It’s Africa’s Choice: AFRICOM or the New Silk Roads

September 5, 2018

The dogs of war – cold, hot, trade, tariffs – bark while the Chinese caravan plies the New Silk Roads. Call it a leitmotif of the young 21st century. At the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) i…

US or Russia? The Mystery Airstrikes Against Tajikistan

September 5, 2018

Opinion

Russia, the United States and Tajikistan have all denied that they were behind a series of mystery airstrikes that took place along the Tajik-Afghan border on Sunday, while the identity of the targets…

Will the Battle of Idlib Start while Russian Task Force Is in the Mediterranean?

September 5, 2018

Opinion

Russia has amassed large naval and air forces in the Mediterranean opposite the Syrian coast under the command of the Russian Navy commander Admiral Vladimir Korolev. 25 warships and 30 aircraft are i…

Will Friday’s Tabriz Tripartite Summit Resolve the Idlib Imbroglio?

September 5, 2018

Opinion

The next Tripartite Summit between Russia, Turkey, and Iran is scheduled to take place in Tabriz this Friday. The three countries’ presidents will gather in the Mideast city to discuss the most import…

US Push for Sanctions of China Over Treatment of Uyghur Minority

September 5, 2018

Opinion

As the Trump administration escalates its trade war measures with China, a powerful group of US lawmakers headed by Senator Marco Rubio issued a letter last week calling for sanctions against Chinese …

Has Trump’s Attack on the Turkish Lira Unlocked a Syria Deal?

September 5, 2018

Opinion

“He does things the right way,” US President Donald Trump said of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last month. It shouldn't have been a surprise; the two men have much in common, as nationalist,…

Lebanon’s Precarious Neutrality

September 5, 2018

Opinion

Facing possible invasion from both Britain and Germany in 1940 and determined to remain neutral, the Irish government in Dublin asked one of its senior ministers to draft a memorandum on how to stay o…

Israel’s Fifth Column: Exercising Control from Inside the Government

September 5, 2018

Opinion

Referring to Israel during an interview in August 1983, U.S. Navy Admiral and former head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Thomas Moorer said “I’ve never seen a President — I don’t care who he is — stand …