SCO or anti-NATO?

Despite the tremendous financial aid that America renders to Pakistan, recently anti-American sentiments have ripened in this country — Pakistani, who assisted the CIA during the search and discovery of the “terrorist #1” have been arrested for one. The USA are obviously “losing” Pakistan, but the very fact that this country may join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) any moment make the regional situation critical for the United States. Add the scheduled withdrawal of the U.S. and allied troops from Afghanistan (which also drifts towards the SCO) here and the change of regional balance of powers becomes apparent. Simultaneously, the inveterate issue of the Indian-Pakistani stand is being settled — India also has all the chances to become an SCO member.

NATO STRUCK SPAIN, PORTUGAL AND GREECE

Alliance will deprive economically unwell Southern European countries of their usual sources of incomes

Alliance attempt to “lose weigh” will strike those NATO members, which are better left well enough alone. Crisis-stricken European countries will lose the incomes from deployment of command centers at its territories. Preliminary negotiations inside of NATO brought no wishful solution and were characterized by the Western media as a “family quarrel because of money”.

---

When Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen was elected the NATO Secretary General after lengthy discussions two years ago, almost nobody paid attention to one thing he said during one of his first speeches — that from now then NATO was to adjust its plans with the financial abilities.

TURKEY–IRAN: APPROACH AND RIVALRY? Part II

Competing for influence over the Middle East, Ankara and Tehran will inevitably clash in Syria

Competition of Turkey and Iran in Syria is accompanied by simultaneous Turkish self-assertion in the Western direction. Turkey makes the USA and the EU accept the fact that they would have to recognize leadership of Ankara in the Islamic world — age of direct influence over the Middle Eastern countries is coming to an end.  New, post-revolutionary layout in the region will seemingly be characterized by indirect influence of major Western world powers on the settlement of Middle Eastern peace.

Weimar Square

Initiative of Polish President Bronisław Komorowski — quite unexpected for most of the experts — to turn the Weimar Triangle into Weimar Square, including Russia may become a Weimar elevator for Poland. In other words, it may bring this ambitious country right to the top of European politics. This is utmost topical, given the upcoming half-year-long Polish chairmanship in the European Union.

OBAMA: TWO YEARS TO CLEAN THE FOREIGN POLICY STABLES OUT. Part II

                                  4. Settlement of the Middle-Eastern conflict.

Cool-down of American-Israeli relationship was nearly the most dangerous consequence of Barack Obama’s coming to power. No matter how paradoxically it may sound, but Israel is every bit as important to America, as America is important to Israel. Republicans have historically supported Israel with a truly religious zealous fervor and — believe it or not — but neo-con ideology, confessed by the GOP is to a considerable degree based on the literal interpretation of some Biblical excerpts. According to them, second coming of Jesus Christ and the Judgment Day may only come when Judaic Jerusalem Temple (also called the Third Temple) would be completely restored. Place where it should be rebuilt is the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. As the saying goes, that’s where the shoe pinches. Without going deep into historical and religious details, we have all the reasons to state that Temple Mount is an equally sacred place for all three Avraam’s religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam). That is why Palestinians demand to give Jerusalem back to them, which is also why Israel has no intention to do so and which is exactly why American neo-cons are supporting the Jewish state.

New security architecture, born at the safe haven of Lisbon.

In antique Phoenician language “Lisbon” meant the “safe haven”.  This beautiful city has already been a cradle of one historical agreement — the Lisbon Treaty, which revived the European Union. Now we may say that Lisbon also became a place of birth for the new European security configuration. New Strategic Concept of the Northern Atlantic Alliance — accompanied by the new configuration of partnership with Russia — has without doubt become a main achievement of the NATO summit, which took place this weekend. From now on, NATO and Russia are the strategic partners.

Homework for the Summit in Lisbon

Meeting in Baku

Today’s NATO summit in Lisbon is so important for its participants that each side — having expected certain results — didn’t hesitate to do its part of the homework in order to demonstrate their true intentions to their partners. American President publicly given his Russian colleague to understand that he remembers all of their preliminary oral arrangements. He gathered some sort of an Advisory Council and — in the presence of his aides, including Henry Kissinger (creator of the „shuttle diplomacy” term) — held a speech regarding the START treaty. Railroading the latter through the Congress after his failure at the mid-term elections wouldn’t be a piece of cake this time.

Temptation of Europe. Part II

Russian concept of the European security

During the last ten years Russia has dramatically changed its public image and now it doesn’t look like a “poor cousin” that humbly awaits his turn in the European reception room anymore.

The “upgrading” model of the state progress, proclaimed by Dmitry Medvedev, inevitably leads to the increasing role of Russia in a new global society.

Temptation of Europe

Deauville summit and Dmitry Medvedev’s promise to take part in the NATO summit in Lisbon makes us take a seriously different view of his initiative to create a new European security system

Security system that emerged after the Second World War was based on confrontation of two competing military-political alliances: NATO and the Warsaw Treaty — these agreements were personifying the bipolar system of the Cold War period. After the collapse of the USSR and, consequently, the Warsaw Treaty, there was a short period of the mono-polar U.S. dominion.