A mass grave near Mosul gave up 47 bodies. Separately, five truffle gatherers were freed.

As he stated at the outset, Vladimir Putin’s annual state of the nation address today before a joint session of the nation’s bicameral legislature was devoted preponderantly to domestic policy. He was expanding on the practical implications for the Russian population of the policy priorities for his current six-year term that he set out in … Continue reading “Putin on National Defense: Threats or a Bid to Negotiate on Arms Control?”

While the bodies of the 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troops who died in the Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir on Valentine’s Day are only just now being laid to rest, unrest prevails throughout the Indian subcontinent in the wake of the deadliest attack on Indian security forces in the world’s hottest nuclear … Continue reading “Pulwama: A Present Moment in the Longer Kashmir Story”

A day after 12 people were kidnapped in Anbar province, six bodies were recovered.

The Russian-sponsored Palestinian unity talks in Moscow on February 11 were neither a success nor failure. Uniting Palestinian factions was not the main objective of the Moscow conference, in the first place. Instead, the nature of the event, the host country and the clear messages sent to Washington and Tel Aviv were all meant to … Continue reading “Russian Mediation: The Critical Messages of the Hamas-Fatah Talks in Moscow”

Originally posted at TomDispatch. “Training.” It sounds so innocuous. It also sounds like something expected of a military. All professional soldiers undergo some sort of basic training. Think: calisthenics, negotiating obstacle courses, and marksmanship. Soldiers require instruction, otherwise they’re little more than rabble. Sometimes soldiers from one country even train the troops of another, imparting … Continue reading “US Counterterror Missions Across the Planet”

Washington’s political establishment went berserk when US Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) publicly noted that US-Israel relations are “all about the Benjamins” – slang for $100 bills, referring to money shoveled at American politicians by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Omar was accused of antisemitism – immediately by Republicans, shortly after by members of … Continue reading “The First Rule of AIPAC Is: You Do Not Talk about AIPAC”

More truffle hunters were kidnapped and killed.

In a fitting legacy for my friend Walter Jones, Jr. who passed away last week, the US House made history by voting in favor of H.J.Res. 37, a resolution “Directing the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities in the Republic of Yemen that have not been authorized by Congress.” As George O’Neill wrote … Continue reading “Walter Jones and the Vote to End US War on Yemen”

Remarks to the St. Petersburg Conference on World Affairs, St. Petersburg, Florida, February 12, 2019 I’m here at your kind invitation to discuss China, how bad our relations with it may get, and how the contest we’ve initiated with China is likely to play out. Let me take a minute or two to set the … Continue reading “After the Trade War, a Real War With China?”