President Trump has certified for the second time that Iran is in compliance with the 2015 nuclear accord that limits its nuclear program. But the leaks and background briefings surrounding his statement, followed by new sanctions announced Tuesday, sent unmistakable signals: The decision was taken grudgingly, Trump is increasingly unhappy with Iranand the deal, and …
Read More »China and WWII’s “Sarajevo” Moment
The bridge, upon which a lot of history has passed, still stands. Renovated, but with some of the original paving slabs that once echoed the hobnailed boots of Japan’s Imperial army. It was on this bridge that an incident took place, 80 years ago, that some historians now …
Read More »The EU and the Balkans: Parallel Lives Forever?
Prospects of the Western Balkans joining the European Union any time soon are fading. The sense of pessimism around the region is growing pervasive. The future of the small region is thrown into yet more doubt by the high degree of “enlargement fatigue” that has gripped EU citizens. …
Read More »With the Saudi-led camp faltering, the region’s geopolitics could be on the verge of a transformation
It may be pure coincidence that the recapture of Mosul by Iraqi forces was accomplished on the anniversary of the defeat of Israel’s July 2006 assault on Lebanon. But there is a clear link between these two achievements: they underline the regional ascendancy of Iran and its allies, …
Read More »Jordan’s Mediation in the Trump-Putin Ceasefire Deal
By Shehab Al Makahleh • The July 7 meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Hamburg, on the sidelines of the G20 summit, will be remembered not so much because the meeting of two most important world leaders finally occurred, despite all possible efforts by various actors to …
Read More »What Trump Can Expect from Putin
President Trump will have his first meeting with President Putin at a time of dangerous U.S.-Russian tensions, amid demands to “get tough,” but ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern, a former presidential briefer, urges Trump to see Putin’s side. By Ray McGovern In the style of a President’s Daily Brief …
Read More »Kissinger’s Vision for U.S.-Russia Relations
Russia should be perceived as an essential element of any new global equilibrium. Henry A. Kissinger | Published February 4, 2016 | National Interest From 2007 into 2009, Evgeny Primakov and I chaired a group composed of retired senior ministers, high officials and military leaders from Russia and the …
Read More »Kissinger: Chaos in the West Could Give Boost to Russia
LONDON (AP) — Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger has warned of Russia’s simmering alienation from its western neighbors but says he believed that President Vladimir Putin will ultimately work toward cooperative relationships with countries on its borders. Speaking at the Margaret Thatcher Conference on Security in …
Read More »In a Royal Sleight of Hand Saudi King Names Son a Crown Prince
By Shehab Al Makahleh • Without a hint that a GCC-Qatar rift tearing apart the fabric of the regional stability and cooperation resolution is anywhere in sight, ill and aged Saudi king Salman via a royal decree, Wednesday morning declares his 31-year-old son, Mohamed bin Salman (MBS) a new …
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