http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/geopolitics/ en-us Fri, 25 Dec 2009 05:59:14 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2414843/posts BY 9 in the morning, the bazaar on a rocky island in the Panj River was a frenetic scene of haggling and theatrics. Afghan traders in long tunics and vests hawked teas, toiletries and rubber slippers. Turbaned fortune tellers bent over ornate Persian texts, predicting futures for the price of a dollar. Tajik women bargained over resplendent bolts of fabric. All were mingling this bright Saturday at a weekly market held throughout the year and, in one form or another, for thousands of years here in the Wakhan Valley, which divides Tajikistan and Afghanistan. “Mousetraps, mousetraps, mousetraps, oooowww!” crooned a... New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2414843/posts#comment Fri, 25 Dec 2009 05:59:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411542/posts Tehran denies Iraqi claim to borderline oil field, says troops are 'on Iranian soil, as defined by known international borders'. Iran confirmed Saturday that its forces had taken over East Maysan oil field, located on the Iran-Iraq border. The move caused a 2.4% spike in oil prices. "The Iranian forces are on Iranian soil, as defined by known international borders. This oil field is Iran's" said an Iranian armed forces statement quoted by the Islamic Republic Arab-language television station, al-Alam. Ynet News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411542/posts#comment Sun, 20 Dec 2009 06:10:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410485/posts NASIRIYAH, Iraq (AFP) – Iranian forces took control of a southern Iraqi oil well on a disputed section of the border on Friday, US and Iraqi officials told AFP. "There has been no violence related to this incident and we trust this will be resolved through peaceful diplomacy between the governments of Iraq and Iran," a US military spokesman told AFP at Contingency Operating Base Adder, just outside the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah. "The oil field is in disputed territory in between Iranian and Iraqi border forts," he said, adding that such incidents occur quite frequently. Well 4 lies... AFP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410485/posts#comment Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:43:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410338/posts Al-Amara, Iraq - Iranian troops have claimed an oil well on the border of southern Iraq, a senior Iraqi military officer said Friday. Iranian troops on Thursday "occupied" the "Number 4" oil well in the Eastern Maysan oil field, located in the border district of al- Fakah, Brigadier-General Dhafir Nadhmi said in a statement Friday. Nadhmi said that Iranian forces had taken control of the well, dug a trench around it, deployed armoured vehicles, and raised the Iranian flag over the well. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410338/posts#comment Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:54:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2404835/posts Operation Enduring Freedom, on Oct. 7 will begin its ninth year. At $4 billion per month, a National Priorities Project has determined that the total cost of military operations in Afghanistan by the end of the year will be almost $200 billion. Thoughtful American taxpayers may ask why the Obama administration has not only embraced the Central Asian ground war that it inherited from Bush, but is seeking to expand not only the U.S. military footprint, but subject its NATO allies to contribute more troops and funding as well. Shorn of post 9/11 patriotic and fervor against the perpetrators of... Oilprice.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2404835/posts#comment Thu, 10 Dec 2009 20:36:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2400611/posts Currently, Europe's ability to power itself is almost completely dependant on Russian energy supplies. Today, almost half of the EU's natural gas imports come from Russia along with 30 percent of its oil supplies. As such, there is an increasing desire to diversify the continent's energy suppliers -- enter the Nabucco Pipeline. Dubbed the 'Gas bridge between Asia and Europe', the €7.9 billion, 3300km-long pipeline will attempt to break Russian dependency by exploiting the gas reserves in the Caspian and Middle East regions. Snaking through Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and into Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic, the Nabucco Pipeline... CIS Oil and Gas http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2400611/posts#comment Fri, 4 Dec 2009 23:50:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2389396/posts The Great Geopolitical Battle Over Energy Transit Routes As we all live in the present, it is very hard to fully assess the future implications of decisions supported or made by political and business leaders. An extraordinary game of geo-strategy is under way to lock in long-term agreements, notably in the energy sector. At a global level, the transit routes of future oil & gas pipelines become the object of a power struggle involving not only the suppliers and end-users but also the transit countries. Intensive courtships are under way where a ménage à trois, or more, may be the... www.oilprice.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2389396/posts#comment Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:58:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2384022/posts While many Western investors remain fixated on somehow acquiring a slice of Turkmenistan’s natural gas riches, despite a recent scandal over the country’s actual reserves, there is another country further east whose energy and mineralogical reserves have been overlooked – Uzbekistan. While a number of factors are responsible for this oversight, including relative geographical isolation (Uzbekistan, along with Liechtenstein, is one of the world’s doubly landlocked nations, requiring crossing two other nations to gain access to the oceans), which currently limits energy exports available for the global market, there are a number of pluses that the country has for investors... Oilprice.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2384022/posts#comment Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:17:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2373537/posts Quote: October 27, 2009 MAYBE MULLAH OMAR IS SIMPLY AFRAID OF THE CHINESE Vahid Brown has the lowdown on the dustup between al-Qaida Core and the Afghan Taliban Posted on 27 October 2009 @ 13:11 GMT OSINT.INTERNET-HAGANAH.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2373537/posts#comment Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:57:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2364123/posts Since you're probably not a regular reader of the trade publication Nucleonics Week, let me summarize an article that appeared in its Oct. 8 issue. It reported that Iran's supply of low-enriched uranium -- the potential feedstock for nuclear bombs -- appears to have certain "impurities" that "could cause centrifuges to fail" if the Iranians try to boost it to weapons grade. Now that's interesting. The seeming breakthrough in negotiations on Oct. 1 in Geneva -- where Iran agreed to send most of its estimated 1,500 kilograms of low-enriched uranium abroad for further enrichment -- may not have been exactly... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2364123/posts#comment Fri, 16 Oct 2009 19:57:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2338195/posts The next 100 years George Friedman Published 27 August 2009 Japan and Turkey form an alliance to attack the US. Poland becomes America’s closest ally. Mexico makes a bid for global supremacy, and a third world war takes place in space. Sounds strange? It could all happen. . . In 1492, Columbus sailed west. In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed. These two events bracketed the European age. Once, Mayans lived unaware that there were Mongols, who were unaware there were Zulus. From the 15th century onwards, European powers collectively overwhelmed the world, creating the first truly global geopolitical system in... New Statesman http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2338195/posts#comment Sat, 12 Sep 2009 20:57:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2315465/posts Don't believe the hype about the decline of America and the dawn of a new Asian age. It will be many decades before China, India, and the rest of the region take over the world, if they ever do. "Power Is Shifting from West to East." Not really. Dine on a steady diet of books like The New Asian Hemisphere: The Irresistible Shift of Global Power to the East or When China Rules the World, and it's easy to think that the future belongs to Asia. As one prominent herald of the region's rise put it, "We are entering a... Foreign Policy http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2315465/posts#comment Thu, 13 Aug 2009 22:53:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2279754/posts Russia's energy giant Gazprom has signed a $2.5bn (£1.53bn) deal with Nigeria's state operated NNPC, to invest in a new joint venture. The new firm, to be called Nigaz, is set to build refineries, pipelines and gas power stations in Nigeria. Analysts say the move could further strengthen Russia's role in supplying natural gas to Europe. The agreement comes during a four-day African tour by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. As well as forming Nigaz, Russia is keen on developing a trans-African pipeline to transport Nigerian gas to Europe. This could further reinforce Gazprom's already-strong influence over Europe's energy supplies. 'Commodity-rich'... BBC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2279754/posts#comment Fri, 26 Jun 2009 05:02:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2258156/posts <p>We are on the edge of one of those periods of history when the gimbals on which the established order is mounted shift and a new world order begins to emerge. And these are, almost always, the most frightening and turbulent of times.</p> The UK Guardian via The News.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2258156/posts#comment Tue, 26 May 2009 04:10:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2210105/posts “We are very concerned about the economic developments in the U.S. economy,” the Chinese leader told reporters late last week. “We have lent a huge amount of money to the United States and of course we’re concerned about the security of our assets and, to be honest, I am a little bit worried.” In the rarefied and reserved world of public diplomacy, this is a smackdown. It’s like your banker calling you into his corner office and saying: “Cool it on the spending. Now.” GlobalPost http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2210105/posts#comment Thu, 19 Mar 2009 18:28:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2206901/posts The soon-to-be prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu believes that "a national emergency" such as Israel's involvement in a major war would help him in his frantic attempts to form a new ruling coalition. Netanyahu, who is known as "Mr. Iran" in Israeli circles, has so far failed to gain the trust and support of opposition parties of Kadima and Labor. According to a report carried by Debka, which is believed to have close links to the Israeli intelligence service Mossad, Netanyahu is planning to settle for a provisional administration before calling for another early election in six months. "His main consideration... Press TV http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2206901/posts#comment Sun, 15 Mar 2009 11:17:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2205733/posts JERUSALEM - An Israeli politician who based his election campaign on baiting the country's Arab minority, drawing accusations that he is racist demagogue, now seems likely to become the Jewish state's top diplomat. U.S., European and moderate Arab officials have maintained public silence on the issue of Avigdor Lieberman's ascent, but privately acknowledge serious concern. An emerging coalition deal expected to be wrapped up in the coming days would anoint Lieberman foreign minister at a time when Israel's international image is suffering from its bloody war in Gaza and last month's election of a hawkish government likely to be at... ABC News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2205733/posts#comment Fri, 13 Mar 2009 11:04:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2189164/posts Economic Crisis Poses Threat To Global Stability by Tom Gjelten Morning Edition, February 18, 2009 · Around the world, unemployment is rising and incomes are falling, and it isn't clear how long the recession will last or how deep it will get. The global economic situation is so serious that the head of U.S. intelligence agencies now says it has surpassed terrorism as the top threat to national security. National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair's dramatic report last week — that the economic crisis is now the United States' top "near-term security concern" — caught some members of Congress by surprise.... NPR http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2189164/posts#comment Thu, 19 Feb 2009 16:21:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2185389/posts In a move likely to stoke concerns in Tokyo, Washington and throughout Asia, China plans to greatly expand the reach and firepower of its navy by building at least two nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. Analysts believe China is expanding its naval power as part of a push toward strategic dominance over the western Pacific, including the waters that surround Japan. Military sources said the first nuclear-powered flattops would be constructed in 2020 or later. China will begin construction of two conventional aircraft carriers this year. According to sources, a meeting was held in Beijing on Dec. 30 among military officials. A... Asahi Shimbun http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2185389/posts#comment Sat, 14 Feb 2009 04:13:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2179001/posts HERZLIYA -- Israel has a year or so in which to attack Iran's nuclear facilities preemptively, an Israeli legislator and weapons expert said on Wednesday. Israeli forces could pull off successful strikes independently, Isaac Ben-Israel said, though these would only delay, rather than end, Iran's progress towards atomic weaponry. Echoing government assessments that Iran is about a year away from making enough enriched uranium for a bomb, Ben-Israel, a member of parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee, said the window for last-ditch military action was closing. "Last resort means when you reach the stage when everything else failed. When is... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2179001/posts#comment Thu, 5 Feb 2009 17:26:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2170960/posts MOSCOW - The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday Georgia's expanding military presence on the borders of Abkhazia and South Ossetia continued to be a matter for grave concern. It said the Georgian military and police presence called for "special attention on the part of the UN and other international organizations operating in the region." A week ago, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a news conference that, "EU monitors working in areas adjacent to South Ossetia and Abkhazia have been reporting a buildup of Georgian military units and special forces near the borders with South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and... RIA Novosti http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2170960/posts#comment Sat, 24 Jan 2009 18:01:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2170760/posts Western powers believe that Iran is running short of the raw material required to manufacture nuclear weapons, triggering an international race to prevent it from importing more, The Times has learnt. Diplomatic sources believe that Iran's stockpile of yellow cake uranium, produced from uranium ore, is close to running out and could be exhausted within months. Countries including Britain, the US, France and Germany have started intensive diplomatic efforts to dissuade major uranium producers from selling to Iran. The Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2170760/posts#comment Sat, 24 Jan 2009 05:31:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2168108/posts US and Egyptian warships were scouring the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea Tuesday, Jan. 20 to waylay an Iranian freighter carrying scores of heavy rockets for delivery to Hamas. DEBKAfile's exclusive sources report they were acting on intellligence that a ship loaded with an estimated 60 tons of arms to replenish Hamas depleted war stocks had set out from the Iranian Persian Gulf port of Bandar Abbas on Jan. 17. Our sources reveal that the arms-smuggling vessel started its voyage as the Iran-Hedayat and changed its name in mid sea to Famagustus registered to Panama. The captain was ordered... DebkaFile http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2168108/posts#comment Tue, 20 Jan 2009 16:56:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2167854/posts Commander in Chief, a PC game that puts players in President Obama’s shoes, launches tomorrow, Inauguration Day. Just like the President, players immediately face the same problems and challenges as in the real world – the economy, controlling the military, national security and terrorism, natural disasters, alternative energy sources, and many others – all with the persistent threat of a terrorist attack on a major U.S. city. A game trailer can be seen at www.commander-in-chief.net. The game can be played alone, or, with an Internet connection up to 16 friends. Commander in Chief is played on a detailed 3D world... Gaming Nexus http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2167854/posts#comment Tue, 20 Jan 2009 04:37:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2166649/posts Venezuela's Chavez says Obama has "stench" of Bush Sat Jan 17, 2009 4:44pm EST CAMPO CARABOBO, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Saturday Barack Obama had the "stench" of his predecessor as U.S. president and was at risk of being killed if he tries to change the American "empire." Most world leaders expect a new era of U.S. foreign relations when Obama, a Democrat, is sworn in as president on Tuesday after Republican George W. Bush's eight years in the White House. But Chavez said frayed ties with Washington were unlikely to improve despite the departure of... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2166649/posts#comment Sun, 18 Jan 2009 00:53:01 GMT