One of the nettling questions concerning the Syrian civil war is the role that Russia is playing. It is clearly backing President Assad and is not afraid to send some of its most advanced military technology to support him. That technology, sophisticated anti-aircraft weaponry place it squarely as an obstacle to the West’s (and Israel’s) main military advantage–airpower. Interpreting Russian objectives is very difficult: is it just a spoiler (something eminently believable about President Putin) or are there more strategic objectives? One of the more interesting foreign policy analysts for the Asian Times, Spengler (a pseudonym) gives an insightful analysis of Russian objectives: that it believes that the Iraq War spelled the beginning of the end of American predominance in the Middle East and that Russian influence should replace American power.
The revelation that the US National Security Agency’s spying program (PRISM) has been shocking for many Americans since it seems to violate the American presumption of privacy. That debate is an important one for the US, but the implications of the program are also quite serious for the rest of the world. Of particular interest to the NSA are messages sent abroad, which means that the NSA has records on virtually everyone with access to a phone or a computer. Needless to say, the rest of the world is quite upset, although there are very few options available to them aside from diplomatic protests.
According to the US Energy Information Agency, carbon dioxide emissions globally increased 1.4 in 2012. The news is grim–it suggests that the world is one step closer to climate changes that may be irreversible. The US and Europe actually decreased their emissions, but those losses were offset by increases in the emerging markets.
World Politics News 
Leave a comment