By moving the U.S. embassy from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem, the United States has added complexity to a situation that was already chaotic. Washington’s move will not change the reality on the ground, as 62 Palestinians have been killed over the last few days. Gaza’s protests marking the 70th anniversary of...
Trump Backs Out of Iran Nuclear Deal. What's Next?
Thanks to Donald Trump, the hard-won deal that set up a process to end Iran’s nuclear weapons programme is on its deathbed. After weeks of entreaties and visits from his counterparts in the other states that signed the accord, Trump has announced that the US will be withdrawing from it...
Is Trump Playing Right Into Putin's Hands?
By Robert J. Pranger During the week of May 7th, President Vladimir Putin is likely enjoying the start of his fourth term as president of Russia. I use the term “enjoying” with some confidence because, compared with his friend in the White House, it must feel like paradise in Moscow...
Video Reveals Horrific Effects of Syrian Gas Attack on Civilians
The New York Times reports today (Feb. 27) that the Syrian government's use of banned chemical weapons against civilians in its long-running civil war may have been aided by North Korea. The Times story is based on an unpublished United Nations report prepared by a panel of eight experts from...
Chaotic Middle East Puts World at Risk
Although the drumbeat of news reports may give the impression that much of the world is in crisis, the reality is quite the opposite, according to Washington Post columnist Fareed Zakaria. In his Friday, Feb. 16 post, Zakaria notes, "In almost every part of the world, economies are growing and...
Chaotic Middle East Puts World at Risk
Although the drumbeat of news reports may give the impression that much of the world is in crisis, the reality is quite the opposite, according to Washington Post columnist Fareed Zakaria. In his Friday, Feb. 16 post, Zakaria notes, "In almost every part of the world, economies are growing and...
Only Russia Can Stop Middle East Meltdown Involving Israel
The 7-year-old Syrian civil war is entering a phase that could put Israel on a collision course with the Iranian-Syrian-Hezbollah axis and a Middle East meltdown, according to the Crisis Group, a think tank/advocacy organization. The think tank also says that Russia is the only country that can prevent an...
Only Russia Can Stop Middle East Meltdown Involving Israel
The 7-year-old Syrian civil war is entering a phase that could put Israel on a collision course with the Iranian-Syrian-Hezbollah axis and a Middle East meltdown, according to the Crisis Group, a think tank/advocacy organization. The think tank also says that Russia is the only country that can prevent an...
Bad to Worse? What 2018 Will Bring to Volatile Middle East
It’s always dangerous to make predictions about the Middle East. After all, few experts foresaw Anwar al-Sadat’s trip to Jerusalem in 1977, which led to the first peace treaty between Israel and an Arab state, nor did they predict the Iranian Revolution of 1978-79 or the Arab uprisings of 2010-11....
Bad to Worse? What 2018 Will Bring to Volatile Middle East
It’s always dangerous to make predictions about the Middle East. After all, few experts foresaw Anwar al-Sadat’s trip to Jerusalem in 1977, which led to the first peace treaty between Israel and an Arab state, nor did they predict the Iranian Revolution of 1978-79 or the Arab uprisings of 2010-11....