Two summits – the cross-border handshake that shook the world between Kim and Moon in Panmunjom and Xi and Modi’s cordial walk by the lake in Wuhan – may have provided the impression Eurasia integration is entering a smoother path. Not really. It’s all back to confrontation: predictably the actual, working Iran nuclear deal, known …
Continue reading Eurasia Torn Between War and Peace
The hidden battle in Syria – the one that rarely appears on our television screens – has been raging for years between Israel and a coalition comprising the Syrian government, Iran and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah. Watching over the proceedings without directly intervening has been Russia, although that might be about to change. The prize …
Continue reading The Real War for Syria is Taking Place in Its Skies
John Mauldin gives us a highly pertinent anecdote about China: “Back in the 1990s, Robert Rubin, a Secretary of the Treasury under Bill Clinton, was negotiating the terms under which China would be allowed into the World Trade Organization. My sources say he was basically asking for many of the exact same things Trump wants now … …
Continue reading The Biggest Player in the History of the World
As I wrote two weeks ago, the Syrian crisis is only in its beginning stages. The assault on Syrian military positions last night, apparently a US/Israeli operation, is evidence that the crisis continues to develop. There are four mutually reinforcing causes of the crisis: (1) Israel’s ability to use the US government to eliminate foes …
Pro-government sources accused Israel of conducting the attacks, its warplanes likely operating from Lebanese airspace. It’s unclear if any of its missiles were intercepted and destroyed. Clearly at least some struck intended targets. No casualty count was officially reported. An unconfirmed report indicated surface-to-surface missiles were fired from Jordan. If so, Washington, Britain or Israel …
Continue reading Aggression on Syrian Sites Prelude to Something More Serious?
The purpose of all wars, is peace. So observed St. Augustine early in the first millennium A.D. Far be it from me to disagree with the esteemed Bishop of Hippo, but his crisply formulated aphorism just might require a bit of updating. I’m not a saint or even a bishop, merely an interested observer of …
A month ago, we left open the possibility of a political breakthrough on the Korean Peninsula, but the progress rates of the new game developing here exceed the wildest expectations. During the whole previous year, the major opponents on the Korean Peninsula were comparing their nuclear missiles, while the possibility of a large-scale military conflict …
Continue reading New Stage of Political Game on the Korean Peninsula
The analysis of the recent exchanges between French President Emmanuel Macron and President Donald Trump suggest that Washington is most likely about to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear agreement with Iran that was signed by the U.S. and five other governments in July 2015. The decision will likely be made …
At least 30 people were killed after several days of rampant violence all across Nicaragua after rioters went wild in what they claimed was a “peaceful democratic protest” against the state’s plans to reform the bankrupt social security system. The government was in fact proposing a slight increase in contributions to its national fund, but …
Continue reading The Nicaraguan Nightmare Might Have Only Just Begun
