Have “MbS” and “MbZ” overreached themselves? It is still early in the Saudi-led blockade of Qatar, but yes, it seems so. And in so doing, the hubris of Mohammad bin Salman (MbS), the Saudi defense minister and the powerful son of Saudi King Salman, and Mohammed bin Zayed (MbZ), the crown prince of Abu Dhabi and …
Continue reading Trump’s Blunders Fuel Mideast Conflicts
The diplomatic spate, engulfing the Gulf States, have left wide open cracks in the otherwise all-Sunni house, led by Saudi Arabia. It appears that the Islamic Military Alliance (IMA) has set Qatar for itself as the first target, and that it will not stop short of bringing a regime change in Qatar in order for …
Continue reading Gulf Crisis Leaves Open Big Cracks in Saudia’s Islamic Military Alliance
A major move to cut off the US in southern Syria from taking more territory The Syrian Army has reached the Iraqi border, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense. While we don't have a lot of details yet, here's what we can say: this is a brilliant move if true. Not exactly a checkmate …
Continue reading Syrian Army has Reached the Iraqi Border, Cutting off the Americans at al-Tanf
Somewhere over the Atlantic, I’ve always suspected, there’s a giant glass curtain through which Americans view the Middle East – through a glass darkly, perhaps – and which utterly distorts their vision. Even when they arrive in the region to chat to their “moderate” friends, the Sunni Muslim head-choppers, dictators and torturers who are now enlisting a mad …
Can American 'assistance' ever be fully trusted? The Philippine military has confirmed that the United States has started to offer limited support to President Rodrigo Duterte’s battle with ISIS. Duterte had said that the US is unreliable as an ally insofar as they impose ideological conditions as a prerequisite for any kind of assistance. Duterte …
Continue reading US Enters Fight Against ISIS in Philippines
While the cowardly Trump Administration and its Generals pathetically try to parade their manliness to a puzzled world by lobbing giga-bombs and cruise missiles around the world from Syria to Yemen to Somalia to Afghaistan, China and her Eurasian neighbors, notably the Russian Federation, and the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union, are building up …
Continue reading Kunming and the New Burma Road: Building Up not Bombing Down
Jump into your time machine and let me transport you back to another age. It’s May 2001 and the Atlantic Monthly has just arrived in the mail. I’m tantalized by the cover article. “Russia is finished,” the magazine announces. The subtitle minces no words: “The unstoppable descent into social catastrophe and strategic irrelevance.” Could it …
Continue reading America’s Real Red Scare: The Slow-Motion Collapse of the American Empire
There are times when one can only nod in admiration the ability of Israel and its small but influential set of supporters around the world to implant wholly deceptive and self-serving narratives at the highest levels of the western media system. Two nights ago, while crawling along the darkened byways of the Hudson Valley, I …
Continue reading The Relentless Pulse of Pro-Israel Propaganda in Our Lives
A fast is a voluntary practice in which people go for extended or structured periods without eating and drinking for spiritual, medical, or weight loss reasons. Others fast to protest or raise awareness for causes. Fasts vary widely depending on the type you’re following. Some fasts allow water, tea, coffee, or other fluids during the …
Continue reading What Is Fasting? A Guide to the Different Types of Fasts
