Written by Dr Yiorghos Leventis* On either side of the Aegean Sea a Greek tragedy, in its full sense and extent, is being performed before our eyes. As the whole world witnesses the unfolding multiple Greek tragedy – huge foreign debt leading to economic, institutional and above all moral…
Read MoreWritten by Dr. Dimitrios N. Koumparoulis Rebel forces have apparently taken more of the country’s oil refining (Zawiya) and processing infrastructure (Brega). Most observers give the Gaddafi regime limited time before a full regime change takes place in Libya. Watch what happens to oil prices if and when the Gaddafis…
Read MoreWritten by Mr. Frederic Labarre The pressures faced by NATO and EU members in meeting austerity measures while maintaining military readiness are unprecedented not by their scale and intensity, but by the conjunction of several political and social features. First, the economic crisis stimulates political isolationism and economic nationalism,…
Read MoreWritten by Mr. Simon Bahceli* Tens of thousands of mainland Turks could soon become new ‘citizens’ of the breakaway north, according to critics of an “immigration regulation” approved by the Turkish Cypriot ‘council of ministers’ yesterday. Although details of the regulation were yet to be made public, the north’s…
Read MoreWritten by Dr. Dimitrios N. Koumparoulis In an attempt to get a Grand Bargain, President Obama proposed a centrist deficit reduction package. Congressional Republicans rejected that package only because it raised taxes, and were unreasonable for doing so. Like his fiscal commission cochairs Bowles & Simpson, the President proposed a…
Read MoreWritten by Mr. Vercihan Ziflioğlu* Turkey’s Syriac community, who adopted Turkish surnames, now want their original surnames back. Yet, a top court says that the laws don’t allow such a move. Members of Turkey’s Syriac Christian community are leading a legal struggle to adopt last names that reflect their identity…
Read MoreThe Greek government, the European Commission, and the International Monetary Fund are all denying what markets perceive clearly: Greece will eventually default on its debts to its private and public creditors. The politicians prefer to postpone the inevitable by putting public money where private money will no longer go, because…
Read MoreMost Americans were overjoyed to hear of Osama bin Laden’s death. The world is certainly better off now that he is feeding the fish in the Indian Ocean. But this leads one to ask, why are we still fighting in Afghanistan? Isn’t getting him the reason we invaded the country…
Read MoreIn November 2010 a major political event took place in Lisbon. The leaders of the twenty eight NATO member states along with those of the sixteen partner countries gathered in a summit in the capital of Portugal that eventually ended up with the new seventh strategic concept. This should represent…
Read MoreDr. Yiorghos Leventis, Director of International Security Forum – Cyprus, participated in the First Consultative Meeting of the EU Non-Proliferation Consortium held in Brussels on 23-24 May 2011. The Consortium is a novel path-breaking initiative taken by the European Council. Dr. Leventis had the opportunity to exchange views with several…
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