There are mounting signals that Donald Trump’s much-delayed Middle East peace plan – billed as the “deal of the century” – is about to be unveiled. Even though Trump’s officials have given away nothing publicly, the plan’s contours are already evident, according to analysts. They note that Israel has already started implementing the deal –…
It started as an oil shock. After all, Russia and Saudi Arabia are on the verge of deciding what happens next, price-wise, in global energy markets. Yet, way beyond Russia thrashing a pathetic Saudi Arabian team 5-0, the iconic takeaway in the Cup opener was Vladimir Putin’s body language toward his guest, Mohammad bin Salman,…
President Donald Trump appears to belong to what might be called the Benjamin Disraeli school of diplomacy. The British prime minister once counseled, “Everyone likes flattery; and when you come to Royalty you should lay it on with a trowel.” At his Singapore summit, Trump smartly saluted a North Korean general and then lavished praise…
At the beginning of June, Jordan was shaken by a week of peaceful demonstrations against a project for a fiscal law which planned for a rise in taxes of between 5 % and 25 % for all persons with an annual salary of more than 8,000 dinars ($11,245). The demonstrators, whose quality of life had…
It’s important for bullies to always win. Because once their weakness is exposed they can no longer be bullies. Empires don’t start out as bullies. They start out as the reaction to the last Empire which became a bully after embracing hubris over humility. Empires have to resort to bullying near the end because they…
President Donald Trump appeared to blindside everyone this week when he announced he was cancelling “war games” on the Korean Peninsula as a gesture of peaceful intent towards North Korea. If Trump stands by that commitment then it will be key to a successful resolution of the decades-old conflict, with the specific result of North…
