3 July 2014
July 2014
... Iraq special report: the state disintegrates, borders vanish, Kurds profit; US: the new caring New York; the BNP Paribas affair; Ukraine, follow the money; Italy, Renzi's race against time; Russia, high cost of keeping warm; Argentina without Kirchner ... and more ...
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When Obama got it right - Serge Halimi
Was Barack Obama, then just an Illinois state senator, wrong back in 2002 when he thought that an invasion of Iraq would only "fan the flames of the Middle East and encourage the worst, rather than the best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of Al-Qaida"? Did vice-president Richard Cheney see things more clearly when he promised that US troops would be "welcomed as liberators"? Yet now it is Cheney who dares to accuse Obama of being a traitor and a fool in Iraq, (...)Translated by Barbara Wilson - Failure of the modern Middle East nation state
Taking Iraq apart* - Peter Harling
Nouri al-Maliki's incompetence and sectarianism have led to the disintegration of the Iraqi state - and now, unsurprisingly, the ISIL insurgents have declared an Islamic caliphate in the territories they control in Iraq and Syria.Translated by George Miller -
Roll up that map* - Vicken Cheterian
The current national borders of the Middle East, as redrawn almost a century ago after the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, have been a fiction for decades. And no one knows what new state shapes may emerge.Original text in English -
The Kurds' big gains - Allan Kaval
The Kurds in Iraq and Syria are making impromptu deals with all sides, and with neighbouring countries, while defending their territory and annexing disputed places. They aren't, however, a monolithic force.Translated by Charles Goulden - To make sense of Ukraine, follow the money
Far into the red* - Julien Vercueil
Petro Poroshenko, elected president of Ukraine on 25 May, will have to deal with violent demands for secession, and the social consequences of the IMF's rescue programme.Translated by Charles Goulden - Berlusconi's successor wins the popularity contest
Matteo Renzi, scrap dealer* - Raffaele Laudani
The Italian prime minister did very well in the European election. But what he's offering is an impossible Italian version of Blairism that has no serious future.Translated by Stephanie Irvine - Fining the banks for all the wrong crimes
BNP Paribas's sins* - Raffaele Laudani
US financial regulation is back - but it's aggressively pursuing crimes, and criminals, not relevant to the near-destruction of the world economic system in 2008.Translated by George Miller - New York's new mayor says build, baby, build
A tale of two cities* - Eric Alterman
Democrat Bill de Blasio is staking his mayoralty on reducing inequality in New York, one of the world's most unequal urban areas.Original text in English - Russia's cheap heat is cooling down
Hot topic* - Régis Genté
Russians still expect their communal domestic heating systems to be cheap, or even free. They're unhappy at the prospect of paying more for investment in an upgraded, or even functioning, system.Translated by George Miller - Can Kirchnerism carry on without a Kirchner?
Argentina's tough time* - José Natanson
President Cristina Kirchner must stand down later this year, yet the approach she and her late husband sustained for a decade may outlive their personal supervision.Translated by Charles Goulden - Sri Lanka: Tigers' war may be over but not the conflict
You can't build peace with concrete* - Cédric Gouverneur
It's five years since the final, and lethal, defeat of the Tamil Tigers by Sir Lanka's government forces. Most of Sri Lanka still doesn't know exactly what happened, or what justified grievances the Tamils still have.Translated by Stephanie Irvine -
Sri Lanka timeline*
- Join the mobile elite with globish
The triumph of English - Vincent Doumayrou
Maastricht University is a prime example of the reasons for, and problems with, the use of English in higher education in non-Anglophone countries.Translated by George Miller - 'I want my wine to become the pride of China'
Eminent domains* - Boris Pétric
The Chinese have just become the world's leading consumers of red wine; China wants to import more wine of all kinds (from Chinese-owned vineyards elsewhere), produce more domestically and drink a whole lot more.Translated by Krystyna Horko -
Hong Kong's world-class cellars* - Boris Pétric
- Failed monument to military logic
The Atlantic Wall's colossal wreck - Ianthe Ruthven
Hitler meant his defence line from the Arctic to the Spanish border to last for a thousand years. Given the strength of reinforced concrete, bits of it may do that; but most of it was breached within two weeks.
