Left:U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and foreign ministers from Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Europe in Vienna, November 14, 2015 in a bid to step up diplomatic efforts to end the four-year-old conflict … [Read more...] about The Middle East Poker*
Europe
The New Old Sick Man of Europe*
For a century European politics was dogged with “the sick man of Europe”: the collapsing Ottoman Empire and its implications for the major powers. That’s not the case now, of course. Multi-ethnic empires are a thing of the past, their death rattle … [Read more...] about The New Old Sick Man of Europe*
Portrait of Abdelhamid Abaaoud, ISIS Belgian Terrorist*
Overview Abdelhamid Abaaoud (Abu Oud) was a terrorist operative of Belgian origin who headed the network that carried out the terrorist attack in Paris. After the attack he was pursued by the French security forces. On November 18, 2015, French … [Read more...] about Portrait of Abdelhamid Abaaoud, ISIS Belgian Terrorist*
Refugees, Terrorists and Morality
Not for the first time, and certainly not for the last, America’s leaders are presented with a vexing problem of statecraft, which poses realism versus idealism. Millions of refugees are pouring out of Syria; victims of the more than four years … [Read more...] about Refugees, Terrorists and Morality
Which Side Are YOU On?
The world has been at war for sixty-eight of the past hundred years. World War I lasted four years, World War II six years, the Cold War 44 years and the war with radical is now fourteen years old and counting. Western civilization eventually won … [Read more...] about Which Side Are YOU On?
Islamist Terrorism and European Amnesia
Left: Jo Goldenberg's restaurant at the Marais district, Paris, attacked in 1982 by PLO mastermind Souhaur Mohammed Hassan Khalil al-Abbassi, aka "Amjad Atta" that killed six people and wounding 22 others. Politicians and the media in Europe and the … [Read more...] about Islamist Terrorism and European Amnesia
The Paris Attack: Arabic and Iranian Propaganda
Left: This caricature was published in the London based Qatari owned (!) al-Arabi-al-Jadeed. Here are a few more caricatures published in Arabic and Iranian newspapers after the jihadists attacks in Paris on Friday: Saudi … [Read more...] about The Paris Attack: Arabic and Iranian Propaganda
Obama’s illogic
Left: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and US President Barack Obama. (Photo: Cihan), Nov.13, 2015 The confusion in the President’s thinking and strategy about the current terrorist crisis is frightening in its implications. As the tragic … [Read more...] about Obama’s illogic
Vive la France!
Left: Eiffel Tower goes dark, after Paris terrorist attacks, Nov. 13, 2015 There are perhaps three all engulfing observations to be made from the horrific events in France this past Friday evening as the Muslim day of prayer and rest ended: The … [Read more...] about Vive la France!
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*