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*
IS oil
What the Downing of the Russian Plane May Portend
Left: The remains of a Russian airliner are inspected by military investigators at the crash site at the al-Hasanah area in El Arish city, north Egypt. (Reuters). It is now generally accepted that the Russian commercial airliner that crashed in the … [Read more...] about What the Downing of the Russian Plane May Portend
Obama’s ISIS Legacy*
Presidential candidate and billionaire businessman Donald Trump has the right idea regarding how to stop ISIS. "I would knock out the source of their wealth, the primary source of their wealth, which is oil," he told MSNBC. A year into it, the … [Read more...] about Obama’s ISIS Legacy*
Obama’s “Serious Global Threat”
Left: Obama and several Gulf States leaders at the U.S. GSS Summit, Camp David, Maryland, May 14, 2015. The Islamic State’s territorial gains in Iraq and Syria and growing propaganda and recruitment in the West, is being downplayed by the Obama … [Read more...] about Obama’s “Serious Global Threat”
Obama, ISIS, the Pope and the Palestinians
While cache of computers, cell phones, and documents that was captured during the raid will provide important information about ISIS financial operations in Iraq and Syria and possibly on its support of its branches in North Africa, South-East Asia … [Read more...] about Obama, ISIS, the Pope and the Palestinians
Syria-ISIS “Pragmatic Cooperation”
Left: Oil fields in Syria and Iraq, in areas controlled by ISIS (islamist-movements.com) Overview One of the interesting phenomena of the civil war in Syria is the tacit understandings between two sworn enemies: the Assad regime and the terrorist … [Read more...] about Syria-ISIS “Pragmatic Cooperation”
ISIS Global Advances (March 26 – April 1, 2015)*
Left: ISIS in Yarmouk, the Palestinian refugee camp south of Damscus While the United States and its allies claim their air campaigns are successfully eroding the Islamic State expansion, ISIS took over the Yarmouk refugee camp, home to 18,000 … [Read more...] about ISIS Global Advances (March 26 – April 1, 2015)*
Weekly Briefing – March 16-20, 2015
“Anti-Semitism is a Huge Menace” – The Netherlands Chief Rabbi - Emerson Vermaat, Exclusive to ACD - “The growing wave of anti-Semitism in Holland forces Jews to be careful and hide any symbol that would give away their identity.” “I don’t think … [Read more...] about Weekly Briefing – March 16-20, 2015
The Egyptian Bet
Any hope for an exit from the current Middle East chaos lies with the efforts of Gen. Pres. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to stabilize its politics and rebuild the Egyptian economy. With its 90 million people and traditional role as the intellectual leader … [Read more...] about The Egyptian Bet
The Conduct & Funding of ISIS – Feb. 26–March 4, 2015*
Left: ISIS "deliberate destruction of irreplaceable objects of religious and cultural values in the museum of Mosul and burning thousands of books and rare manuscripts from the library of Mosul." Destruction of historical relics In the past two … [Read more...] about The Conduct & Funding of ISIS – Feb. 26–March 4, 2015*