Asia

As speculation grows that the Syrian army under the regime of Bashar al-Assad is preparing to strike at the Idlib de-escalation zone, the last piece of Syrian territory with a significant rebel presence left active, it seems as if the brutal civil there is at last drawing to a bloody conclusion. Like Iraq, Syria may […]

Afghanistan

Parade! How Trump Redefined Victory in Afghanistan as “Attacking our Enemies”

Nick Turse

New York (Tomdispatch.com) – 4,000,000,029,057. Remember that number. It’s going to come up again later. But let’s begin with another number entirely: 145,000 — as in, 145,000 uniformed soldiers striding down Washington’s Pennsylvania Avenue. That’s the number of troops who marched down that very street in May 1865 after the United States defeated the Confederate […]

Iran

Pakistan sides with Iran, as Trump cuts $300 mn in Aid

TeleSur

(TeleSur) – Pakistan and Iran started cooperating on border security last year and during this latest meeting, the officials discussed military and security cooperation. Pakistan newly elected Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, in a conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, said that the two countries were connected by inseparable bonds of history, religion […]

China

China defies Trump on Iran, Creating new Benchmark Crude Market in Yuan

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – China’s new futures market in Shanghai is trading in the Chinese currency, the Yuan, rather than dollars. One reason for dumping the dollar in this regard is that the Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Asset Control is trying to stop countries from buying Iranian petroleum. The Dept of […]

China

As Trump dismantles American Power, China bids to Become Sole Superpower

Alfred W. McCoy

(Tomdispatch.com) – As the second year of Donald Trump’s presidency and sixth of Xi Jinping’s draws to a close, the world seems to be witnessing one of those epochal clashes that can change the contours of global power. Just as conflicts between American President Woodrow Wilson and British Prime Minister Lloyd George produced a failed […]

Afghanistan

Afghanistan: Taliban Advances Cast Doubt on Trump’s Double-Down Policy

AFP

By Thomas WATKINS | – Washington (AFP) – A year since President Donald Trump unveiled his strategy for Afghanistan, a fresh wave of violence and bloodshed has assailed the war-torn nation and overshadowed some small glimmers of progress. Each successful attack represents a massive setback not just for the Afghanistan government, which is pushing for […]

China

China will Defy Trump, Trade with Iran, Rejecting “Unilateral Sanctions”

Middle East Monitor

China will continue its cooperation and relations with Iran, state news agency Xinhua reported on Friday, citing a statement from Chinese State Councillor Wang Yi. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the 2015 deal in which Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear work in return for the lifting of most Western sanctions, is in […]

Afghanistan

Our Thirty Years War of the 21st Century

Tom Engelhardt

New York (Tomdispatch.com) – Fair warning. Stop reading right now if you want, because I’m going to repeat myself. What choice do I have, since my subject is the Afghan War (America’s second Afghan War, no less)? I began writing about that war in October 2001, almost 17 years ago, just after the U.S. invasion […]

Afghanistan

As Trump Expands Failed War in Afghanistan, he Stops Boasting about It

Reese Erlich

(San Francisco ( 48hills.org) – President Donald Trump is back on the stump, trumpeting his alleged triumphs since the 2016 elections. Somehow, he never mentions Afghanistan. For years, Trump has denounced endless foreign wars, including Afghanistan. He tweeted in 2012, for example, that Afghanistan is “a complete waste….Time to come home!” Once in power, however, […]