ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

By Pepe Escobar - Asia Times " - By the time you read this Russia will have invaded Ukraine. Well, that's what the Supreme Allied Commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, US Air Force General Philip Breedlove, is spinning. Breedlove Supreme says the Russians are "ready to go" and could easily take over eastern Ukraine. Western corporate media have already dusted off their Kevlar vests. Now compare Breedlove Supreme with a grown-up diplomat, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who has called on NATO to please de-escalate the "unreasonable" warmongering rhetoric, which also includes officially ending all civilian and military cooperation with Russia and planning more military moves in Eastern Europe. While NATO - shorthand for the Pentagon's European division - freaks out, especially via its outgoing secretary-general, Danish patsy Anders Fogh Rasmussen, let's see where we really stand on the ground, based on leaks from both Lavrov...

Summary A delegation of South American foreign ministers will arrive in Venezuela on April 7 to lay the groundwork for a settlement between the government and opposition, but lately the protest situation in the country has been shifting in the government's favor. The wave of protests that began Feb. 12 has so far failed to seriously threaten the administration of President Nicolas Maduro. The frequency of protest marches and barricades has tapered off, and Caracas' law enforcement efforts appear to be effectively disrupting protest activity. The underlying causes of the protests are no closer to being resolved, however, and demonstrations will continue and could even swell to the extent that they could threaten Maduro's hold on power. Analysis After nearly two months of street demonstrations and makeshift barricades across Venezuela , the protesters are no closer to achieving their stated goal of ousting Maduro. The movement's most visible leaders, opposition legislator...

Summary Between April 7 and May 12, more than 800 million Indians will go to the polls to elect India's 16th Lok Sabha, the lower house of the country's parliament. The vote, possibly the largest democratic event in history, comes at a critical time in the country. India faces declining economic growth, as well as rising militant threats from a weakened Pakistan and a post-NATO Afghanistan. At the same time, India is beginning to re-engage its periphery and re-evaluate its relationships with two global powers, China and the United States. Two parties dominate India's political landscape: the Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, and the Indian National Congress. The BJP's prime minister candidate is Narendra Modi, a controversial pro-business Hindu nationalist who currently serves as chief minister of the economically vibrant Gujarat state. Congress, on the other hand, is semi-socialist and one of the world's oldest political parties, currently in its fourth generation of...