Deep in shadowy chat rooms, where normal users never visit, there’s an entirely different world. Its denizens conduct their business secretly, keeping their distance from journalists and information security experts who try to meddle in their … [Read more...] about The Cyber Threat Industry: Into the Darknet*
All Posts
Leadership as a Last Resort*
The United States has been punching well below its weight for five years, and that’s got to stop. It is hardly surprising that in its second term the Obama Administration lacks a coherent international strategy. There was none in the first term … [Read more...] about Leadership as a Last Resort*
Al Qaeda’s Expanding Caliphate *
The successors to Mohammed as leaders of the Muslim religion bore the title of "Caliph". The Caliphate has undergone numerous historical transformations and was never recognized by the Shiites, who claim that the legitimate line was cut short by … [Read more...] about Al Qaeda’s Expanding Caliphate *
Anti-Semitism and Alternative History – Weapons in the War Against the Jews
Hatred of Judaism and the Jews is an intellectual creation. Its foundations were laid in ancient times by historians, writers, poets, philosophers and artists long before Christianity added the theological dimension. Since then it has been the one … [Read more...] about Anti-Semitism and Alternative History – Weapons in the War Against the Jews
American Internationalists and the Real World
Americans’ contemporary thinking about the international political mess has the tendency to group the elites in the West as right or left, and ignore the distinction within political and religious blocs. And despite the evidence, many in the West, … [Read more...] about American Internationalists and the Real World
American LNG to the Rescue! Not Exactly.*
When Secretary of State John Kerry tried to lead an LNG posse to rescue the Europeans, blackmailed in the Ukraine affair by their heavy dependence on Russian natural gas, his bluff was soon called. True, the U.S. has a growing natural gas surplus. … [Read more...] about American LNG to the Rescue! Not Exactly.*
Weekly Briefing, April 19 – 25, 2014
Will Korea Be the Next Ukraine? - Gal Luft* -- Washington’s eyes may be on the latest developments in the Keystone pipeline dispute and the Crimean Peninsula crisis, but a bigger story is unfolding, involving an entirely different pipeline and an … [Read more...] about Weekly Briefing, April 19 – 25, 2014
Will Korea Be the Next Ukraine?
Washington’s eyes may be on the latest developments in the Keystone pipeline dispute and the Crimean Peninsula crisis, but a bigger story is unfolding, involving an entirely different pipeline and an entirely different peninsula. In a swift move to … [Read more...] about Will Korea Be the Next Ukraine?
U.S. Fears Israeli Tourists
Someone in the United States government is afraid of Israelis. That has to be the best explanation why Israelis' ongoing attempts to enter the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) are encountering stubborn resistance, despite the fact that 38 countries, some … [Read more...] about U.S. Fears Israeli Tourists
Russia: The Geopolitics of Natural Gas
Russia’s economic weakness lies in its dependency on natural gas, which represents nearly 60 percent of its exports. This dependency, which led Senator John McCain to describe Russia as “a gas station masquerading as a country,” should make economic … [Read more...] about Russia: The Geopolitics of Natural Gas