Robert Farley

The Nerpa, a Russian Akula class nuclear attack submarine, suffered an accident in its fire-suppression system this weekend. The release of fire extinguishing material killed 20 and injured numerous others. The boat, only recently launched, was carrying a large contingent of civilian technicians. Although none of the dead appear to be Indian citizens, it is […]

I know that liberals should take pains not to find fault on both sides, and rather to focus on Russian aggression, but there’s a fine article in The New York Times examining Georgia’s claims about the South Ossetia War, and finding many of those claims faulty. According to observations of the monitors, documented Aug. 7 […]

Spencer says that John Kerry in on the short list for Secretary of State. A glance at what a Kerry agenda might be: In an off-the-cuff talk in Denver just before his convention speech, Kerry argued for vigorous U.S. re-engagement to broker an Israeli-Palestinian peace; an end to the Iraq war that includes a negotiated […]

This probably isn’t the most convenient time for Kim Jong Il to die. South Korean intelligence indicates that ailing North Korean leader Kim Jong Il suffered a serious health setback and has been hospitalized, a newspaper reported Wednesday. The report in the Dong-a Ilbo newspaper cited an unnamed government official in saying intelligence obtained Sunday […]

Eli Lake hits on the key point regarding the political fallout of the strike inside Syria’s border: The big mystery now is whether the next administration will dismantle this policy or permit Petraeus to follow it to fruition. Obama has said nothing about Sunday’s strikes in Syria (a silence that has rightly earned him taunting […]

Last week, French naval forces captured another nine pirates, this time turning them over to authorities in Puntland (a Somali region aspiring to independence) for trial. The Puntland government has thus far been hostile to pirates and has made positive noises about cooperation with international authorities, so there’s reason to believe that the pirates are […]

Stuff that you couldn’t make up: The successor of the Austrian far-right leader Jörg Haider was dismissed yesterday after he revealed a “special” relationship “far beyond” friendship with his former mentor. In emotional interviews with the national broadcaster and a tabloid newspaper Stefan Petzner spoke openly about his affair with Haider, who died at the […]

It’s well known that the last ten years or so have seen significant improvement in the US-India relationship, one manifestation of which has been a sweetheart nuclear deal. While India has been courting the United States, however, it has continued to play well with Russia. The India-Russia relationship has resulted, among other things, in India […]

My reaction to Jane Mayer’s essay on the selection of Sarah Palin is pretty much the same as Dan Drezner’s: Mayer’s article is a damning indictment, but not of Sarah Palin. It’s the DC conservative cocktail circuit and John McCain who come off worse for wear. Fred Barnes, William Kristol, Jay Nordlinger and Dick Morris […]

This article is far too triumphalist for my taste, but it’s nevertheless true that Russia, Iran, and Venezuela are going to run into significant economic difficulties because of the drop in oil prices. Venezuela has already begun budget austerity measures. While all three countries benefited enormously from the combination of general global economic growth and […]