Africa Horn Now

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Archives for December 2015

The Syrian War and the return of great power politics

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John Bew, 15 December 2015, New Statesman If the line between peace and war is being blurred, so is that between fact and fiction. Wars have a nasty habit of creeping up on you, especially when you are unprepared or disinclined to fight them. There was a time, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, when the notion of a third world war seemed so fanciful as to belong to … [Read more...] about The Syrian War and the return of great power politics

Rise of the militias

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Ned Parker, 14 Dec. 2015, Reuters Torture by Iraqi militias: the report Washington did not want you to see Two unpublished investigations show that the United States has consistently overlooked killings and torture by Iraqi government-sponsored Shi'ite militias. ERBIL, Iraq – It was one of the most shocking events in one of the most brutal periods in Iraq’s history. In … [Read more...] about Rise of the militias

The U.S. Navy Wants to Show China Who’s Boss

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Dan De Luce, 14 December 2015, Foreign Policy In a growing military rivalry with Beijing, U.S. commanders are looking for new anti-ship missiles and rewriting their war-fighting doctrine in the Pacific. Worried about China’s increasing naval might, the U.S. Navy is scrambling to buy new anti-ship missiles for the first time in decades and throwing out its old playbook for … [Read more...] about The U.S. Navy Wants to Show China Who’s Boss

It’s Time to Tell the Truth About the Long War Against Terrorism

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Aaron David Miller, 14 December 2015, Foreign Policy Why saying the United States can destroy the Islamic State is worse than providing false hope. On Dec. 6, four days after the San Bernardino attacks, in an Oval Office address (only the third such address of his almost concluded eight-year presidency), President Barack Obama reassured Americans that we would … [Read more...] about It’s Time to Tell the Truth About the Long War Against Terrorism

UN accused of ‘shocking’ lack of action over murder and rape in South Sudan

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Sam Jones, Tuesday 15 December 2015, The Guardian MSF criticises ‘complete and utter failure’ of UN peacekeeping mission to stop systematic atrocities, on the two-year anniversary of the start of conflict The UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan has been accused of a “complete and utter failure” to protect civilians in one of the most dangerous and volatile parts of … [Read more...] about UN accused of ‘shocking’ lack of action over murder and rape in South Sudan

Into the terror zone: how Isis has gained support in Syria, Iraq and Libya

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Quentin Sommerville, 8 December 2015, New Statesman As the roots of Isis grow deeper, support for the group is increasing. It’s almost a year since I stood amid the ruins of Kobane, a Syrian town whose Kurdish population withstood a brutal Islamic State (IS) assault, and marvelled at the cost of its liberation. The coalition air campaign – which Britain, of … [Read more...] about Into the terror zone: how Isis has gained support in Syria, Iraq and Libya

Africa Is Last Frontier for Automakers on the Hunt for Growth

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Liezel Hill and Emele Onu, 14 December 2015, Bloomberg Nissan, Volkswagen, Ford among those with Nigerian assembly Rising incomes, better roads and fuel quality boosting demand When Nigeria first unveiled incentives for carmakers to set up plants its auto industry had ground to a standstill. Fast forward two years, and there are at least 36 … [Read more...] about Africa Is Last Frontier for Automakers on the Hunt for Growth

Our brothers’ keepers: Harry Leslie Smith visits the “Jungle” in Calais

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Harry Lreslie Smith, 12 December 2015, New Statesman In early November, I took the Eurostar from St Pancras in London to Calais. We left at dawn and a pallid fog hung across the English sky like white bedding sheets strung across row house laundry lines. The other passengers in my carriage wore expensive suits and looked preoccupied with sales quotas, market … [Read more...] about Our brothers’ keepers: Harry Leslie Smith visits the “Jungle” in Calais

Thatcher’s top secret plan to destabilise the Ethiopian government

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Martin Plaut, 20 November 2015, New Statesman Newly-released documents show that in 1985, the PM wrote to the Foreign Office seeking action on the Marxist and pro-Soviet regime in Ethiopia. Towards the end of 1985, at the height of the worst famine in modern Ethiopian history, Margaret Thatcher contemplated helping to topple the Ethiopian … [Read more...] about Thatcher’s top secret plan to destabilise the Ethiopian government