalalabad / Kabul / Karzai / Nangarhar / Pakistan / Politics / Sherzai / Taliban / US Ambassador / US withdrawal / AsiaBy Will CalhounA Look at the Fractious Upcoming Presidential Election in Afghanistan On February 15 2013 U.S. Ambassador James Cunningham appeared with Nangarhar Governor Gul Agha Sherzai in a joint press conference to announce the U.S.’s plans to support fair and free Presidential and provincial elections in Afghanistan in 2014. Although it is clear that Afghanistan is the junior partner in the relationship, it was Sherzai’s hulking presence that dominated the room. At over six feet tall and 350 pounds, Sherzai cuts an imposing physical presence, and an imposing political one as well. As Governor of Nangarhar Province, he has made a name for himself as a point man for the Americans and as a...
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1984 / 360° Analysis / ceasefire / conflict / DMZ / George Orwell / Ideology / Juche / Kim Jong Un / Korea / military / North Korea / Nuclear Missile / Peninsula / Pyongyang / Seoul / South Korea / United States / Washington / Global Security / AsiaThe annual “Tension Season” in relations between the United States and North Korea is noticeably harsher this year. Every year, there seems to be two periods of tension in the relationship between the United States and North Korea. These seasons of tension are nothing new. The historical pattern of bi-annual tensions are a result of confrontation spawning from joint military exercises by the US and its allies on the Korean Peninsula which coincide with two major North Korean public holidays, May Day and the Mass Games. May Day demonstrations celebrate the effort and sacrifices of the working class and are thus often proceeded by a...
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360° Analysis / India / Politics / Sonia Gandhi / BRIC / AsiaHaving spent twenty-five years serving the Congress Party, Archana Dalmia makes sense of Sonia Gandhi and her role in Indian politics. Sonia Gandhi is not a career politician in the conventional sense of the word. She was virtually thrown into the ring, and yet has shown more political astuteness than most of her contemporaries. Her Caucasian origins have often been thrown at her. But she has silenced her political critics with the courage, determination and fortitude that she has shown in these past fifteen years; in fact demonstrating that she is more Indian than most. The tenure of a leader can be judged by the growth of an organization they inherit. Sonia Gandhi has excelled in that...
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360° Analysis / Afghanistan / Carnegie Endowment / Politics / Syria / Syrian Civil War / United States / Europe / BRIC / Middle East / Global SecurityTwo years into the Syrian crisis, Russia and the United States are united by the same concern: how to prevent an “Afghanistan on the Mediterranean”. Now and then, there are reports suggesting that a US-Russian deal on Syria might be imminent. The closure has not happened yet, but since the crisis in Syria first erupted two years ago, both the US and the Russian positions have evolved. Russia no longer fears the United States leading a Libyan-style military intervention in Syria. Nor does Moscow believe that Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad will eventually prevail over his opponents. Washington, by contrast, has tempered its initial expectations of Assad’s imminent...
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Speculation has been mounting in Venezuela following the death of Hugo Chavez over the late leader's successor and the country's regional leadership. On March 5, after a long battle with cancer, the death of Hugo Chavez Frias was announced. The late Venezuelan leader led the country since early 1999 and established a regional leadership status among the new left that emerged in Latin America (Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil, Nicaragua, Peru, Argentina and Uruguay). A dedicated follower of Bolivar's anti-imperialism ideals, Chavez was a known adversary of the United States especially for the Bush administration. His death not only affects Latin America but also countries worldwide,...
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360° Analysis / Afghanistan / Bridging the Divide / Foreign Assistance / Humanitarian / Iraq / Middle East / United States / Global Change / Middle EastNew technologies and civil society engagement can provide better results through foreign assistance from the US to the Middle East. This is the final part. Read part one here. New Models of Citizen Engagement American funding of overseas development initiatives is not, however, limited to official foreign assistance funding. The dis-intermediating effect of technology has enabled Americans as private citizens to play an increasingly significant — and direct — role in the provision of foreign assistance to projects of their choice. As Internet and mobile applications — “from blogs to wikis, tags, texts and tweets — become increasingly widespread, a network-...
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Brandon Scott, who served on a Tactical Human Intelligence Team in Iraq from 2004 to 2005, argues that despite the storm of sectarianism and violence, the Iraq War should be perceived as a success. The 10th Anniversary of the Iraq War was marked this week with the usual commentary of defeatism. It seems like no matter where one reads, the same underlying statement is made: The United States lost the war in Iraq. I strongly disagree with this argument. Unlike in Vietnam, US soldiers, spooks (intelligence officers), and statesmen did not leave Iraq in a rush. The Mahdi Army or the al-Qaeda inspired Islamic State of Iraq, unlike the North Vietnamese Army in Saigon, did not roll down the...
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360° Analysis / Iraq / Iraq War / Iraqi Youth / Politics / Middle EastGiving the Iraqi youth a real opportunity through education, may be the best chance for rebuilding Iraq, argues Yasmeen Alamiri. If the world was divided ahead of the war in Iraq, the schism has only grown now that we have reached ten years since the invasion. The end of the US military engagement in the country does not take away from the very tangible fact that Iraq, on its ten-year anniversary, is broken, with a generation of disenfranchised citizenry as the byproduct. Politically, stakeholders have repeatedly touted that their self-declared deadlines have been met, declaring a dubious victory. Yet, there have been numerous reports showing otherwise. One of those came as recently as this...