Articles in Al-Ahram Weekly

Quiet diplomacy 9-15 July 2009
Confronted by multiple irritants from Washington, the Kremlin seems to have caved, wonders Eric Walberg

Whither the revolutions? 2-8 July 2009
June was a busy month for two of Washington's real "axis of evil". Venezuela's Chavez completed his nationalisation of oil and Iran's Ahmadinejad stemmed a Western-backed colour revolution, leaving both bad boys in place, muses Eric Walberg

Reinventing the wheel 25 June - 1 July 2009
A new world is being born, one without the US dollar greasing the wheels of commerce, notes Eric Walberg

Fathers of men 4-10 June 2009
A critique of Orientalism -- the West's civilising mission in the Arab world

'Almost a perfect mix' 4-10 June 2009
Obama's choice for the Supreme Court is another American dream story, as told by Anayat Durrani and Eric Walberg

Action, cut! 21-27 May 2009
Pornography, the feminisation of the enemy? Confused over Obama's view on Guantanamo and the backlog of torture images from Abu Ghraib? Join the club, laments Eric Walberg

Fun and games 14-20 May 2009
Bringing the threat of war to Russia's borders is having wide-ranging repercussions, argues Eric Walberg

Lincoln or Ford? 30 April-6 May 2009
The question now swirling around political corridors is whether Obama will fight the monsters or let them off the hook, says Eric Walberg

NATO, SCO or PATO? 23 - 29 April 2009
Conferences and suggestions about what to do in Afghanistan are chock-a-block, but the reality speaks for itself, says Eric Walberg

A rocky beachhead 16 - 22 April 2009
Instability in Georgia puts US geostrategic plans at risk, observes Eric Walberg

EU in tatters 2 - 8 April 2009
The only voices expressing the will of Europeans and showing a way out of the current crises are in the madding crowds outside the G20, affirms Eric Walberg

Who's the popinjay 26 March - 1 April 2009
Barring British MP Galloway puts Canada in a shameful light, rues Eric Walberg

Pride and Prejudice 19-25 March 2009
The Zionists are playing a dangerous game by scuttling Freeman's appointment, warns Eric Walberg

Euro crisis: Prison of Nations 12 - 18 March 2009
Sarkozy's "incoherence" is a sign of the euro-impasse, says Eric Walberg

A first 'first' for Obama 26 February - 4 March 2009
On his inaugural trip as president, Obama basked in adulation, though behind the media circus lie serious problems, observes Eric Walberg

Kissinger's recovery plan: NWO or 'chaos' 19 - 25 February 2009
The gloves are off in the battle to shape our "new world order", observes Eric Walberg

Triangulation or strangulation? 12 - 18 February 2009
The new president is discovering that America's road to Kabul goes through Moscow, says Eric Walberg

Requiem for an overweight 5 - 11 February 2009
"The WEF is not a government of the world," reassured organiser Andre Schneider wistfully in the frigid Davos air. At least not yet, adds Eric Walberg

Carter redux 29 January - 4 February 2009
Even before the euphoria evaporates, analysts are preaching gloom and doom for Obama on the home front, says Eric Walberg

Europe's winter of discontent 22 - 28 January 2009
More tricks and hot air from across the Atlantic leave Europeans in the cold, observes Eric Walberg

Race to the finish 1 - 6 January 2009
NATO pays Taliban for security and a Canadian is appointed governor of Kandahar. When will the madness cease, asks Eric Walberg

Cold War shivers 1 - 6 January 2009
Sense is returning to East-West relations, despite the US and NATO, affirms Eric Walberg

The patient is dead 1 - 6 January 2009
The disastrous Bush years have left a legacy of war and financial collapse. They have also brought North America to a political impasse, bemoans Eric Walberg

Obama's odious entourage 27 November - 2 December 2008
Disappointment follows disappointment with each "new" face, bemoans Eric Walberg, but there is a sort of silver lining

Russian-Western relations: Courting the bear 20 - 26 November 2008
Nothing much has changed to reduce US-Russian tensions with the election of Obama -- yet, opines Eric Walberg

Untying the Gordian Knot 13 - 19 November 2008
Nothing much has changed to reduce US-Russian tensions with the election of Obama -- yet, opines Eric Walberg

Pages from a checkered past 6 - 12 November 2008
Winds of cultural change are clearing away cobwebs. Eric Walberg reviews a Czech film and observes how Czechs are re-evaluating the 1940-50s

The Quiet Russian 16 - 22 October 2008
The UN vote to refer Kosovo's legitimacy to the ICJ reveals a new political constellation taking shape, observes Eric Walberg

The bankers' 9/11 9 - 15 October 2008
The US -- now world -- financial crisis has given nations a golden opportunity, but will they seize it, asks Eric Walberg

The ghost of Stalingrad 12 - 18 September 2008
Russia is determined to bring NATO's expansion eastward to a halt. Can it prevail, asks Eric Walberg

Wag the Dog Part II 4 - 11 September 2008
Was an independent Ossetia inevitable after Kosovo or is it a US election ruse gone wrong, asks Eric Walberg

Diplomatic rubble 21 - 27 August 2008
Russia's firm response to the Georgian gamble in Ossetia is being interpreted in various ways, but the reality is clear, says Eric Walberg

War a la carte 14 - 20 August 2008
The US is inventing wars aplenty these days. Will it be Iran or Ossetia this month, asks Eric Walberg

The power behind the throne-to-be 24 - 30 July 2008
It is hard to sort through the hype and heat of Obamania, but one thing is clear: who's pulling the strings, argues Eric Walberg

'Butcher' environmentalist-poet 24 - 30 July 2008
Is Karadzic the "Osama bin Laden of Europe", asks Eric Walberg.

The bandwagon effect 17 - 23 July 2008
The charge of the Light Brigade continues, says Eric Walberg

Sheep in wolve's clothing 19 - 25 June 2008
The Sark reinvents himself as a David to Israel's Goliath, marvels Eric Walberg

Killing Fields 12 - 18 June 2008
The Taliban's Tet has begun. Interpret Laura Bush's clarion call "to stand by Afghanistan" as you will, says Eric Walberg

Heart of Darkness 5 - 11 June 2008
Princess Patricia, a Taliban takeover. Oh, the horror of it all, gasps Eric Walberg

Who is the enemy? Part II 23 - 30 May 2008
In the second of a two-part series, Eric Walberg looks at the repercussions of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan

Who is the enemy? 22 - 28 May 2008
The US is not only repeating all the Soviets' mistakes in Afghanistan, it is showing remarkable creativity in the horrors department, says Eric Walberg in the first of a two-part series

Silent tsunami 15 - 21 May 2008
Is there more than meets the eye in the sudden flurry of talk about a world food crisis, asks Eric Walberg

So who 'won'? 15 - 21 May 2008
There appear to be no winners in Serbia's recent elections, bemoans Eric Walberg

The mouse that roared 8 - 14 May 2008
The line in the sand has been drawn on Georgia and NATO. Beware pushing the limits of Russia's patience too far, worries Eric Walberg

The Palestinians are coming 24 - 30 April 2008
Russia's plan to host a peace conference is causing a swirl of interest, says Eric Walberg

Publish and Perish 17 - 23 April 2008
The thought police are haunting Europe, says Eric Walberg

The Shadow of Munich 10 - 16 April 2008
NATO moved eastward, upping the ante yet again with Russia, warns Eric Walberg

Political Poison 3 - 9 April 2008
Western politics is infected with a lethal virus, diagnoses Eric Walberg

The more things change... 27 March - 2 April 2008
The West and Russia are continuing their worn-out Cold War dance routine, argues Eric Walberg

Between a ROK and a hard place 13 - 19 March 2008
The Serbian government is just the most obvious domino that Kosovo's independence has tipped over, argues Eric Walberg

To stay and leave at the same time 6 - 12 March 2008
The handover of power in Russia is confounding one and all. Eric Walberg looks into the crystal ball

Quintessential Clinton 21 -27 February 2008
In family tradition, Hillary defied what looked like the inevitable

Balkan Intrigues 21 -27 February 2008
The latest country to find its place on the map is sending shockwaves around the world, worries Eric Walberg

Bowing out with grace 21 -27 February 2008
The Cuban leader resigned as head of state this week leaving his brother Raul in charge of the Communist Caribbean island-nation

The new Auschwitz 14 - 20 February 2008
In addition to a bumper opium harvest, the US is reaping the whirlwind in Afghanistan, warns Eric Walberg

Eating Sarko 7 - 13 February 2008
The would-be master chef in the Elysee Palace appears to be cooking up a lethal concoction, writes Eric Walberg

An election like no other 7 - 13 February 2008
McCain will face the first black or first woman presidential candidate in US history come November

The cakes are not for eating 7 - 13 February 2008
The elections of new presidents in Serbia and Russia are giving the West a bad case of indigestion, diagnoses Eric Walberg

Defining diplomacy 24 - 30 January 2008
Time's Man of the Year will have the world hanging on his every move in 2008, muses Eric Walberg

Return of the repressed 6 - 12 December 2007
Recent elections were either a triumph of the will or a confirmation that Russia has found itself, writes Eric Walberg

Colonising a metaphor 29 November - 5 December 2007
The Bible tells me so. Lurking behind the Middle East's problems -- and not only -- these days is the misuse of the Bible to further unscrupulous political ends, argues Eric Walberg

Squaring the circle 22 - 28 November 2007 2007
Among a dreary cabal of shopworn politicos running for US president, one provides hope for the Middle East, but does he have a chance, asks Eric Walberg

Marching to a different beat 20 - 26 September 2007
Political climate change is heating up American minds, observes Eric Walberg

Bush's Divine Comedy: Part I -- The good, the bad... 15 - 21 November 2007
As the White House lame duck's Inferno in Iraq and Afghanistan drags on, the wars on the home front continue to fester, though with some red light at the end of the tunnel, observes Eric Walberg

Recess games 27 September - 3 October 2007
Vlad refuses to play by his erstwhile friends' rules and is not afraid to tell them so. Eric Walberg watches the schoolyard antics

Finding the inner Muslim prince 27 September - 3 October 2007
In the third of his Ramadan articles, Eric Walberg looks at the increasing attraction to Islam on the part of Westerners

Reading Islam's holy book 20-27 September 2007
In the second of his Ramadan series of articles, Eric Walberg looks at the Quran in English

Ever the twain shall meet 13-19 September 2007
In the first of a series of articles on the occasion of Ramadan, Eric Walberg traces the historical roots of Western-Islamic misunderstanding since Christianity's great rival swept across the Middle East and beyond in the 7-8th cc, culminating in continued attempts to conquer the Muslim world, both physically and spiritually

9/11 for dummies 6 - 12 September 2007
As demonstrators march on the White House with a million signatures on a petition to impeach Bush and Cheney, doubts persist about the event that made them "wartime leaders", says Eric Walberg

Achieving peace: chicken or egg? 30 August - 5 September 2007
While UN peacekeeping has done little to calm the world's troubled waters, the UN's other mandate -- development -- has had some success despite its many problems, argues Eric Walberg

Peacemaker or puppet? 16 - 22 August 2007
With its largest peacekeeping mission ever about to begin in Sudan, Eric Walberg considers the UN's track record in the first of two articles

Who is on a warpath? 23 - 29 August 2007
Recent media hysteria about those damned Russians diverts attention from the emperor's old new clothes, laments Eric Walberg

Muslims and Jews 9 - 15 August 2007
Israel, America and the Muslim world: Eric Walberg takes a hard look at the reasons behind the crisis, arguing from the viewpoint of the history of religion, while Youssef Rakha plays the devil's -- Enlightenment -- advocate. They argue against contemporary Jews and Muslims, respectively, but end up reaching the same conclusion

It really does take two to tango 26 July - 1 August 2007
Last week's cancellation of the CFE treaty by Russia and the tit-for-tat expulsion of Russian and British diplomats -- seemingly unrelated -- have strong parallels in Cold War mythology, according to Eric Walberg

Poisonous espionage 26 July - 1 August 2007
Last week's cancellation of the CFE treaty by Russia and the tit-for-tat expulsion of Russian and British diplomats -- seemingly unrelated -- have strong parallels in Cold War mythology, according to Eric Walberg

Captain Marvel meets his nemesis 5 - 11 July 2007
A romp on the seashore gives Eric Walberg a chance to reflect on the Bush-Putin legacies

Cold War lite 28 June - 4 July 2007
A new, leaner, meaner Russia is picking up the Soviet torch. Watch for the fireworks, predicts Eric Walberg

Grassroots foreign aid 28 June - 4 July 2007
Canadian aid aims to help Egyptians help Egyptians, Eric Walberg finds out

Belarus: bucking the tide 14 - 20 June 2007
Europe's lone populist muddies the Eurowaters, says Eric Walberg

Business before pleasure 24 - 30 May 2007
So goes the punchline about who the Pole would rather kill first -- the German or the Russian. The German, of course. Eric Walberg reflects in exasperation over the latest debacle in Euro-Russian relations

Russian ogre or hero of our times? 3 - 9 May 2007
So Putin has the gall to say to Poland and its schoolyard pals "Niet", and indirectly to the schoolyard bully "Niet! Niet"? Eric Walberg reflects on the spoilsport -- the ever-dangerous Russian bear

Learning from Central Asia's shift 19 - 25 April 2007
In the second of a two-part series on Central Asia, Eric Walberg considers the relevance to Egypt of the remarkable re-orientation in Central Asia's political and economic life in the recent past

Souring relations 12 - 18 April 2007
As Uzbekistan's President Islam Karimov prepares to make his first visit to Egypt in 15 years, Eric Walberg reflects on the changing orientation of Central Asia

Anti-globalists reach out to Islamists 5 - 11 April 2007
Cooperation between Islamists and the left is growing, reports Eric Walberg