Vas Shenoy, at The Blogs

May 25, 2026, 3:31 AM

Turki al-Faisal and the Burden of Saudi Arabia’s Elders

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Turki_bin_Faisal_Al_Saud_2014_%28cropped%29.jpg

Prince Turki al-Faisal is one of the most respected elders of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A statesman and a former intelligence chief, he led Al Mukhabarat Al A’amah, the Kingdom’s intelligence agency, from 1979 to 2001, resigning just...

Jan 5, 2026, 5:53 AM

Trump’s Warning Shot: Venezuela, the Red Sea, and the Reordering of Power

Topographic map in English of the Red Sea, UTM projection

After nearly two decades of stagnation on the global geopolitical stage, the United States has reasserted itself as the global hegemon. Whether one judges this return as imperfect or overdue, geopolitics had effectively been frozen since the catastrophically conceived...

Dec 25, 2025, 7:07 PM

Pakistan-Libya defence deal could destabilise the Mediterranean further

In a significant development in South Asian–North African military diplomacy, Pakistan and forces aligned with Libya’s eastern faction have formalised a high-value defence cooperation agreement. The deal, brokered in Benghazi during a meeting between Asim Munir and senior leaders...

Aug 6, 2025, 10:25 AM

Musings on Peace and the pursuit of happiness

Years ago, what now seems centuries ago, I had the honor of working for ace diplomat and the Chief Negotiator of the Oslo accords Ambassador Uri Savir. Diplomacy then was an art of conversation, negotiation, finding common ground and...

Apr 23, 2025, 9:04 PM

The Sultan of Oman’s visit to Moscow could be the key for peace

Sultan of Oman Haitham bin Tariq Al Said became the first head of state of Oman to visit Russia, a significant diplomatic engagement given Oman’s important role as a mediator in the US-Iran dialogue. The visit comes as the...

Apr 11, 2025, 12:25 AM

Until there is life there is hope

church of the holy sepulchre, picture taken by me on christmas day 2015.

We live in a time of war. Brutal terrorism against innocent civilians in the name of the one and only God. Economic war, tariffs, duties, mine and yours. We live in a time of violence, violence of thought, violence...

Dec 8, 2024, 4:52 PM

Assad’s collapses adds turmoil in the Indo-Mediterranean

The Baathist regime in Syria has collapsed, leaving another nation in the cradle of civilizations along the Indo-Mediterranean facing an uncertain future. The civil war, ignited during the "Arab Spring" under Obama's presidency, has ended—not primarily due to US...

Nov 26, 2024, 10:30 AM

26/11 Mumbai: The nightmare continues after 16 years

Recently a friend and I, both born and bred in Bombay (or Mumbai as its now called), were reminiscing about old times and old friends. I was reliving a certain episode in my life and the name Vijay Salaskar...

Oct 12, 2024, 11:24 PM

Israel’s war through the lens of dharma

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dushasana#/media/File:Draupadi_s_presented_to_a_pachisi_game.jpg

On the 7th of October last year, I landed up at the Jewish quarter (called the ghetto) in Rome, quiet coincidentally, in a coffee shop for breakfast at around 1030 am. I had just finished an important event at...

Aug 6, 2024, 9:12 PM

Qassim Soleimani Force: Iran launches its foreign legion

A Yemeni drone specialist killed in a US airstrike near Baghdad last week, according to American and Iraqi defense officials as reported by the Washington Post. This incident underscores the extensive cooperation among militant groups supported by Tehran. The...

About Me

Vas is a political researcher, consultant and entrepreneur who has worked in Europe, Middle East and Africa for two decades. He is the founder of the Indo-Mediterranean Initiative (cnky.in).

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