Scenario Forecasting: What Could a Russian Intervention in Nagorno-Karabakh Look Like?

Scenario Forecasting: What Could a Russian Intervention in Nagorno-Karabakh Look Like?

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov’s suggestion to deploy Russian peacekeepers and military observers into the universally recognized Azerbaijani territory of Nagorno-Karabakh and its seven surrounding districts under Armenian occupation pending both sides’ agreement raises the prospect of Moscow’s military intervention in this conflict, which is worthwhile examining since this scenario isn’t as far-fetched as some might…

The Battle for Jerusalem: Turkey’s Erdogan Stakes His Claim

The Battle for Jerusalem: Turkey’s Erdogan Stakes His Claim

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan didn’t mince his words at this month’s opening of parliament. In his first assertion of a claim to a lost non-Turkic part of the Ottoman empire, Mr. Erdogan declared that Jerusalem is Turkish. “In this city, which we had to leave in tears during the First World War, it is…

POTUS Punk vs. Dem Dementia

POTUS Punk vs. Dem Dementia

The whole planet is enthralled, appalled, shocked and awed by the spectacle of democracy as enacted under the shadow of messianic imperialism – complete with a slew of slimy, smoking gun October Surprises. We’re in total Frank Underwood territory. And as befits the ultimate “society of the simulacrum” pictured by Baudrillard back in the swingin’…

The UAE-Israeli Connection: Who Benefits from All This?

The UAE-Israeli Connection: Who Benefits from All This?

The normalization of relations between countries in the Arab world and Israel is an extraordinary event, and therefore signing the peace agreements with the UAE and Bahrain – in Washington under Donald Trump’s hawk-eyed gaze – caused a flurry of comments, analytical articles, reports, and just plain speculation. But there is something that all these…

Provocation on the High Seas: U.S. Naval Adventures Near the Shores of Russia, China and Iran

Provocation on the High Seas: U.S. Naval Adventures Near the Shores of Russia, China and Iran

The war on terror is slowly ending. The U.S. military will try to keep bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, but with most troops gone in the next few years, the lives of the few who remain will be at constant risk. Pressure will mount to get those soldiers out. But Pentagon bureaucrats and brass are…