Month: August 2017

China Warns Tensions on Korean Peninsula at ‘Tipping Point’ After Pyongyang Missile Launch

August 31, 2017 Diplomacy

China has warned that the situation on the Korean Peninsula has reached “tipping point,” just hours after Pyongyang launched a ballistic missile. Meanwhile, North Korea has accused the US of driving t…

There’s a Simple Reason Why Iran Isn’t in BRICS – Saudi Arabia

August 31, 2017 Opinion

Many multipolar proponents have been hoping that Iran would be invited to a BRICS Summit one of these years, but that likely won’t happen anytime soon so long as the Eurasian BRICS Triangle of Russia,…

Donald Trump Crosses China’s Red Line in Afghanistan Just as Obama Crossed Russia’s in Syria and Ukraine

August 31, 2017 Opinion

In discussions about the ‘roles’ countries play in the new multipolar world, it is often said that Russia provides the geo-political muscle while China provides the economic engine of a world where th…

Iran, Again – Will Israel Start a New War?

August 31, 2017 Opinion

When politicians are feeling the heat, they start a war and their popularity goes up even if the war is unnecessary or completely ridiculous. Donald Trump, the presidential candidate who promised that…

The Same Ol’ Afghan War Fallacies

August 31, 2017 Opinion

President Trump’s statement on Afghanistan has numerous shortcomings. It portrays as a “new strategy” what is instead a familiar kicking of a can down the road. It combines Trump’s habit of heaping bl…

Are Armenia, India, and Serbia “Balancing” Against Russia or “Betraying” It?

August 31, 2017 Opinion

All three countries are diversifying their long-standing relations with Russia, but their preexisting institutional memberships are the determining factor in whether this is just geopolitical “balanci…

Rohingya: Horrors Multiply as Tragedy Worsens

August 31, 2017 Opinion

Arson, killings and rape have become operative challenges for Myanmar’s Muslim Rohingya population as they face wave after wave of an orchestrated campaign of ethnic cleansing. Reviled as illegal migr…

US Troops in Syria Battle Anti-Assad Rebels Once Funded by the CIA

August 31, 2017 Military

American troops deployed in Syria have exchanged fire with rebels that were until recently supported by the United States Central Intelligence Agency. In 2013, soon after the outbreak of the Syrian Ci…