(Foreign Policy in Focus) – Saudi Arabia’s apparent assassination of Jamal Khashoggi might have taken inspiration from Russia and North Korea — or Israel and the United States. Russia, North Korea, and Saudi Arabia are the latest members of a select international club. Assassins Without Borders has roots that go back, in the modern era […]
Archives for October 2018
Germany halts arms Sales to Riyadh, as Investors sell $1 bn in Saudi Stocks
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday that Germany would put arms sales to Saudi Arabia on hold in light of the murder in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi. She said that they “could not take place in our current circumstances.” Meanwhile, foreign investors sold […]
Turkey Vows to Reveal ‘Naked Truth’ over Khashoggi Death
by Fulya Ozerkan with Brian Knowlton in Washington and Joe Jackson in London | – Istanbul (AFP) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday vowed to reveal within days the “naked truth” over the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as Riyadh said it did not know the whereabouts of his body and that Crown […]
Under Public Pressure to Cancel Peace Treaty with Israel, Jordan ends Annexes
AMMAN (Ma’an) — Jordanian King Abdullah II informed Israel, on Sunday, that he will not renew two annexes of the 1994 peace treaty between Israel and Jordan concerning territory leased to Israel. The territories in question are al-Baqura and al-Ghamr, which are also known as Naharyaim and Zofar in the Hebrew language. King Abdullah II […]
Afghanistan: America’s Longest Forgotten War Turns a grim 17
(Tomdispatch.com) | – We’re already two years past the crystal anniversary and eight years short of the silver one, or at least we would be, had it been a wedding — and, after a fashion, perhaps it was. On October 7, 2001, George W. Bush launched the invasion — “liberation” was the word often used […]
Israel advances Bill Tying Cultural Funding to ‘Loyalty’
Jerusalem (AFP) – A ministerial committee in Israel’s parliament voted Sunday to advance a bill that would cut subsidies to cultural organisations accused of not showing “loyalty” to the state, the culture minister said. The proposed legislation, denounced by artists and freedom of speech activists, was proposed by Culture Minister Miri Regev. The text of […]
Socialism is Healthy: US Barracuda Capitalism is Literally Killing us
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The US has fallen off a cliff on global health statistics, plummeting an unprecedented 21 places in the world index. Moreover, the US is expected to fall even further behind over the next 20 years. Mellan Solly at The Smithsonian Magazine analyzed the numbers in a just-published Lancet article While […]
Is Putin using Syria Conflict to detach Turkey from NATO?
By Mustafa Demi | – Turkey, Russia and Iran have actively involved themselves in the Syrian conflict, each with their own divergent interests. Moscow and Tehran have put their support behind the regime of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, hoping it retains its influence over the strategic Syrian region. Meanwhile, since the very beginning of […]
World Outraged, Incredulous at Saudi Account of Khashoggi’s Murder
Turkish officials have accused Riyadh of carrying out a state-sponsored killing and dismembering the body