Full Coverage: South West Asia

30.04.2008 General David Petraeus' new job may put him in position to follow through on his saber-rattling against Iran, says a Washington think tank.

21.04.2008 SAN FRANCISCO, Apr 21 (OneWorld) - About 300,000 U.S. veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or major depression. Another 320,000 veterans likely suffer from traumatic brain injury (TBI), a type of physical brain damage often caused by explosions from roadside bombs.

15.04.2008 Extravagant monuments, statues of the former President, and near-empty streets characterize the capital of Turkmenistan, where national identity is still tightly intertwined with that of the self-proclaimed Turkmenbashi, or 'Leader of All Turkmen.'

15.04.2008 Saudi Arabia had the highest number of executions per capita, followed by Iran and Libya, according to a new Amnesty survey that says 88 per cent of all known executions took place in China, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the US.

13.04.2008 The West's recognition of Kosovo's independence has given fresh impetus to other separatist movements. Consider Abkhazia, says Shaun Walker.
From Prospect

10.04.2008 Iran has unexpectedly liberal ideas about contraception and assisted reproduction techniques, the result of pragmatic decisions, and consequent laws, arrived at by Shia interpretations of religious tenets. By Elizabeth O’Donnell.

07.04.2008 Daily life could not be more different in modern Ferghana, westernized by many Russian immigrants, and neighboring Andijan, where all activities stop for prayers and some conservative Muslims have been labeled terrorists by the government.

03.04.2008 The power struggle between the Iraqi government and Shi'a cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's militia -- most recently encapsulated in the "collapse" of the U.S. backed Basra offensive and Sadr's cease fire -- testify to the failure of the "surge," writes Phyllis Bennis.