Shamsher M. Chowdhury, BB

The writer is a former Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh and Ambassador to the United States and a decorated freedom fighter.

Rohingya, Geopolitics and Myanmar: An Uncertain Future

Myanmar's geopolitical value is putting Bangladesh in a tight spot

A centenary, a golden jubilee and a vision for South Asia

The presence of no less than five South Asian heads of states and governments in Dhaka to celebrate the twin events of the centenary of the birth of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the golden jubilee of the independence of Bangladesh was the most visible manifestation of the global respect for this great man and the journey of the nation he founded.

A slugfest in the name of a political debate

It is, in the end, for the American people to decide who should occupy the coveted Oval Office on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in the nation’s capital for the next four years.

Palestine and the Nakba

Nakba Day signifies the date of the beginning of the forced Palestinian mass exodus from their land in 1948 by Israel.

An unworkable approach

In an op-ed published on January 30 in The Daily Star, former Associate Editor Brig Gen Shahedul Anam Khan (Retd) described Washington’s Middle East “Peace” Plan as a “recipe for further conflict”.

A watershed moment for global politics

Since Egypt's President Anwar Sadat shook hands with declared enemy country Israel's Prime Minister Menachem Begin under the appreciating eyes of US President Jimmy Carter on the manicured lawns of Camp David more than four decades ago, no other handshake at that political level has drawn as much global attention as the one between North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump in the serenity of Singapore's Sentosa Island this Tuesday.

Faruq Ahmed Choudhury: A consummate diplomat

While engaging an adversary, Faruq Choudhury demonstrated the highest levels of professionalism and tact, his strongest tools being his ubiquitous charm and ready wit.

An oasis in a volatile region

The Arab Spring that started with the self immolation of fruit vendor Mohamad Bouazizi in the Tunisian city of Sidi Bouzid in December 2010 had all the markings of a people's revolution breaking out against long running autocratic governments, especially in North Africa and the Middle East.

October 26, 2016
October 26, 2016

Hillary set to win

As America stands less than three weeks away from actual voting day, all indications are that the next occupant of the most powerful office in the country, and perhaps in the world, will be Hillary Rodham Clinton.

August 21, 2016
August 21, 2016

Will Hillary Clinton create history come November?

In a little over two months from now, history may be created if Hillary Clinton is elected the first woman president of the United States of America. Some assert, the question now is not 'if' she will win but by 'how much'.

March 23, 2016
March 23, 2016

More on restructure, thin on politics

That the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) could finally get its much delayed 6th National Council on the road on March 19...

December 9, 2015
December 9, 2015

Pakistan still in denial and self-deceit

More than four decades on, the present day government of Pakistan has unabashedly and deliberately chosen to deny history. This is not just shameful; it is infinitely more immoral.

November 21, 2015
November 21, 2015

Is everyone celebrating?

The NLD also faces a powerful local rival in the Arakan National Party (ANP) that has been accused of stoking anti Muslim sentiments and has even called for the deportation of the Rohingyas. The ANP won most of the 29 national level seats in Rakhine and has a decisive control of the state's regional assembly.

September 29, 2015
September 29, 2015

The land of the rising sun rises again?

In a move that saw Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's nationalist government facing the stiffest resistance from pacifists and opposition parliamentarians alike, the Japanese Diet (Parliament) last week voted into law a bill that will allow Japan to deploy its military in combat roles beyond its territorial boundaries for the first time in seven decades.

August 6, 2015
August 6, 2015

A historical perspective

The success of a foreign policy lies in finding acceptable resolutions to outstanding problems and not in keeping them alive. There will always be distracters on the way who will find the glass half-empty no matter what.

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