Asia Times Online - The Best of Pepe Escobar

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align="center"><a href="/web/20030801102607/http://atimes.com/atimes/advertise.html"><img height="18" src="/web/20030801102607im_/http://atimes.com/images/f_images/advertise.gif" width="110" border="0"></a></div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0"> <tr> <td width="10"> </td> <td valign="top" align="left" width="510"> <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0"> <tr> <td valign="top" width="64%">Pepe Escobar</td> <td width="36%"> <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0"> <tr> <td valign="center" align="middle" height="51"> <div align="right"> <script language="javascript"> function showDate(){ var monthArray=["Jan", "Feb", "Mar", "Apr", "May", "Jun", "Jul", "Aug", "Sep", "Oct", "Nov", "Dec"] var days=["Sunday", "Monday", "Tuesday", "Wednesday", "Thursday", "Friday", "Saturday"] var d=new Date(); var month=d.getMonth() var day=d.getDate() var year=d.getYear() // document.write("Today is " + days[d.getDay()] + " ") document.write(monthArray[month]) document.write(" ") document.write(day) document.write(", ") if(d.getYear()<2000){document.write(year+1900)} if(d.getYear()>2000){document.write(year)} } </script> <script language="javascript">showDate()</script> </div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" align="left" border="0"> <tr> <td valign="top" width="65%"> <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" align="left" border="0"> <tr> <td valign="top" width="81%"> <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="308" border="0"> <tr> <td width="308"> <table class="" id="table1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" width="100%" border="1"> <tr> <td class="" valign="top" bordercolor="red" align="left" height="0">THE ROVING EYE An extreme traveler, Pepe's nose for news takes him to all corners of the globe. He was in Afghanistan <img hspace="3" src="/web/20030801102607im_/http://atimes.com/atimes/images/pepe-page-mug.gif" align="left" vspace="3" border="1"> and interviewed the military leader of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance, Ahmad Shah Masoud, a couple of weeks before his assassination (<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801102607/http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/CI12Df01.html" target="_blank">Masoud: From warrior to statesman </a>, Sept 11, 2001). Two weeks before September 11, 2001, while Pepe was in the tribal areas of Pakistan, we published his prophetic piece, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801102607/http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/CH30Df01.html"> Get Osama! Now! Or else ... </a> (Aug 30, 2001). Pepe was one of the first journalists to reach Kabul after the Taliban's retreat, and more recently he has explored and reported from "Axis of Evil" countries Iraq and Iran.</td> </tr> </table> <a href="/web/20030801102607/http://atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/EG31Ae03.html ">Deadlock in Cambodia</a> Prime Minister Hun Sen's party has jumped the gun and announced it has clinched an absolute majority of votes - infuriating opposition leaders Sam Rainsy and Prince Norodom Ranariddh, who will form a "liaison" in protest. They may demand recounts and even re-votes in several areas of Cambodia. (Jul 30, '03) <a href="/web/20030801102607/http://atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/EG29Ae05.html ">Even the Khmer Rouge loves democracy</a> After a peaceful Sunday electoral day, it is widely expected that Prime Minister Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party will get the largest number of votes in the third democratic elections in Cambodia since 1993. Voter turnout has been estimated around 80 percent - and included such infamous characters as Nuon Chea, the Khmer Rouge's No 2 under Pol Pot, who voted in the former Khmer Rouge stronghold of Pailin and declared himself a supporter of democracy. (Jul 28, '03) <a href="/web/20030801102607/http://atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/EG25Ae02.html">Year 28: Cambodia gets ready to vote</a> Any Cambodian who has survived beyond the age of 30 will have witnessed military coups, brutal civil wars, "strategic" bombing, a bloody Marxist revolution, occupation by a hated neighbor, mass hunger, poverty, and rampant political corruption. On Sunday, this country so haunted by its past will vote on its future. (Jul 24, '03) <a href="/web/20030801102607/http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EG12Ak02.html ">Bremer a quick study in colony building</a> While US proconsul Paul Bremer imposes America's will on Iraq, talk of an Iraqi democracy rings hollow. A government of Iraqis, approved by Bremer, may end up ruling Iraq, but one question bedevils everyone in Iraq today: What about Saddam? (Jul 11, '03) <a href="/web/20030801102607/http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EG04Ak02.html">Culture shock and awe </a>The awesome American military machine was able to smash the remnants of a pitiful Iraqi army who dared to show up for battle, but they are having a much harder time coming to grips with the cultural nuances of the country, to the extent that even key Shi'ite leaders are losing patience. (Jul 3, '03) <a href="/web/20030801102607/http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EF28Df02.html">Who killed Daniel Pearl?</a> <img hspace="3" src="/web/20030801102607im_/http://atimes.com/atimes//images/levy.gif" align="left" vspace="3" border="0">Qui a tue Daniel Pearl? by Bernard-Henri Levy The book has already caused a stir in the French-speaking world. It is likely to create an even bigger sensation once the English-language version comes out as Levy airs some awkward theories on the murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl at the hands of Islamic extremists - if it even was them. (Jun 27, '03) <a href="/web/20030801102607/http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EF06Ak02.html">A long and tortuous road</a> Authorities, political councils, ministerial advisors, assemblies, American overlords and interim ministers. It's all getting a bit confusing trying to set up even a semblance of an administration in Iraq, let alone a democratic government. And Iraqis are losing patience.  (Jun 5, '03) <a href="/web/20030801102607/http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EE28Ak02.html">The Saddam intifada</a> A month ago, Asia Times Online wrote of how Saddam Hussein was betrayed by senior Republican Guards, leading to the spectacular collapse of all resistance to US-led forces in Baghdad. Now it emerges that Saddam has regrouped, and is ready to put into action the plan that he had originally prepared for the Battle of Baghdad. And he's even set a date. (May 27, '03) <a href="/web/20030801102607/http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EE21Ak02.html">Iraq showdown: Winners and losers</a> It's not only the Iraqis whose world has changed with the US-led ouster of Saddam Hussein. The fallout from the events in the Middle East has reverberated around the world, from Asia to Latin America, and to Europe where the most significant realignments could be taking place. (May 20, '03) <a href="/web/20030801102607/http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EE15Ak04.html ">Al-Qaeda: Dead or alive? </a> Seemingly reinvented with a new leadership, and certainly a new spokesman, al-Qaeda is back, and with the new phenomenon of "franchising" - from a cluster of Pakistani-based groups to the Jemaah Islamiyah in Indonesia - it is difficult to predict where the next target will be. (May 14, '03) <a href="/web/20030801102607/http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/ED26Ak06.html">The lions of Babylon </a> Babylon is about as rich in history as anywhere in the world, with roots going back to the dawn of civilization. Sadly, like the Iraqi Museum in Baghdad, Babylon's museum was pillaged, although not on the scale of the capital's. Significantly, the ancient statue of the Lion of Babylon was untouched, as another lion of the city explains. (Apr 25, '03) <a href="/web/20030801102607/http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/ED25Ak04.html">The Baghdad deal </a>The relative ease with which US forces took Baghdad raises a host of interesting questions, especially, what happened to the much-vaunted Republican and Special Republican Guard? An investigation by Asia Times Online provides some answers, which can be summed up by the Arabic word safqua , meaning secret deal. (Apr 24, '03) <a href="/web/20030801102607/http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/ED24Ak05.html">The Mukhabarat's shopping list </a>A document obtained by Asia Times Online details the extensive dealings of Iraq's secret service apparatus, the Mukhabarat, with both Arab and Western companies - notably from France and the Netherlands - to obtain the tools necessary to perpetuate their brutal reign, including pinhole cameras and laser tools. Also on the list were night vision goggles, but not from Syria, as the US has accused. (Apr 23, '03)  <a href="/web/20030801102607/http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/ED22Ak03.html">Shi'ites on the march to Karbala</a> The annual pilgrimage to the central Iraqi city of Karbala traces its roots to the birth of the Shi'ite religion nearly 14 centuries ago, and as such is an apolitical event. But this week's celebration, which is expected to attract upwards of 7 million people, has taken on a significance that could have a crucial bearing on the future of the country. (Apr 21, '03) <a href="/web/20030801102607/http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/ED19Ak06.html">Direct democracy in action</a> In just a matter of days, the Iraqi city of Hilla, better known in recent times for a massacre that took place there, has formed a new, broad-based local government. Its primary task is to rebuild the city's shattered infrastructure. But first it has to find the money to do so.(Apr 18, '03) <a href="/web/20030801102607/http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/ED18Ak07.html ">A (mis)guided tour of Baghdad</a> Given the mauling that it has received, Baghdad is right up there as a leading "holiday in hell" destination - smashed palaces and buildings, thief-riddled no-go areas, edgy soldiers, bereaved families, barely functioning infrastructure and a general air of destruction and despair. (Apr 17, '03) <a href="/web/20030801102607/http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/ED08Ak06.html">Suicide at the walls of Baghdad</a> Saddam Hussein's unexpected stroll through the streets of Baghdad at the weekend could well be the last time that he is seen in public as the US ring inextricably closes around the capital. But one can be sure that he will be heard of again. (Apr 7, '03) <a href="/web/20030801102607/http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EC29Ak07.html ">The battle for Shi'ite hearts and minds</a> (Mar 28, '03) <a href="/web/20030801102607/http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EC27Ak05.html">The 'Palestinization' of Iraq </a> (Mar 26, '03) <a href="/web/20030801102607/http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EC26Ak06.html">Jihad in Mesopotamia</a> (Mar 25, '03) <a href="/web/20030801102607/http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EC22Ak08.html">Jordan opens up Iraq's western front </a> (Mar 21, '03) <a href="/web/20030801102607/http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EC20Ak07.html">This war is brought to you by ...</a> (Mar 19, '03) <a href="/web/20030801102607/http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EC18Ak03.html">The moment of truth - and lies</a> (Mar 17, '03) <a href="/web/20030801102607/http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EC14Ak05.html">Inside Saddam's mind</a> (Mar 13, '03) <a href="/web/20030801102607/http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EC11Ak06.html ">Beating the African drum</a> (Mar 10, '03) <a href="/web/20030801102607/http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EC06Ak02.html">Coercion, all in the name of democracy</a> (Mar 25, '03) </td> </tr> </table> </td> <td valign="top" width="19%"> <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="184" border="0"> <tr> <td valign="center" align="middle" height="51"> <img height="22" src="/web/20030801102607im_/http://atimes.com/atimes/images/special2.gif" width="184"> <a href="/web/20030801102607/http://atimes.com/atimes/others/kabul_diary.html"><img height="79" src="/web/20030801102607im_/http://atimes.com/images/f_images/kabul_banner.gif" width="184" border="0"></a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801102607/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/others/iran_diary.html"> <img height="79" src="/web/20030801102607im_/http://atimes.com/atimes/images/iran-feature.gif" width="184" border="0"></a>  <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801102607/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/others/iraq_diary.html"> <img height="79" src="/web/20030801102607im_/http://atimes.com/atimes/images/iraq-feature.gif" width="184" border="0"></a>  <table class="" id="table1" style="WIDTH: 188px; HEIGHT: 28px" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" width="188" border="2"> <tr> <td class="" valign="top" bordercolor="black" align="left" bgcolor="navajowhite" height="0"> <img style="WIDTH: 163px; HEIGHT: 37px" height="37" src="/web/20030801102607im_/http://atimes.com/atimes//images/osama-header.gif" width="167" border="0"> July 2002 <img src="/web/20030801102607im_/http://atimes.com/atimes/images/arrow.gif" border="0"><a href="/web/20030801102607/http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/DG10Df13.html">PART 1: Get him before September 11</a> <img src="/web/20030801102607im_/http://atimes.com/atimes/images/arrow.gif" border="0"><a href="/web/20030801102607/http://atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/DG11Ag01.html">PART 2: What he's up to</a><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801102607/http://www.atimes.com/koreas/DF26Dg01.html"> </a><img src="/web/20030801102607im_/http://atimes.com/atimes/images/arrow.gif" border="0"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801102607/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/DG12Ak01.html">PART 3: The sheikh against the Saudi</a> <img src="/web/20030801102607im_/http://atimes.com/atimes/images/arrow.gif" border="0"><a href="/web/20030801102607/http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/DG13Ak02.html">PART 4: Tracking al-Qaeda in Europe</a> <img src="/web/20030801102607im_/http://atimes.com/atimes/images/arrow.gif" border="0"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801102607/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/DG19Ak01.html">PART 5: Intelligence matters</a> </td> </tr> </table> <table class="" id="table1" style="WIDTH: 188px; HEIGHT: 165px" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" width="188" border="2"> <tr> <td class="" valign="top" bordercolor="black" align="left" bgcolor="navajowhite" height="0"> <img alt="" src="/web/20030801102607im_/http://atimes.com/atimes/images/pipelineistan-bar.gif"> July 2002 <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801102607/http://atimes.com/c-asia/DA25Ag01.html"><img src="/web/20030801102607im_/http://atimes.com/atimes/images/arrow.gif" border="0"></a><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801102607/http://atimes.com/c-asia/DA25Ag01.html">PART 1: The rules of the game </a><img src="/web/20030801102607im_/http://atimes.com/atimes/images/arrow.gif" border="0"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801102607/http://www.atimes.com/c-asia/DA26Ag01.html">PART 2: The games nations play </a> </td> </tr> </table> <table class="" id="table1" style="WIDTH: 188px; HEIGHT: 28px" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" width="188" border="2"> <tr> <td class="" valign="top" bordercolor="black" align="left" bgcolor="navajowhite" height="0"> <img height="22" src="/web/20030801102607im_/http://atimes.com/atimes/images/re-world-cup.gif" width="167" border="0"> July 2002 <img src="/web/20030801102607im_/http://atimes.com/atimes/images/arrow.gif" border="0"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801102607/http://www.atimes.com/koreas/DF25Dg04.html">PART 1: Korea's Red Devils: The pride of Asia </a><img src="/web/20030801102607im_/http://atimes.com/atimes/images/arrow.gif" border="0"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801102607/http://www.atimes.com/koreas/DF26Dg01.html">PART 2: South Korea's RED economy </a><img src="/web/20030801102607im_/http://atimes.com/atimes/images/arrow.gif" border="0"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801102607/http://www.atimes.com/koreas/DF27Dg02.html">PART 3: Back to business (not) as usual</a> </td> </tr> </table>      </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="65%"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="65%"> <div align="center"> </div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="65%"> </td> </tr> </table> </td> <td valign="top" 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