Managing Minefields: Saudi/UAE Aid Puts Pakistan-Iran Relations on the Spot

January 13, 2019

Pakistan is traversing minefields as it concludes agreements on investment, balance of payments support and delayed payment oil deliveries with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates worth USD$13 b…

Making Sense of Trump’s Foreign Policy

January 13, 2019

Opinion

As was to be expected, the announcement that the US was withdrawing troops from Syria has served to provoke numerous reactions in the Middle East and beyond. Following the removal of Mattis, Pompey an…

Who’s Trying to Pull a “Russiagate” on Netanyahu?

January 13, 2019

Opinion

The narrative has suddenly sprung up that Russia is supposedly planning to meddle in “Israel’s” upcoming elections to support the incumbent, but this is nothing more than an attempt by the most pro-Am…

Turkic Chinese Soup: A Barometer of Anti-Chinese Sentiment

January 13, 2019

Opinion

A heavy soup made of pulled noodles, meat, and vegetables symbolizes Central Asia’s close cultural and/or ethnic ties with China’s repressed Turkic and Hui Muslims. It also explains growing Central As…

Libya: Another Year of Bloody Crisis Caused by Western Meddling

January 13, 2019

Opinion

2018 has been another rough year for Libya, which has seen no peace since its government was destroyed by NATO bombardment in 2011. June saw battles for control of the country’s "oil crescent" between…

The Coming of Hyperwar

January 13, 2019

Opinion

There could be no more consequential decision than launching atomic weapons and possibly triggering a nuclear holocaust. President John F. Kennedy faced just such a moment during the Cuban Missile Cri…

Confronting "Alternative Facts"

January 13, 2019

Opinion

In one of the Bible stories about the death of Jesus, local collaborators with the Roman Empire haul him before Pontius Pilate, the imperial governor of Palestine. Although the situation is dire for o…

How War Propaganda in the Film Industry Really Works

January 13, 2019

Opinion

As the co-authors of National Security Cinema, we have become known — rather inaccurately — for encouraging two major ideas: 1. That the government is really important in making movies more milit…