Central Asia & Caucasus

Georgian Protests Against Saakashvili: Unexpected?(1)

April 9, 2009

In the immediate aftermath of Georgia’s war with Russia in August 2008, President Saakashvili was portrayed, by himself and others, as the leader of a plucky democracy being overrun by the Russian bear. However, international fact-finding groups have recently reported that Saakashvili was as much to blame for the war as Putin. This came as no surprise to observers of the country, and of Misha in particular.

Georgian Protests Against Saakashvili: Unexpected?

Europe’s Gas Opera

In Guiseppe Verdi’s 1841 opera “Nabucco,” the eponymous Babylonian king: destroys Jerusalem and takes the Jews captive; goes mad and regains sanity; then begs the God of the Hebrews for forgiveness and lets the Jews go. Apparently, someone named Europe’s southern gas corridor project after this classic Italian

The Road to War: A Soldier’s Personal Account

Benjamin*
MIA 2010
In the first of an on-going blogging series to be published over the next nine months, Benjamin recounts his personal experiences of being reunited with his army the night before mobilizing for Afghanistan. The “Soldier’s Personal Account” series will take us directly into the soldier’s world and help us reflect on how defense policy [...]

Sarah Palin is Totally and Completely Insane

By Ben Colmery
MIA 2009
No, it’s true. Sarah Palin really is totally and completely insane. Or worse. If you don’t think it’s true, you probably didn’t watch her debate with Joe Biden. And since John McCain chose her, that means he’s probably insane too (if we don’t already have other forms of evidence). And since millions [...]