The decade long imperialist war waged by the US in Afghanistan now obviously seems to be lost. The defeat is partly due to the internal affairs of Afghanistan, the special features of the Afghan society and partly due to the mistakes and crimes made by the political and military leadership of the US. The war and its expected outcome are the failure of Washington and also the personal political fiasco of president Obama.

Original article: James Petras: Afghanistan: The Longest Lost War. Global Research, June 16, 2010 http://www.globalresearch.ca/PrintArticle.php?articleId=19758

This analysis shows that the present conflict between the Kyrgyzes and the Uzbeks is not a rebirth of a traditional "ethnic conflict" but sprang from the internal fight between the different fractions of the Kyrgyz elite. The tension was artificially agitated to meet specific economic and political goals. The author also outlines the social roots and international background of the conflict.

The crisis of the old-fashioned left in Europe is well known and discussed in broad public. On the other hand, less is told about the challenges facing the traditional left in former colonies. The study addresses the case in Kerala in South India, searching answers why indigenism gains ground on the account of class based political thinking among adivasis – outcasts of the caste system – and why they became disappointed by the paternalist ideology of the communist party? The study also shows that the self-organization of adivasis does not exclude the cooperation with the traditional left.

The study presents the economic development of China over the past two or three decades, reviewing economic policy and social dilemmas as well. Since the early 1980s, Beijing gave an ever increasing role for market initiatives and achieved immense success in the evolution of productive forces but had to face the specific outcomes of the market oriented development like unemployment and income polarization. State regulation and planning were used to tame these negative effects but it is questionable whether these two different "logics" can live together on the long term.