After Key China-Russia-Iran-Pakistan Meeting, Moscow Official Says Taliban Control 50% of Afghanistan

After Key China-Russia-Iran-Pakistan Meeting, Moscow Official Says Taliban Control 50% of Afghanistan

Mapping the Taliban  Last week saw a historic meeting in Islamabad between the intelligence chiefs of China, Russia, Pakistan and Iran. While the details of the meeting were not disclosed beyond statements implying that counter-terrorism was a dominating theme, it is a safe assumption that the war in Afghanistan was a major topic of discussion….

Putin-Trump Meeting in Helsinki: Objectives Bigger Than Syria and the Middle East

Putin-Trump Meeting in Helsinki: Objectives Bigger Than Syria and the Middle East

Both Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump are meeting today Monday in Helsinki, Finland to discuss issues much more important than events in the Middle East. Despite its own importance, the situation in Syria is not as urgent as clarifying US intentions towards Russia and the potential will of both parties to develop the commercial-security-military…

Two Big ‘Russia! Russia!’ Stories Released Days Before Trump-Putin Summit

Two Big ‘Russia! Russia!’ Stories Released Days Before Trump-Putin Summit

I have said it before, and I will say it again, and I will keep saying it and saying it until it becomes mainstream conventional wisdom: it is the US intelligence community’s job to lie to you. In an article for The Nation dated July 11, the internationally renowned US-Russia relations expert Stephen F. Cohen warned of possible attempts…

Trump Turns to Gaza as Middle East Deal of the Century Collapses

Trump Turns to Gaza as Middle East Deal of the Century Collapses

The Trump administration’s “Deal of the Century” for the Palestine-Israel has, predictably, gone over like a lead balloon. So it’s shifting gears. The Washington Post reports, “With President Trump’s promised Middle East peace plan stalled, administration officials are focusing on improving conditions in the impoverished Gaza Strip — a move that could put political pressure on Palestinian…