A profound shift in geopolitical alliances is occurring which tends to undermine US hegemony in the broader Middle East Central Asian region as well as in South Asia. Several of America’s staunchest allies have “changed sides”. Both NATO and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are in crisis. Turkey and NATO NATO is characterized by profound divisions, …
Continue reading Middle East and Asia Geopolitics: Shift in Military Alliances?
This Saturday marks the end of the second year of Russia’s military operation in Syria. It’s seen some setbacks, a few major victories, the potential to end the bloody conflict and the risk of rapid descent into a conflict between Russia and the US. Russia’s campaign in Syria was officially launched on September 30, 2015, …
It’s no secret that the latest success achieved by Syrian troops near Deir ez-Zor, where they have managed to break the blockade of the city and liberate the better part of its outskirts from the so-called “Islamic State” (ISIS), may turn out to be a temporary success. The situation on the ground remains difficult due …
Continue reading It Seems that ISIS has No Intention of Surrendering Deir ez-Zor
For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in diverse places. – Matthew 24:7 Certainly there’s never been a time when nation hasn’t risen against nation. Likewise, earthquakes, such as the one that this month killed some 300 people in Mexico, are hardly a rarity. …
Plainly, Syria’s success – notwithstanding the caution of President Bashar al-Assad in saying that signs of success are not success itself – in resisting, against the odds, all attempts to fell the state suggest that a tipping point in the geopolitics of the region has occurred. We have written before how the Syria outcome dwarfs …
With Spain facing an insurmountable economic crisis and Europe failing, Catalonia would be better off on its own On Oct. 1 the citizens of Spain’s northeastern province of Catalonia will vote in a referendum for national independence, despite arm-twisting by the Spanish government and stern warnings by world leaders – including Donald Trump, who last …
Continue reading Independence for Catalonia is the Rational Course of Action
What is Donald Trump’s policy towards Israel and the Palestinians? No one from within the president’s administration seems able to say. During an interview with an Israeli news site, David Friedman, Trump’s ambassador in Tel Aviv, advanced views contradicting decades of US policy, as well as the professed positions of the administration. The State Department’s …
Whether Iraqi Kurdistan’s independence vote leads to statehood remains to be seen, but the referendum has led to other impressive things. Ankara today stands together with Tehran and Baghdad — the same neighbors it was slamming for “Persian expansionism” and sectarian policies yesterday. The trilateral front, driven by a shared fear of partition, is hailed …
Continue reading Turkey, Iran, Iraq in Shaky Alignment Against Iraqi Kurdistan
To many mainstream pundits, the solution to the crisis in Korea is for U.S. officials to sit down and “talk” to North Korea in the hopes of negotiating a mutually beneficial agreement. While it won’t guarantee that a deal will be worked out, they say, “talking” is the only chance there is to resolve the …
Continue reading North Korea Would Be Stupid to Trust the U.S.
