Geopolitics roundup

By Rick Morris

We have long covered geopolitics at The FDH Lounge, both in terms of our own analysis and linking to great coverage elsewhere. If you go through our monthly archive links, you can find coverage dating back to January 2008. Here’s our latest roundup of top news and analysis on the Internet:

^ Tigerhawk reports that major, decisive victories over Al Qaeda via drone strikes in the last year have gone largely unreported.

^ What's the next big energy source? The Foreign Policy Blog says it could be Bolivian lithium.

^ Jane's reports on a few big stories. Kyrgyzstan is booting a key US airbase used for operations in Afghanistan. The US is trying to shore up access to Caspian Sea energy reserves. Holdover US Defense Secretary Robert Gates is warning about the unintended consequences of new federal government ethics guidelines on the military's well-being. After the Gaza war has ended, at least for now, Hamas is at the crossroads. And the US military is trying out a new biofuel testing program.

^ Michael Yon, one of the greatest milbloggers in the world (if not the greatest), warns from firsthand observations that expectations for what constitutes victory in Afghanistan have to be realistic. Additionally, he wonders how so many analysts can downplay the threats posed to Israel on a daily basis.

^ The Asia Times reports on the evolving US-China relationship.

^ The Belmont Club assesses Dick Cheney's warnings about the future of US national security. Also, they warn, Hamas is gearing up for further warfare.

^ The Counterterrorism Blog talks about the meaning of Iran's new satellites and also the downward spiral of Afghanistan.

^ The Long War Journal discusses the implications of the Taliban severing a key NATO supply line through the northwest region of Pakistan and also the case of a key sleeper agent in US custody.

^ And finally, here's a video (just under eight minutes in length) passed along to me by my dad from the online VBS channel. It depicts a trip into the part of Pakistan deemed the most dangerous piece of soil in the world, where Pakistani gunrunners dominate the landscape.