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?
London (Informed Comment) – The escalating American trade war with China has sent third-party nations scrambling for cover as the two largest global economies trade tariffs worth billions. The Trump administration has also levied global tariffs on metal imports from Mexico, Canada and Europe, and threatened to exit the North American Free Trade Agreement; but […]
The Dragon and the Lion: How China will Win Big from Trump’s Scrapping of Iran Deal
London (Informed Comment) – China has rhetorically thrown its weight behind Russia and Europe in continuing to back the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Iran and the P5+1 countries after US President Donald Trump announced that he was withdrawing America from what he called “the decaying and rotten” agreement set up to contain […]
Could Trump’s Sabre-Rattling against Iran Spoil the North Korea Negotiations?
North Korea suspends nuclear testing ahead of talks with Trump North Korea has surprised the international community by announcing it is suspending its testing of nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles ahead of talks between US President Donald Trump and the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The isolated communist regime said that the moratorium on […]
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?
Neil Thompson | (Informed Comment) | – – The recent move by President Trump to unilaterally decertify Iran under the 2015 nuclear agreement has predictably caused tensions between Iran and the West to rise. Trump’s unilateral jettisoning of the Obama-era deal (which has been sent back for 60-day congressional review in a bid to renegotiate […]
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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