October 9, 2019 | Astute News

The US-Brokered Taliban-Indian Prisoner Swap Is a Pretty Big Deal

October 9, 2019

The US-brokered Taliban-Indian prisoner swap might lead to the resumption of the Afghan peace process but the deal also carries with it somewhat uncomfortable optics for Pakistan since it was likely a…

Are These the Five Tweets That Change the World?

October 9, 2019

Opinion

Over the weekend I asked whether Donald Trump had risen to the level of Grey Champion. A few days later Trump takes to Twitter and puts a big line item in his resume. There have been signs of change c…

Between Washington’s Rock & Ankara’s Hard Place, Kurds had Better Choose Damascus

October 9, 2019

Opinion

Being half an Irishman myself I feel entitled to refer to the probably apocryphal answer given by an Irishman asked by a lost, weary, traveler for directions to Dublin. “Oh, well now, I wouldn't have …

Turkey’s Syria Move Aims to Solve Several Problems But Could Create New Ones

October 9, 2019

Opinion

President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw US military personnel from Syria's border with Turkey effectively opens a new chapter in the conflict, leaving Turkey on its own in the so-…

Trump Orders Troop Withdrawal in Syria

October 9, 2019

Opinion

The US president Donald Trump is not known to practise judo. A few judo techniques he may have got to know from his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, who is a Black Belt. But what Trump has just don…

Washington Prefers Confrontation With Russia to Dialogue and Cooperation

October 9, 2019

Opinion

On September 24, while the Ukraine corruption scandal was gathering momentum in Washington, the US Air Force’s 31 Fighter Wing deployed F-16 strike aircraft to Graf Ignatievo Air Base in Bulgaria as p…

Is Trump At Last Ending Our ‘Endless Wars’?

October 9, 2019

Opinion

The backstage struggle between the Bush interventionists and the America-firsters who first backed Donald Trump for president just exploded into open warfare, which could sunder the Republican Party. …

High Crimes and Misdemeanors of the Fading American Century

October 9, 2019

Opinion

There is blood in the water and frenzied sharks are closing in for the kill. Or so they think. From the time of Donald Trump’s election, American elites have hungered for this moment. At long last, th…