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*
Kurds
The Middle East Poker*
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*
The incremental Road To Hell*
If there were one lesson from America’s tragic Vietnam encounter – and as some dead white man has said, all historical analogies are odious — it is that incremental approaches to war inevitably result in disaster. News reports suggest that Pres. … [Read more...] about The incremental Road To Hell*
Weekly Review, Oct 18-23, 2015
Taiwan's Democracy Needs U.S. Arms - Sol W. Sanders - If there was any doubt that Taiwan is the first democratic state in the long history of the Chinese, it came this week in the buildup to January presidential election. The current ruling … [Read more...] about Weekly Review, Oct 18-23, 2015
U.S. Conflicting Objectives in Syria
Left: The A- 10 plane is famed for its tank-destroying capabilities. A day before Bashar Assad's meeting with Russian President Putin in Moscow, the United States signed a deal with Russia, to avoid entering "the same battle space" over the Syrian … [Read more...] about U.S. Conflicting Objectives in Syria
Martyrs unremarked*
Left: Syrian Christians are being murdered, kidnapped, driven out of their country, or displaced within Syria. (Photo/AFP) One of the many mysteries of the current political and media scene is the neglect which accompanies a growing worldwide … [Read more...] about Martyrs unremarked*
Spotlight on Iran (September 24 – October 11, 2015)*
Overview: Syria - Official Iranian spokesmen praised the start of Russia's aerial attacks in Syria. Hossein Hamedani, considered the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps' (IRGC) senior military advisor in Syria, was killed in the region of … [Read more...] about Spotlight on Iran (September 24 – October 11, 2015)*
Turkey’s Growing Instability*
Left: Credit: political cartoonist Latuff, for التقرير (Altagreer) Once NATO’s formidable eastern anchor, Turkey is increasingly becoming a major problem for Washington policymakers and a contributor to the Mideast chaos. The change is all the more … [Read more...] about Turkey’s Growing Instability*
Weekly Review, August 23-28, 2015
Reporting on ISIS and the Global Jihad - Rachel Ehrenfeld - News that White House pressure on military and intelligence brass have led to massaging the truth about the United States led coalition success in defeating ISIS, did not come as a … [Read more...] about Weekly Review, August 23-28, 2015
Reporting on ISIS and the Global Jihad
Left: A Twitter account affiliated with ISIS in Libya: Masked ISIS operative saying “we will conquer Rome, Allah willing, this is a promise by our Prophet [Muhammad], Allah’s prayers upon Him and His blessing of peace” (ISIS-affiliated Twitter … [Read more...] about Reporting on ISIS and the Global Jihad