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 […]
Is China Stealing a March on Trump in Pakistan amid New Trade War?
The outbreak of tit-for-tat tariffs means the US-Sino confrontation now embraces both the military sphere in the South China Sea and over Taiwan
The Dragon and the Lion: How China will Win Big from Trump’s Scrapping of Iran Deal
Pushing Iran into China’s waiting arms was unlikely to have been a major US policy goal in the Middle East
Could Trump’s Sabre-Rattling against Iran Spoil the North Korea Negotiations?
Dissolution of the nuclear agreement may not go over well in Pyongyang.
Is China coming into Syria for its “One Belt, One Road”?
By Neil Thompson | (Informed Comment) | – – As the Syrian civil war begins to wind down after six and a half years of bitter fighting, a new phase is emerging in the battered country’s political life — plans for country’s postwar reconstruction are already being laid even as the fighting between Islamist rebels […]
Dragon Ascendant: Green China, not Red China, increasingly Bestrides the World
Neil Thompson | (Informed Comment) | – – “Surpass Britain and catch up with America” was one of the more idealistic slogans put about by Mao Zedong after he reunited China back into one country again in 1949. Though it would ultimately fall to his successor Deng Xiaoping to plant China’s feet back on the […]
Are China and N. Korea biggest Winners from Trump dissing Iran Deal?
In reneging on JCPOA re: Iran, Trump is giving North Korea new ammunition
Demand-Side Slavery, Libyan Instability and European Crime Networks
Neil Thompson | (Informed Comment) | – – After several years in which refugees and migration have featured heavily in the Western media narrative, a disturbing correlation between human trafficking and conflict zones is well established. But new studies indicate that conflicts do not just cause human trafficking as refugees seek to flee warzones; wars […]
Turkey’s Syrian blowback
London (Informed Comment) – With the New Year terrorist attack in Istanbul now being claimed by the Islamic State (IS) movement, it is clear that Turkey has suffered yet more blowback from its earlier tolerance of the Middle East’s most vicious terrorist network. The rampage, suspected to have been carried out by a Central Asian […]
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