US Foreign Policy

(RFE/RL) – Tens of thousands of diabetics in Iran are said to be facing shortages of insulin, with many such patients and their loved ones complaining that the problem could have life-threatening consequences. Some Iranians have taken to social media to protest the scarcity of insulin pens and highlight their plight or that of loved […]

Democracy

Sudan’s Revolutionaries insist Israel Deal must be ratified by Future Parliament, as Trump’s Strong-Arm Tactics threaten its Democracy

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Donald Trump held a press conference in the Oval Office with Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu on speaker phone in which he breathlessly announced that Sudan had agreed to normalize relations with Israel, following on Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates earlier this year. Egypt and Jordan had signed peace […]

China

For 30 Years, US global Clout has been Unopposed: With Rise of Chinese Superpower, that is about to Change

Ramzy Baroud

( Middle East Monitor ) – The outdated notion that China ‘just wants to do business’ should be completely erased from our understanding of the rising global power’s political outlook. Simply put, Beijing has long realized that, in order for it to sustain its economic growth unhindered, it has to develop the necessary tools to […]

China

Has Russian media turned on its golden boy Trump, joining with China and Iran?

The Conversation

By Robert Hinck, Robert Utterback and Skye Cooley | – It can be easy to overlook how the rest of the world is making sense of America’s chaotic campaign season. But in many cases, they’re paying attention just as closely as U.S. voters are. After all, who wins the U.S. presidency has implications for countries […]

China

China grows nearly 5%; Will historians look back at Trump’s disastrous Pandemic Response as the Moment Beijing Overtook the US?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Even if Trump loses, he can go on screwing up the country for two and a half months thereafter, and it will take years to undo the damage he has done. Pandemics are the sort of thing you want to nip in the bud. If you let them go to […]

Donald Trump

Can America escape the cave of Trump’s Quirky Isolationism?

Andrew J. Bacevich

( Tomdispatch.com ) – The so-called Age of Trump is also an age of instantly forgotten bestselling books, especially ones purporting to provide the inside scoop on what goes on within Donald Trump’s haphazard and continuously shifting orbit. With metronomic regularity, such gossipy volumes appear, make a splash, and almost as quickly vanish, leaving a […]

Donald Trump

America is Complicit, as Yemen Spirals toward Mass Starvation

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Mark Lowcock of the United Nations gave an impassioned and apocalyptic speech on Thursday warning that 4 million Yemenis who had been receiving aid no longer are, because of a shortfall in donor contributions, and the country could be on the cusp of mass starvation. There already is widespread malnutrition […]

Donald Trump

Talking Tough and Carrying a Radioactive Stick: The Nuclearization of American Diplomacy

Michael T. Klare

( Tomdispatch.com ) – On August 21st, six nuclear-capable B-52H Stratofortress bombers, representing approximately one-seventh of the war-ready U.S. B-52H bomber fleet, flew from their home base in North Dakota to Fairford Air Base in England for several weeks of intensive operations over Europe. Although the actual weapons load of those giant bombers was kept […]

Donald Trump

When America Sneezes, does the whole World catch Cold? Foes and Allies eye a Sick White House

The Conversation

By Monti Datta | – America’s national security officials are on alert and global markets shook – at least briefly – following the announcement that President Donald Trump tested positive for the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. As someone who studies the U.S.‘s image, I am curious about the geopolitical implications of the leader of the […]