Chinese President Xi Jinping with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Tehran, January 23, 2016 - After decades of distance, China is moving closer to the region’s sectarian feuds — and its vital oil reserves At the start of 2016, prospects … [Read more...] about China’s New Grand Strategy for the Middle East*
China
Increasing Militarization of the Middle East *
Left: Definition of Middle Eastern countries: Central Intelligence Agency Recent developments in the Middle East show a disturbing trend to add to all the other disturbing trends that have emerged in the region since the "Arab Spring" began in 2011. … [Read more...] about Increasing Militarization of the Middle East *
Better Cooperation Needed With Taiwan*
Left: President-Elect Dr. Tsai Ing-wen and her team holding their first press conference. I have just returned from Taiwan where I served as an International Election Observer. The result of the election was a historic victory for the opposition … [Read more...] about Better Cooperation Needed With Taiwan*
Wrong man, Wrong Job*
Pres. Barak Obama repeatedly refers to the end of his time in office and that he is no longer campaigning. There is more than a little ambiguity there, however, for his modus operandi is a permanent campaign – even when it is for more limited … [Read more...] about Wrong man, Wrong Job*
Dancing with Tyrants*
Left: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal. The communist leadership of China; President Putin of Russia; Turkey’s Erdogan, King Salman of Saudi Arabia. Should Israel deal with such regimes? They are all wholesale … [Read more...] about Dancing with Tyrants*
What Should Israel Worry About?
A former director of the Central Intelligence Agency recently stated that the intelligence community in the U.S. has a perfect record of identifying future threats: "We have never been right". The one thing we know nothing about is the future. … [Read more...] about What Should Israel Worry About?
Obama is No Reagan*
The Obama Administration’s utter strategic confusion, particularly in foreign affairs, was nowhere more exhibited than in Sec. of Defense Ashton B. Carter’s recent statements at the Reagan Defense Forum. Irony was added to insult when Carter equated … [Read more...] about Obama is No Reagan*
Don’t flag with the flag!*
After much too much time elapsed the Obama Administration acceded to U.S. Navy urgings to challenge Beijing’s capacity to block of one of the world’s most important naval arteries. Beijing has chosen vague 1947 maps of the South China Sea in an … [Read more...] about Don’t flag with the flag!*
Taiwan’s Democracy Needs U.S. Arms*
“Taiwan is part of China is a sacred mission for all the sons and daughters of China” - Yu Zhengsheng, fourth-ranked leader of the Communist Party of China, Oct. 23, 2015. If there was any doubt that Taiwan is the first democratic state in the long … [Read more...] about Taiwan’s Democracy Needs U.S. Arms*
Weekly Review, October 5-9, 2015
U.S. Does Not Condemn Palestinian Violence - Rachel Ehrenfeld - The White House latest condemnation of the escalating violence in Jerusalem is akin to that issued by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Both are talking from both sides of … [Read more...] about Weekly Review, October 5-9, 2015