Summing up the recent events in the Middle East leads to the conclusion that the threat of a Saudi-Iranian war is looking increasingly credible as tensions rise in the Middle East. There are visible signs that the region is heading into an out and out conflict, waged simultaneously in different places and involving many actors. …
Continue reading Drums of Big War Heard in Middle East
The recent mass arrests in Saudi Arabia combined with the kidnapping of Lebanon’s prime minister, the escalation of the war against Yemen and Riyadh’s charge that both Iran and Lebanon have “declared war” against it point to an immense regional crisis that threatens to erupt into a wider conflict. After more than a quarter century …
Continue reading Saudi Crisis Threatens Wider War in the Middle East
The Saudis may be holding the Lebanese Prime Minister hostage but their apparent plan to topple the Beirut government has gloriously backfired. Far from breaking up the cabinet and throwing Hezbollah’s ministers to the wolves, the Lebanese nation has suddenly woken up to what it’s like to be united – against the Saudis. The Lebanese …
Continue reading How the Saudi Plot to Topple the Lebanese Government Backfired
After nine months of confusion, chaos, and cascading tweets, Donald Trump’s White House has finally made one thing crystal clear: the U.S. is staying in Afghanistan to fight and -- so they insist -- win. “The killers need to know they have nowhere to hide, that no place is beyond the reach of American might,” …
When Saad Hariri appeared on Saudi state-run Al Arabiya television last week to deliver his “resignation” as the Lebanese Prime Minister, many felt that Hariri, who is also a Saudi citizen was being forced to resign by the Saudi regime. Several obvious inconsistencies were present in the original “resignation” speech. First and most strangely, he …
The Silk Road, renamed the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), is developing infrastructure along land and sea trade routes. However, little is known about China’s initiative in the Arctic Circle, which represents a new route that Beijing is now able to develop thanks to technology together with the strategic partnership with Russia. Involving about 65 …
Continue reading The Arctic Silk Road: A Huge Leap Forward for China and Russia
Conflicting reports have sprung up about a supposedly violent riot in the Eritrean capital of Asmara that allegedly took place late last week. All that’s known for certain is that a crowd gathered to unsuccessfully protest the closing down of an Islamist school over the weekend that had long flouted the government’s orders to secularize …
Continue reading Asmara Anarchy: Regime Change Riots or Fake News Fabrication?
While the two profiles of mass murderers across the western world in recent years seem totally different from each other, they seem to share a common theme. While the “angry white men” and “ISIS inspired” “Lone Wolves” have different world views, backgrounds, and perspectives, it is in the psychological underpinnings driving of these killers where …
Continue reading Mass Shootings, Terrorism & “Western Values”
The EU has moved a step closer towards having a joint military force by signing an agreement on a permanent command structure. PESCO, or Permanent Structured Cooperation, was signed by 23 members of the 28-strong European Union on Monday. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini supported the move, hailing it as an “historic moment.” Backed …
Continue reading NATO Not Enough? EU Launches Own Military Alliance
