All Aboard the Post-TPP World

All Aboard the Post-TPP World

A half-hearted near handshake between US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin before and after they spoke «for about four minutes», standing up, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima, Peru, captured to perfection the melancholic dwindling of the Obama era. A whirlwind flashback of the fractious relationship between…

Stronghold Al-Bab: Whoever Controls Northern Syria Influences the Entire Middle East

Stronghold Al-Bab: Whoever Controls Northern Syria Influences the Entire Middle East

The city of Al-Bab is located in the northern part of the Aleppo Province (about 36km northeast of Aleppo,  about 26km south of border with Turkey), and remains under ISIS control. Its strategic importance increased after Kurdish and SDF forces took Manbij which had served as an important ISIS logistical node for 2.5 years, helping transfer…

Will There Be a ‘Meeting on the Elbe River’ on the Euphrates?

Will There Be a ‘Meeting on the Elbe River’ on the Euphrates?

During his election campaign, Donald Trump repeatedly said that he considers the fight against the Islamic State (IS) to be America’s biggest challenge in the Middle East, not the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in Syria. He made it clear that he was willing to cooperate with Russia to meet this challenge. At the same time,…

US Regime Change in Malaysia: Bersih 5

US Regime Change in Malaysia: Bersih 5

Malaysia finds itself weathering yet another foreign-backed color revolution, with the color of choice being the “yellow shirts” of Bersih supporters. Bersih was created by the United States government and the political alliance of convicted and currently jailed Malaysian politician Anwar Ibrahim. The front organized its first rally in 2007, and has since then organized…

There is No James Bond

There is No James Bond

Modern agents drink more and more often fail. Not one of the 16 intelligence agencies of the USA was able to predict the English exit from the European Union. To recap, the intelligence services of the US Armed Forces are the National Security Agency (NSA), the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the Army Intelligence and Security…