Outside of the Balkans, Macedonia is a country rarely on the radar. Yet, this month, its two million people are at the center of an illusory tug-of-war. As September destinations go, it has plenty of appeal. Daytime temperatures are between 27 and 30 degrees Celsius (80-86 Fahrenheit), nights are balmy and there's plenty of sunshine. …
Continue reading Western Leaders Descend on Macedonian ‘Battleground’ as Moscow Pulls Its Punches
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres this week decried a Russian-backed Syrian offensive to retake militant-held Idlib province. But the fact is, terrorist groups need to be eradicated, and the NATO powers are backing them. The UN secretary general urged a redoubling of the Astana talks process initiated by Russia, Iran, and Turkey to end conflict …
The military-political landscape in Europe and the Mediterranean is changing. NATO is not as unified as it once was, and Turkey’s membership has become more of a formality than a real thing. A pro-US group consisting of Great Britain, Poland, and the Baltic States has emerged as part of a North Atlantic Alliance that is …
With the United States, Britain and France all reportedly making preparations to launch a major offensive against Syria, and threatening use of force on a scale far larger than that of the attack carried out in April 2018, Russia has notably responded by moving naval assets to the Mediterranean and deploying its warships in defensive positions …
At the Tehran summit on Friday, Iran’s Hassan Rouhani and Russia’s Vladimir Putin expressed tactical differences with Turkey’s President Erdogan, on how to proceed with the military offensive for the Syrian army to retake the northwest province of Idlib from terrorist groups. Rouhani and Putin want a determined push to eliminate the last bastion of anti-government militants, …
The ethnic demarcation that is promoted by Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic, between Serbs and Albanians is just another name for the creation of Greater Albania. Vucic statements and spinnings of the necessity for the “demarcation” between Serbia and Kosovo caused shock among Serbs. Most of his political life, Vucic advocated for a Greater Serbia, but …
Continue reading The Complicated and Dangerous Geopolitics of Kosovo
Libya remains a lawless land, with rival militias fighting battles in the streets of Tripoli and over 1 million people in need of aid. But the West's 'liberal interventionists' aren't interested in the catastrophe they created. "Hundreds escape prison amid deadly clashes in Tripoli," a headline on the BBC News website declared this week. Over …
Continue reading Libya in Chaos Seven Years After NATO’s ‘Liberation’, But Who Cares?
The United States and Turkey, as of the second week of August 2018, are ready to break off diplomatic relations as a result of broad US sanctions on Turkey. However, not only is Turkey a full NATO member, an organization whose charter legally prohibits President Trump’s actions under its “mutual assistance” tenets, but Turkey also …
Donald Trump is on a mission. His goal? Destroy the post-WWII institutional order that has outlived its usefulness. And there have been a number of major moves that fundamentally tear at the fabric of that order. In a span of a day we’ve had the following things occur in quick succession. French President Emmanuel Macron …
