Not since Ibn Batuta, travelled the Middle East in the 14th century has anyone set out with higher ambitions that Donald Trump. Batuta, a Moroccan Muslim traveller and scholar, had a few things in common with Trump. He reached what is now Saudi Arabia. He went to Jerusalem. He even had a keen eye for nubile ladies – there were …
Continue reading Donald of Arabia: Trump in the Middle East
So in the end the West was saved by the election of Emmanuel Macron as President of France: relief in Brussels, a buoyant eurozone, rallies in Asian markets. That was always a no-brainer. After all, Macron was endorsed by the EU, Goddess of the Market, and Barack Obama. And he was fully backed by the …
Continue reading Emmanuel Clinton and the Revolt of the Elites
The election of South Korean President Moon Jae-in presents a historic opportunity for the country to earn its rightful place in the Multipolar Century. South Korea is widely applauded for being one of the Four Asian Tigers which drove regional economic growth for decades during the Old Cold War, but despite its impressive prosperity, the country has lived under the US' …
The de-escalation agreement for four fighting zones in Syria has come into effect. The battles between Syrian government forces (red) and the foreign supported "rebels" (yellow) has ebbed in the north, in Idleb and north Hama, in the south round Deraa, around the besieged "rebel" enclaves north of Homs and east of Damascus in east-Ghouta. …
Continue reading Syria: The New Government Plans for Moving East
Three South American countries are preparing to hold a large military drill near Venezuela later this year. The involvement of the U.S. military in the drill has raised concerns about the U.S.’ true intentions in the area, as it has already worked to covertly destabilize Venezuela’s economy. The involvement of the U.S. military in an …
Continue reading Tensions Rise as US Announces Military Drills Near Embattled Venezuela
Steve Bannon is going to war. His target is national security adviser H. R. McMaster who was lanced yesterday in a piece by Bloomberg’s Eli Lake. Lake explained that Trump is disgruntled with McMaster, even yelling at him for undermining him. He further explained that the Bannon faction in the White House believes that McMaster …
April 2017 was another month of mass slaughter and unimaginable terror for the people of Mosul in Iraq and the areas around Raqqa and Tabqa in Syria, as the heaviest, most sustained U.S.-led bombing campaign since the American War in Vietnam entered its 33rd month. The Airwars monitoring group has compiled reports of 1,280 to …
Senior Trump administration and military officials are recommending sending several thousand additional American troops to Afghanistan to try to break a military deadlock in the 15-year war there, in part by pressuring the Taliban to negotiate with the Afghan government. The added troops would allow American advisers to work with a greater number of Afghan …
Continue reading Trump Advisers Call for More Troops to Break Afghan Deadlock
Palestinian refugee camps are up in flames, across the country, a result of the disputes between the rival factions, but also of ‘unsavory’ influences from abroad. As everyone knows here, there are, for instance, the Al Qaida-affiliated militants hiding in the South. There are Israeli incursions into Lebanon, both by land and by water. There …
