... could be misinterpreted as an invitation to Putin and Xi and could lead to threatening situations even between the major powers. However, the main concern was: Putin is portrayed as the victor and new ordering power for the Middle East and the Greater Middle East. So as a kind of supplier for international security as Karaganovlike to see it..Civilians are pictured fleeing Ras al Ain town, Syria on October 9, 2019. © Reuters / Rodi SaidI guess the Russians are now trying to prevent Turkish and Syrian troops from being involved in direct combat and to ...
... was that military intervention would clear the border territory east of the Euphrates of Kurdish forces, create a “buffer security zone” in Syria, and prepare the ground for the return of refugees. By maintaining its partnership with Turkey within ... ... they shared, Saudi Arabia was increasingly displeased with the Trump administration’s chaotic and unpredictable policy in the Middle East. There were apprehensions that the U.S. was preparing to withdraw from the region. The Saudis were no longer sure ...
... would produce results that President Trump may not exactly be looking for but would curtail Iran’s incisive actions in the Middle East. Not to mention, if Iran is less inclined to continue its provocations it may just be more inclined to adhere to its ... ... take the first step towards negotiations for a new nuclear deal and produce results that are in the interest of U.S. national security for the long-run.
Jessica Meyers
... writes Alexander Grushko, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.
To this day, Russia is a convinced supporter of multilateral approaches. We are obliged to this by our status of a nuclear power and a permanent member of the UN Security Council. We are actively shaping the positive agenda in the world. We are cooperating with like minds in the frames of Collective Security Treaty Organization, Commonwealth of Independent States, The Eurasian Economic Union, Shanghai Cooperation ...
... “moderate Arabs”. Because of the torturous hell that was the Chechen conflict, Russia has always been quick to prefer authoritarian stability over democratic instability when it comes to areas infected by such radicalism. This is especially so in the Middle East, which Russia considers close enough to be a near backyard and too close to its own southern flank. And so here we sit with Russia as the new Chair of the Security Council. Ideally, this should lead to continuous engagement and new opportunities to establish dialogue and cooperative interaction. Alas, idealism no longer seems to operate anywhere within the diplomatic space devoted to Russian-American relations....
Media outlets and government circles both cringe and squirm when the subject of Westerners leaving the West to go fight in Syria and Iraq with the Islamic State arises. While acquiring data and calculating accurate numbers wildly diverges from source to source, there is no doubt that ANY number simply makes countries like the United States uncomfortable and perplexed: in short, how could anyone want to leave the land of the free, the tolerant, the open, the just and go fight for a group that represents...
... unworthy of having the same advanced weapons. How does any country not feel that the U.S. is purposely compromising its own security and risking the lives of its people? Indeed, less than a year after the announcement of the China-Pakistan deal, the ... ... decision-making for its drone targeting and operational missions. Pakistan and China seem to be openly courting this very behavior today. Middle East Israel Defense Forces (IDF) actually succeeded in destroying a drone that it tracked flying over sensitive military ...
... its firm decision, for now, to not tamper with oil production.
So what is the bigger picture? Why tap the reserves? National security, regional hegemony, and long-term economic positioning explain most of it. With this one simple move of maintaining the ... ... as you can see, nothing is ever as it seems in the world of high economic ‘political finance,’ especially in the Middle East when it comes to global energy markets. Saudi Arabia is ‘punishing’ itself for one year so as to reward ...
So the United States Senate has released its report highlighting extreme and supposedly ‘abhorrent’ techniques used on terrorist targets after 9/11 to glean greater intelligence and information. Since that release there has been an orgy of oscillating condemnation/hand-wringing with rationalization/chest-beating, depending on whom you speak with. What strikes me more is the whole surreal ridiculousness of this false debate.
I say false debate because in some ways this just highlights...
Less than two weeks ago President Obama, sitting for an interview with The Economist magazine, basically went ‘old school’ on President Putin, dismissing his Presidency, his country, and the future of both. While his words were certainly blatant and blunt, what might be even more revealing is the subtle subtext hidden inside his cavalier attitude: apparently even Presidents are not above being petulant.
There can be little debate about President Obama’s intent to insult and offend...
