As 2023 unfolds, Sri Lanka is wrestling with a series of political and economic crises, with growing fears of insecurity for the island. A narcotics and arms bust by Indias National Investigation Agency (NIA) in April identified a Pakistani criminal network associated with the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the terrorist outfit Lakshar-e-Taiba (LeT) as responsible for an uptick in shipments between India and Sri Lanka. Further investigative details on the case also indicated a desire by the criminal group to revive the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the prominent militant group that engaged in a decades-long civil war with the Sri Lankan government until its defeat in 2009.

In addition to the NIAs bust, a sensational claim in February 2023 by a Tamil nationalist suggested that the LTTEs founder and former leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, long believed to be deceased, was still alive. Though still unproven, this claim and the NIA bust has renewed debate over a potential revival of the LTTE. Compounding these concerns is an economic recovery effort in Sri Lanka that continues to lag.

Historical context

The LTTE emerged in the context of deep-seated ethnic tensions between the majority Sinhalese and minority Tamils, becoming the most prominent group advocating for Tamil rights and, eventually, for a separate state known as Tamil Eelam. The Tamil Tigers distinguished themselves with a high degree of efficacy and sophistication in their attacks, proving their capability as a formidable non-state military force with naval and air power at its peak.

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Since the end of the Cold War, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation has distinctly strayed from its original purpose.  It has become, almost shamelessly, the vessel and handmaiden of US power, while its burgeoning expansion eastwards has done wonders to upend the applecart of stability.

From that upending, the alliance started bungling.  It engaged, without the authorisation of the UN Security Council, in a 78-day bombing campaign of Yugoslavia at least what was left of it ostensibly to protect the lives of Kosovar Albanians.  Far from dampening the tinderbox, the Kosovo affair continues to be an explosion in the making.

Members of the alliance also expended material, money and personnel in Afghanistan over the course of two decades, propping up a deeply unpopular, corrupt regime in Kabul while failing to stifle the Taliban.  As with previous imperial projects, the venture proved to be a catastrophic failure.

In 2011, NATO again was found wanting in its attack on the regime of Muammar Gaddafi.   While it was intended to be an exemplar of the Responsibility to Protect Doctrine, the intervention served to eventually topple the doomed Colonel Gaddafi, precipitating the de-facto partitioning of Libya and endangering the very civilians the mission was meant to protect.  A continent was thereby destabilised.  The true beneficiaries proved to be the tapestry of warring rebel groups characterised by sectarian impulses and a voracious appetite for human rights abuses and war crimes.

The Ukraine War has been another crude lesson in the failings of the NATO project.  The constant teasing and wooing of Kyiv as a potential future member never sat well with Moscow and while much can be made of the Russian invasion, no realistic assessment of the wars origins can excise NATO from playing a deep, compromised role.

The alliance is also proving dissonant among its members.  Not all are exactly jumping at the chance of admitting Ukraine.  German diplomats have revealed that they will block any current moves to join the alliance.  Even that old provoking power, the United States, is not entirely sure whether doors should be open to Kyiv.  On CNN, President Joe Biden expressed the view that he did not think its ready for membership of NATO.  To qualify, Ukraine would have to meet a number of qualifications from democratisation to a whole range of other issues.  While hardly proving very alert during the interview (at one point, he confused Ukraine with Russia) he did draw the logical conclusion that bringing Kyiv into an alliance of obligatory collective defence during current hostilities would automatically put NATO at war with Moscow.

With such a spotty, blood speckled record marked...

The Taliban has not once, but twice eradicated Afghanistans poppy cultivation, the worlds largest source of heroin. Despite western accusations, it has never been The Taliban behind the Afghan drug industry, but only ever the US and its allies, with billions in profits breezily laundered through the global financial system. n the aftermath of the []

Iran: Four gunmen and two officers killed in attack on police station

The internet was flooded with alarming images, showcasing an unprecedented backlash against the military establishment. Supporters of Imran from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, known as PTI supporters, engaged in destructive activities such as storming the General Headquarters and causing havoc at the Lahore Corps Commanders residence. They also defaced military monuments and properties across the country. These actions were a stark contrast to the peaceful protests conducted by Mr. Khan and his party in the past, despite facing significant political harassment for over a year. In response, the military crackdown, fueled by anger, was equally brutal. Internet services were suspended, resulting in widespread blackouts and significant financial losses for telecommunication and other industries. Restrictions on public gatherings were imposed, and the military was deployed in Islamabad, Punjab, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to restore order. 

Various conspiracy theories surfaced, suggesting that the destruction of national property, including the Lahore Corps Commanders residence, was orchestrated by collusion between the establishment and the government to discredit the PTI. However, proving these claims is challenging amidst the constant propaganda from both sides. Nevertheless, there is evidence that PTI members themselves were directly involved in the riots, as confirmed by arrested party members. Regardless of the circumstances, the events of that day represented a dark moment for Pakistan, and it is possible that everyone shares some responsibility for this tragic turn of events. Although Imran Khan was subsequently released by the Islamabad High Court, the distressing events of May 9th have strengthened the heavy-handedness of both the establishment and the incumbent Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government. 

Wha...

JUL 07, 2023 The Taliban has not once, but twice eradicated Afghanistans poppy cultivation, the worlds largest source of heroin. Despite western accusations, it has never been The Taliban behind the Afghan drug industry, but only ever the US and its allies, with billions in profits breezily laundered through the global financial system. William Van []

The Taliban has not once, but twice eradicated Afghanistans poppy cultivation, the worlds largest source of heroin.

By William Van Wagenen | The Cradle | July 7, 2023

In the aftermath of the chaotic US and UK withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir warned in the Washington Post of the dangers of ignoring one important consequence of the Taliban takeover: the coming boom in Afghanistans narcotics trade.

Mir then boldly predicted that, in the next few years, a flood of drugs from Afghanistan may become a bigger threat than terrorism.

This projection of an international drug trade boom seemed plausible, considering the longstanding accusations that the Taliban funded their two-decade insurgency against the occupying forces by controlling opium production. In fact, it was believed that 95 percent of heroin used in Britain originated from Afghan opium.

It comes as a surprise then, that a June 2023 report published by Alcis, a British-based geographic information services firm, revealed that the Taliban government had all but eliminated opium cultivation in the country, wiping out the base ingredient needed to produce heroin. This outcome mirrored a similar move by the Taliban in 2000 when they were in power the first time.

Ironically, instead of praising Kabuls new leaders for quashing the source of illicit drugs, the international community responded to this development with criticism. Even the US Institute for Peace (USIP), which is funded by the US government, argued that The Talibans successful opium ban is bad for Afghans and the world.

Such western displeasure towards the Talibans efforts to dismantle the global heroin trade may seem perplexing at first glance.

However, a closer examination of events in Afghanistan reveals a different perspective. Under the guise of the War on Terror, the 2001 US and UK invasion was driven in part by the desire to restore the heroin trade, which the Taliban had abruptly terminated just a year earlier.

The western powers sought to reestablish the lucrative flow of billions of dollars tha...

William Van Wagenen The Taliban has not once, but twice eradicated Afghanistans poppy cultivation, the worlds largest source of heroin. Despite western accusations, it has never been The Taliban behind the Afghan drug industry, but only ever the US and its allies, with billions in profits breezily laundered through the global financial system. In the...