'Hitchens asked which State Israel had most in common with -- and then answered his own question, saying "Pakistan".' 'They were both, he explained "confessional States": Founded to succour the followers of a particular faith,' remembers Mihir S Sharma.
The Al Qaeda, the Islamic State or Daesh, as it is also called, will continue to exploit the fault lines and the many contradictions in the approaches of different countries, says Hardeep Puri.
In the city to lead India's 70th Independence Day celebrations, M J Akbar called terrorism a major threat to human rights.
The United States is looking for a "limited narrow act" of military intervention in Syria that does not involve a "boots-on-the-ground approach", but has not made a final decision yet, President Barack Obama said.
Asserting that chemical weapons were used in Syria by the embattled Assad regime, US Secretary of State John Kerry termed the last week's attack that killed over 300 civilians a "moral obscenity" that should shock the conscience of the world.
'A Russia-Iran-China-Pakistan geopolitical grouping is evolving at this point of time.' 'Given that the grouping is in its nascent stages, will this week's terrorist attack in Mirjaveh affect it?' asks Aveek Sen.
'There seem to be no reason why Assad should have launched such an attack when he was gaining acceptability,' says Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
The Chinese President dethroned Russian President Vladimir Putin as the most influential person on the planet.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's has been trying to mollycoddle India with sweet nothings while having a very close relationship with Pakistan.
In a major breakthrough, the United Nations Security Council on Saturday voted unanimously on a resolution to destroy Syria's chemicals weapons stockpile and warned of strong action in case of non-compliance by Damascus.
United States President Barack Obama on Saturday warned lawmakers against turning "a blind eye" to chemical attacks in Syria as he made a strong pitch to war-weary Americans for "limited" strikes in the strife-torn country.
Moments that shaped the world from the week that was
India has some ability to influence what the world order will look like, but it needs to make structural changes to the ministries of external affairs and commerce, and evolve formal coordination mechanisms with the ministries of finance and home, says Nitin Pai
Rajeev Srinivasan on why there is the strong possibility that this whole thing is an elaborate charade and how the mainstream might have just played into Trump's showman hands.
'The optimistic advice might be "fasten your seat belts" and the pessimistic one might just turn out to be "brace for impact",' says Claude Smadja.
Addressing world leaders at the 68th session of the UN General Assembly, Obama said if the international community cannot be united against forcing Syria to give up its chemical weapons, "then it will show that the United Nations is incapable of enforcing the most basic of international laws".
Playing helps me forget the war, the bombs, the rockets and the children who were killed.
In the Russian president's eyes, it sends a message of defiance to the world and his own people which fits his favoured storyline: Russia is succeeding despite Western efforts to hold it back.
'The most striking thing about the US strike on Syria is its futility of purpose beyond a symbolic value to impress the domestic constituency that Trump is a forceful decision-maker,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Identifying Islamic State terrorists as uniquely brutal, United States President Barack Obama has announced that the country will lead a broad coalition to roll back the threat posed by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and his militia.
Europe will have to make some hard choices if it wishes to take on the militant group responsible for the horrible attacks in Paris.
Its promise has fallen short before the onslaught of the votaries of the old order and ruthless extremist forces, notes Talmiz Ahmad.
'The civil war in Islam has just got worse and the existential crisis facing it more threatening.'
'The real challenge cannot be underestimated considering that this is still very much a "boutique relationship" -- a transactional relationship at its core based on its utility value to both countries -- but enveloped in an aura of romance,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Trump aides, who participated in the two-day talks held at the US President's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, described the meetings as productive and said the two leaders exhibited "positive" chemistry.
'Every single American act to weaken Syrian forces would only tilt the military balance in favour of ISIS whom Trump pledges to vanquish from the face of the earth,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Can Modi and Obama forge a common outlook on international terrorism?
The time is over when United States President Barack Obama thought he could afford to make a joke about the ISIS.
The deal with Iran does not address any of the major issues thrown up by Tehran's ambitions, says Claude Smadja.
Why is Xi Jinping visiting Saudi Arabia, Egypt and China this week? Former RA&W officer Jayadeva Ranade explains the significance of China's outreach to the Middle East.
The White House said it has 'a large body' of evidence indicating that the Assad regime was responsible for the April 7 chemical attack in Duma.
Both the Greek and Iranian deals are extremely imperfect and fraught with uncertainty, says Claude Smadja.
Images of the events that shaped the world in March.
North Korea considers Assad's Syria an ally, so it views Donald Trump's decision to strike Syria as a message to Pyongyang as well.
US defence secy James Mattis said that Syria will pay a 'very, very stiff price' if it used chemical weapons again.
India needs to have a re-look of whole gamut of its relations with major powers and also prepare for a more turbulent neighbourhood. But such is the tyranny of Indian status quo mindset that any talk of re-look at nuclear doctrine or foreign relations is treated as blasphemy, says Colonel (retd) Anil Athale.
Australian photographer Warren Richardson has won the Photo of the Year 2015 award at the 59th annual World Press Photo Contest, results of which were announced on Thursday.
The rankings were prepared after examining the volume of terrorist and rebel alerts, messaging traffic, videos, photos, incidents and the number of killed and injured in a country over the past 30 days.
The US and its allies must evolve a more comprehensive long-term plan to defeat the new danger that the caliphate poses to the world order. And India too must do its bit for course correction, says strategic expert Gurmeet Kanwal.
'Islamist terror groups have never been challenged ideologically. As long as their ideology survives, like cancer, these groups will sprout somewhere else, says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
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