The statements made by the Russian and Pakistani Defense Ministers after their interaction at this year’s Moscow Conference on International Security show that the military relations between the two Great Powers are on the right track and moving them closer to clinching a long-awaited strategic partnership. Russia and Pakistan have been engaged in a fast-moving …
Continue reading Russia-Pakistan Military Relations Are on the Path to a Strategic Partnership
As presidents Vladimir Putin, Hassan Rouhani and Recep Tayyip Erdogan met in Ankara for a second Russia-Iran-Turkey summit on the future of Syria, Moscow hosted its 7th International Security Conference attended by defense ministers from dozens of nations. A more graphic illustration of the synchronicity drive towards Eurasia integration would be hard to find. Crucially, …
Continue reading From Ankara to Moscow, Eurasia Integration Is on the Move
All battles and bombardments share their secrets one by one. Eastern Ghouta is no different. Why the sudden, savage bombardment of these Syrian towns and villages more than three weeks ago? Why the wasteland of homes and streets—and how did so many of the civilians survive along with hundreds of Islamist gunmen? You can do …
Continue reading Shelter From the Storm: the Tunnels of Eastern Ghouta
Is it war yet? Yes, in too many respects. It’s a relentless economic, diplomatic, and ideological war, spiced with (so far) just a dash of military war, and the strong scent of more to come. I mean war with Russia, of course, although Russia is the point target for a constellation of emerging adversaries the …
Continue reading The Warm War: Russiamania at the Boiling Point
I have been waiting to see how long the British Prime Minister, the British Foreign Secretary, and the British Defense Secretary could contine to lie through their teeth before it caught up with them. The liars got away with their lies longer than would have been possible if there was any longer any respect for …
Continue reading Lies Are Washington’s Chosen Path to Dominance
Beyond the general concerns regarding the nomination of John Bolton as National Security Advisor, there is also the specific issue of his impending access to the most highly classified intelligence information that the United States possesses. There are a number of reasons why Bolton should be denied a clearance, including his well-known record of abusing …
Continue reading What’s Wrong with Trump’ New National Security Advisor
Sometimes I get sick of saying it, but just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse… Donald Trump’s continual cabinet reshuffling -- otherwise the stuff of reality-TV drama -- has become genuinely frightening. Like so many Russian matryoshki or nesting dolls, the president has been removing one war hawk after another, only to reveal …
Continue reading The Dolls of Militarism – From War Hawks to Chickenhawks
There are worrying signs that the military is planning to return to power in Brazil, even if it does so indirectly through a presidential proxy. Brazil stands at an historic crossroads today when the Supreme Court rules whether former leftist-populist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, popularly known just as Lula, should begin his 12-year …
Every television newscast: staged reality. The news is all about manipulating the context of stories. The thinner the context, the thinner the mind must become to accept it. If you want to visualize this, imagine a rectangular solid. The news covers the top surface. Therefore, the viewer’s mind is trained to work in only two …
