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foreign policy and global economy

Archive for the tag “Syria”

16 Jul 2018

Why Trump Won’t Cancel The Putin Summit

President Donald Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin has all the makings of a political disaster. Millions of Americans believe Putin has some sinister influence over Trump. The Justice Department just indicted a dozen Russian military hackers for meddling in the 2016 election. Commentators and congressmen are demanding that Trump cancel Monday’s sit-down. And yet the howls of outrage seem to have made Trump only dig in deeper.

Read Here – Politico

Also Read: What To Expect From The Helsinki Summit

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Posted in Russia and tagged , , , , | Leave a comment
09 Jul 2018

Rouhani goes on offense against critics, shady interests and ‘culture of opacity’

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is not giving in to conservative and reformist critics in the wake of growing protests over the miserable state of Iran’s economy, instead intensifying his campaign against “shady interests” and a “culture of opacity.” Rouhani, in an explicit speech June 27, demonstrated his determination to resist and confront his opponents, calling for national unity in the face of rising external pressures.

Read Here – Al Monitor

Posted in Middle East and tagged , , , , | Leave a comment
11 May 2018

Breaking A Big Deal

We are left with a region where the Iranians and Saudis will have no more opportunities to cooperate to resolve regional crises, starting with those in Syria and Yemen. Which means, that in the near future, the US, the Europeans and other parties involved in the geo-political game of the Middle East will be left with a difficult choice: Military action against Iran and its proxies, or living with a nuclear-armed hegemonic Iran.

Read Here – The Indian Express

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21 Mar 2018

Ending A Decade Of Silence, Israel Reveals It Blew Up Assad’s Nuclear Reactor

The State of Israel formally acknowledged that its air force blew up a Syrian nuclear reactor in the area of Deir Ezzor in the pre-dawn hours between September 5 and 6, 2007, in a mission known to much of the world as Operation Orchard. The official confirmation ends a 10-and-a-half year policy of referring to the event with a smirk and a wry “according to foreign reports.”

Read Here – Times of Israel

Posted in Middle East and tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment
25 Feb 2018

Iran Among The Ruins

Washington seems to believe that rolling back Iranian influence would restore order to the Middle East. But that expectation rests on a faulty understanding of what caused it to break down in the first place. Iran did not cause the collapse, and containing Iran will not bring back stability.

Read Here – Foreign Affairs

Posted in Middle East and tagged , , , , | Leave a comment
08 Jan 2018

Mapping A World From Hell

The Costs of War Project identifies no less than 76 countries, 39% of those on the planet, as involved in that global conflict.  That means places like Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia, and Libya where U.S. drone or other air strikes are the norm and U.S. ground troops (often Special Operations forces) have been either directly or indirectly engaged in combat.  It also means countries where U.S. advisers are training local militaries or even militias in counter-terror tactics and those with bases crucial to this expanding set of conflicts.  As the map makes clear, these categories often overlap.

Read Here – TomDispatch.com

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04 Jan 2018

10 Conflicts To Watch In 2018

The most ominous threats in 2018 — nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula and a spiralling confrontation pitting the United States and its allies against Iran — could both be aggravated by Trump’s actions, inactions, and idiosyncrasies. U.S. demands (in the North Korean case, denuclearisation; in Iran’s, unilateral renegotiation of the nuclear deal or Tehran’s regional retreat) are unrealistic without serious diplomatic engagement or reciprocal concessions.

Read Here – International Crisis Group

Posted in World and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
04 Dec 2017

How Obama And Trump Left A Vacuum In The Middle East

Once upon a time, all the experts said that America was the guarantor of security in the Middle East. To the extent that it’s still true, it’s not at all what you’re thinking. Actually, it’s probably the exact opposite of what you’re thinking. Israel Defense Forces chief Lieutenant General Gadi Eisenkot gave an unprecedented interview last week to the Saudi media. In a hold-the-presses moment, Eisenkot disclosed that Israel was ready to share sensitive intelligence with moderate Arab countries for the purpose of countering Iran. He credited President Donald Trump with creating an opportunity for a new alliance in the region.

Read Here – Politico

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22 Nov 2017

Tehran Is Winning The War For Control Of The Middle East

Saudi Arabia appears to be on a warpath across the Middle East. The Saudi-orchestrated resignation of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, and Saudi officials’ bellicose rhetoric after the launch of a ballistic missile targeting Riyadh from Yemen, appear to herald a new period of assertiveness against Iranian interests across the Middle East.

Read Here – Foreign Policy

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21 Nov 2017

What is behind the covert Israeli-Saudi relations?

Israel and Saudi Arabia may seem unlikely allies in regional politics but recent developments have pushed Riyadh and Tel Aviv closer together, setting the stage for the Middle East’s strangest bedfellows. The covert ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia, based on an alliance against the “common threat” of Iran, are part of a new regional paradigm, analysts say.

Read Here – Al Jazeera

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