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CIVILIANS OUTNUMBER UNIFORMED TROOPS
US hired civilians to kill al-Qaeda leaders in Afghanistan
Fazle Rashid in New York
Corporate war was the title of an editorial in the Financial Times recently. Natural instinct would make one to conclude that it was about a war between two Wall Street corporate giants. But it was not so. It was about Pentagon and the CIA engaging civilian contractors to wage war in Afghanistan, which is becoming increasingly difficult with Taliban gaining ascendancy according to the top US commander there.
Civilian contractors for the Pentagon in Afghanistan not only outnumber the uniformed troops, but also form the highest ratio of contractors to military personnel recorded in any war in the history of the United States, the New York Times reported quoting a congressional finding. The contractors make up 57 per cent of the Pentagon force in Afghanistan...[ FULL STORY ]
SHEIKH MUJIB KILLING
Shafiullah, HT Imam in line of fire
Hafiz Shamseer
Retired General K M Shafiullah, Bangladesh's first army chief and a great survivor of the sequence of bloody upheavals, is galloping in all directions like the Vicar of the Bray; firing bazookas in self-defence and accusing people left, right and the centre with charges that do not stand up to scrutiny.
And the latest in joining the charade is H T Imam, the man who fled to India when the war of liberation began, became Cabinet Secretary after Bangladesh achieved independence, and was the prime figure to organise the oath-taking of Khandaker Moshtaque Ahmed who took over as president after the assassination of President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 15 August 1975...[ FULL STORY ]
Indian forces to launch major offensive against Maoists
Shamsuddin Ahmed
Guerrilla warfare honed by the outlawed CPI (Maoist) of India is haunting its Home Minister, P Chidambaram. Zee News on July 15 last quoted him admitting the failure in tackling the Maoists. He is going to Bihar in the next few days, ostensibly in preparation for launching a joint operation by the security forces to flush out the rebels from the Maoist-infested five states of Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar and Jharkhand. Rediff News of India has viewed that the impending fight between the Maoists and the security forces "will be more brutal, deadly and savage. Fighting will be long-drawn and bitter'...[ FULL STORY ]
FEARED WINTER OF INSTABILITY
Joblessness, hyperinflation
inflict economy
M. Shahidul Islam
The opposition parties may be in a state of disarray, but the opportunity to bounce back with biting teeth is waiting in the wings, according to experts and observers.
Sources say the BNP and its allies will pounce upon the Government's vulnerability created by the intentional delay in the trial of the BDR massacre and the economic inflictions of the ordinary people caused by unbridled price hikes in recent weeks.
Such a prospect seems to be in the making amidst the growing indication of the economy facing an implosion, and the law and order situation having already turned as unbearable as the prices of the essentials.
Unfortunately, all these have begun to coalesce at a time when smuggling along the Indo-Bangladesh borders is further derailing the economic wheels of the nation by preventing investment, growth and job creation...[ FULL STORY ]
CRIME-POLITICS NEXUS
Public safety in Ramzan in great peril
Sadeq Khan
Ramzan is expected to be a month of social bond, tolerance and tranquility. But it is turning out this year to be a month of market chaos, collective tribulation and abject insecurity for the ordinary citizens.
Prices of a number of essential commodities, excepting common quality rice, have gone haywire, aggravated, according to some ministers of the representative government, by chandabazi or rent-seeking from traders and transporters at all levels. Even hawkers and headload carriers are not spared. Awami League factions and their various "associate" groups, sub-groups and musclemen in party wings of youths, workers and students have intensified rivalry and violence for turfs and spoils of election victory...[ FULL STORY ]
AL CROOKS CRITICISED
Parliament sans BNP impairs Opposition's watchdog role
Faisal Rahim
Speaker of the parliament Advocate Abdul Hamid said last week that the seat issue of opposition BNP lawmakers would not be resolved this time too before the forthcoming session of parliament next week.
On the other hand BNP secretary general Khondakar Delwar Hossain said his party lawmakers will not attend the coming session of parliament if the seat issue and some other problems are not resolved indicating the continuation of crisis without a visible end.
In fact BNP may not attend many more sessions in future if their seats were not returned. The statement of the party secretary general suggested that future of the 9th parliament too would be uncertain. The question is how long the parliament can be working without opposition, observers say...[ FULL STORY ]
HASINA ANNOYED WITH MEDIA REPORTS
Awami League government facing manifold problems
Abdur Rahman Khan
Bewildered with manifold economic problems, the ruling Awami League (AL) appears to have been puzzled with many more self-sponsored political issues, poor governance and internal conflict.
The major challenges for the govenement was to tackle the galloping price spiral, restore law and order and ensure civic amenities. However, it prioritised political vendetta ignoring the public outcry for electricity and gas. ..[ FULL STORY ]
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