“Condemning Syria for having troops in Lebanon seems strange, considering most of the world sees our 150,000 troops in Iraq as an unwarranted foreign occupation. Syrian troops were far more welcome in Lebanon. The statement that should scare all Americans (and the world) is the assurance by Secretary Rice that the President needs no additional authority from Congress to attack Syria. She argues that authority already has been granted by the resolutions on 9/11 and Iraq. This is not true.”

President Putin spoke to Iranian President Ahmedinejad on 25 October about Iran's nuclear program and possible action by the UN Security Council according to Russian media. He reiterated that the standoff over Iranian nuclear activities should be resolved "by political means within the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA]. Putin also reportedly suggested that Iranian cooperation with the IAEA be broadened and Tehran's talks with EU-3 (Britain, France, and Germany) be resumed. Russia reportedly would propose a compromise plan, under which Iran could process uranium ore, but not enrich uranium or produce nuclear fuel, AFP reported

 NATO –SCO competition in Central Asia;

 The one day meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Moscow on 26 October was attended by Mongolian Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, Prime Minister Tsakhiagiyn Elbegdorzh, Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Indian Foreign Minister Natwar Singh, and Iranian First Vice President Parviz Davudi in Moscow on 26 October agreed on a "road map" that will include agreements on mutual cooperation in emergency situations and signed several economic accords.

Speaking at a meeting President Putin said the SCO had become an "influential factor" in the world He said that "the total population of SCO member countries and observer countries is more than 3 billion people, and during such meetings the leaders of these countries, the heads of the governments of our countries, make and will continue to make decisions that influence the social and economic well-being of an overwhelming majority of the population of our planet." Putin added that joint antiterrorism efforts remain a priority for the SCO, equating the recent terrorist attacks in Nalchik with the unrest in Uzbekistan in May as "examples of the terrorist threat."

The SCO comprises Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, while Iran, India, Pakistan, and Mongolia enjoy observer status. India among observer countries wants to become full member. What if Iran too joins then SCO would stretch right up to eastern Mediterranean via Iran, Syria and Lebanon of the Hizbullahs.

Russian Parliament (Duma) Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Konstantin Kosachev rejected western media claims   that the SCO represented an effort to create a new anti-NATO military alliance .It is classical western media logic that everything that happens in the world without their country is directed against it, Kosachev added. Politika Foundation head Vyacheslav Nikonov said contradictions between SCO members like China, India, and Pakistan were so great that talk of a military bloc was impossible now and in the foreseeable future, but the human resources and economic potential of the SCO made Western concerns understandable .In 20 years, China and India could become the largest and third-largest economies in the world with the nuclear and energy superpower Russia the fifth-largest economy in the world.

CIS Institute Deputy Director Vladimir Zharikhin said that Russia and Kazakhstan are unhappy that 90 percent of their energy resources are exported to the West, when the center of global economic development is shifting eastward in the region of SCO .He said. "We might like European culture, but Russia's economic interests will be directed toward the centers of accelerating economic growth, namely China and India."

Yes, Pakistan, USA’s non-Nato ally remains a center of terrorism, with many attempts on the life of its ruler President Gen Musharraf’s life from inside its military ranks. While India and Pakistan have made progress on peace, Indian Prime Minister was forced to tell Gen Musharraf those terrorists who killed over 60 Indians in bomb blasts in Delhi before the festivals of Hindus and Muslims originated from Pakistan controlled areas.

Curiously, NATO has now officially entered Pakistan Kashmir to help post earthquake relief operations. However, would it leave! More so because when US foolishly tried to over reach in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan to install friendly rulers through its “franchised street level revolutions, but failed. So US is unlikely to give up its control over Pakistan exercised through its armed forces and its intelligence services ISI , forged with Pakistan’s Gen Ayub Khan since 1958. With Gen Musharraf rightly suspicious of his own military ranks , as the latest sentences passed on those who tried to murder him in end 2003 thrice reveals , he might not be averse to Nato Military presence as another intelligence window , apart from many US FBI agents already active in Pakistan .USA and the West which acquiesced in Pakistan making the nuclear bombs for its support against USSR in Afghanistan now remain worried about Pakistani nukes in case extremists try to take over in Pakistan. Pakistan military has shown little compunction in selling nuclear technology and equipment to countries like Libya, Iran and some others too.

(Gajendra Singh., served as Indian Ambassador to Turkey and Azerbaijan in1992 -96. Prior to that, he served as ambassador to Jordan (during the1990 - 91Gulf war), Romania and Senegal. He is currently chairman of the Foundation for Indo-Turkic Studies, in Bucharest. The views expressed here are his own

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