June 22, 2017 – Astute News

June 22, 2017

Fear and loathing on the Afghan Silk Road

Will the New Silk Roads, a.k.a. Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) ever manage to cross the Hindu Kush? Temerity is the name of the game. Even though strategically located astride the Ancient Silk Road, and virtually contiguous to the US$50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) – a key BRI node – Afghanistan is still mired in war. It’s easy to...

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June 22, 2017

The Saudi Shake-Up is Good News for Russia and China

Newly appointed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been the chief point of contact for Russia and China for important military, energy, and economic investment dealings with the Kingdom. Royal Intrigue Let’s get everything out of the way before we begin – Mohammed bin Salman is reviled by many abroad, and especially in the Middle East, for his disastrous War on Yemen and unbridled bullying of Qatar....

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June 22, 2017

The US Escalation in Syria and the Threat of World War

In the wake of Sunday’s US shoot-down of a Syrian fighter plane and the following day’s warning from Russia that it will treat all American warplanes flying west of the Euphrates River as targets for its surface-to-air missiles, the threat of an armed confrontation between the world’s two largest nuclear powers is now greater than at any time since the...

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June 22, 2017

Ever Closer to War

The Science and Security Board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has warned that the likelihood of a catastrophic nuclear war is closer than since 1953. As explained by the Bulletin, in 1947 it devised the Doomsday Clock «using the imagery of apocalypse (midnight) and the contemporary idiom of nuclear explosion (countdown to zero) to convey threats to humanity and the planet». Each...

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June 22, 2017

Iran’s Missile Strike Adds to Syrian Crisis

On June 19, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard announced that it had fired several missiles at ISIS positions in the Deir Az Zor province in Syria. The reason given for this unprecedented military strike was retaliation for double terrorist attacks which struck Tehran two weeks ago. Readers should not underestimate the significance of this event. According to a statement issued by the news agency for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard...

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June 22, 2017

If the U.S. Continues to Creep Toward World War 3, Eventually it is Going to Happen

After a bit of a lull for the past couple of months, the march toward war appears to be accelerating once again. On Monday the U.S. military shot down yet another Syrian aircraft, and it appears that President Trump’s patience with North Korea’s nuclear program may have run out. Unlike our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the situations in Syria...

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June 22, 2017

Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s Prince of Chaos

The final act of the palace coup I have been writing about since King Salman took over has just been completed. Everyone was waiting for a coup against Qatar. In fact, the coup was within the kingdom itself. It took place in the middle of the night after fajr, the Muslim prayer that heralds the dawn of a new day, and...

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June 22, 2017

Rabbi Calls for Poisoning of Palestinian Water Supply

The foreign ministry of the Palestinian Authority (PA), Sunday, demanded the arrest of a Jewish Rabbi, who called on Israeli settlers to poison water used by Palestinians in hundreds of towns and villages across the occupied West Bank. The Palestinian national office for the defense of land and resistance of settlements warned of the dangers and consequences of such calls....

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Daily Archive: June 22, 2017

Fear and loathing on the Afghan Silk Road

The Saudi Shake-Up is Good News for Russia and China

The US Escalation in Syria and the Threat of World War

Ever Closer to War

Iran’s Missile Strike Adds to Syrian Crisis

If the U.S. Continues to Creep Toward World War 3, Eventually it is Going to Happen

Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s Prince of Chaos

Rabbi Calls for Poisoning of Palestinian Water Supply