Broken Bangles: Putting Together Life and the World

  The World and Its Arms Trading Nations The United States has the largest defence budget in the world. Each year, it allocates huge amounts to developing new weapons and weapon technologies. In each conflict in which it intervenes, America has two interests: pursuing its strategic goals and boosting its defence industry by enabling weapons sales.  The facts and views about America’s economic interests in any war have been exhaustively discussed in the public domain. During the Afghan and Iraq wars, the problematic premise of US interests in global conflicts were put under scrutiny like never before. Less known is how these interests evolved in the succeeding decades. A glimpse of this change can be seen in the words of Alexander C Karp in his recent book, ‘The Technological Republic’ in which he observes that the key US industries have moved away from serving the nation and its strategic and secuirty interests and found a new boss to serve- the consumer, the king of the mark...

  The Iran-Israel Conflict Iran, the hitherto glorious empire of Persia, has had a magnificent past of cultural, academic, economic and socio-political heights. But for some time now, the country is an eyesore for the West, and its economy is in dire straits. The country’s nuclear programme and long-standing hostilities with Israel have now culminated in an all-out war.  What is Happening in Iran Now? As Israeli fighter jets rain bombs and rockets on Tehran and Iran’s nuclear sites, and in retaliation, missile barrages from Iran hit Israeli cities, including Tel Aviv, two leaders and their policies hold the maximum responsibility for this devastating beginning of a new war: one is Benjamin Netanyahu and the other, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Much is known about Netanyahu, but Khamenei still remains a leader very little understood and analysed in the public sphere due to his religious stature and inaccessibility to journalists.  The relationship betwee...

Benjamin Netanyahu as a Leader The Israeli response to the October 7 Hamas attacks has been disproportionate and genocidal. The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been held responsible for this unnecessary killing of thousands of Gazan people, though it is a collective decision taken by Israel’s leadership to wage a brutal war until they destroy Hamas completely.  Netanyahu’s public approval has eroded even in Israel. A s a leader and a politician, Netanyahu has navigated through pernicious and tenebrous political waters. He is a fervent follower of a right-wing and liberalism-based world order and a strong believer in military solutions over peace processes and negotiations. People close to him have observed that he believes himself to be “a messiah with a duty to protect Israel”. His one peculiar trait is that he can unflinchingly make unpopular decisions if he believes they are necessary to protect Israel. During his many years in the prime ministership, he has been ...