Southeast Syria is one of the Terrorist Group’s Last Enclaves
Archives for July 2018
Tripolarity: Are Trump, Putin & Xi Divvying up the World?
The pundits and politicians generally take it for granted that President Trump lacks a coherent foreign policy. They believe that he acts solely out of spite, caprice, and political opportunism — lashing out at U.S. allies like Germany’s Angela Merkel and England’s Theresa May only to embrace authoritarian rulers like Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North […]
How Trump has made Iran’s Rouhani a Hostage of the Hardliners
Washington has effectively shut the door on new negotiations
“Reject the Evidence of your Ears:” Trump, Orwell, & Cohen Bunny Tape
Trump’s success stems in large part from his hucksterism, from his disregard for facts and his ability to pull the wool over the eyes of his cultists. It also stems from a shrewd use of logical fallacies in argument. After the catastrophic Helsinki summit, the question was, ‘Is he Putin’s poodle?’ That is a good […]
Fearful of Prince Bin Salman, Wealthy Saudis seek to Invest Abroad
Wealthy Saudis are uneasy about investing their millions in the Kingdom due to the policies of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. The purge ordered by the de facto ruler last year and the jailing of political opponents has frightened the very sector which the 32-year-old needs to woe in his ambitious plan to wean Saudi […]
Top UN Court Rebukes United Arab Emirates over Treatment of Qataris
The Hague (AFP) – The UN’s top court Monday ordered the United Arab Emirates to protect the rights of Qatari citizens, wading into a bitter year-long crisis triggered when Gulf countries snapped ties with Doha. Judges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague narrowly ruled in a provisional but binding decision that […]
Qatar plans Expansion of US-Leased Al-Udeid Airbase to Battle Extremists
Doha (AFP) – The US and Qatar plan to expand Al-Udeid airbase, the biggest military facility used by Washington in the Gulf as it battles jihadists, Qatari state media said Tuesday. The two countries have also discussed making Al-Udeid a “permanent” base, the official QNA news agency said, as Doha seeks to bolster ties with […]
Unease as Imran Khan invokes Blasphemy in Pakistan Election
Islamabad (AFP) – Pakistan’s politicians, including PM hopeful Imran Khan, are mainstreaming extremism by invoking hardline issues like blasphemy to get votes, analysts say, warning the tactic could deepen sectarian fractures and potentially spill into violence. The warnings come as Pakistan confronts anger over a new wave of militant attacks which have killed 175 people […]
The True Flag: Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain, and the Birth of American Empire
Review of “The True Flag: Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain, and the Birth of American Empire” by Stephen Kinzer By the final decade of the 19th century, the American project sanctified as Manifest Destiny was complete. The western boundary of the United States now stretched to the Pacific Ocean, leaving in its wake the genocide of […]