Negotiations over restoring the nuclear agreement with Iran aren’t quite moribund, but the Biden administration has begun to sound a bit like its predecessor in muttering threats of military action. War with Iran would be a catastrophe, much worse than with Iraq. And...
Iraq Daily Roundup: Three Killed
The Pentagon’s 20-Year Killing Spree Has Always Treated Civilians as Expendable
Top U.S. officials want us to believe that the Pentagon carefully spares civilian lives while making war overseas. The notion is pleasant. And with high-tech killing far from home, the physical and psychological distances have made it even easier to believe recent...
Putin Has a Big Brother in Xi
Russian President Vladimir V. Putin and I have something in common. My big brother, Joe-Ray, died during the World War II. Unlike Putin’s big brother, though, mine was done in by meningitis – not by the Germans. Putin’s brother Viktor died during the 872-day German...
What To Do About That Russian Ultimatum
"Get off our front porch. Get out of our front yard. And stay out of our backyard." This might stand as a crude summary of two draft security pacts Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei A. Ryabkov delivered last week as Russia's price for resolving the crisis...
Is the Biden Administration Trying To Execute a Delicate Retreat Regarding Ukraine?
President Biden and other administration officials have stated emphatically on multiple occasions that the United States is firmly committed to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. In his April 2, 2021, telephone call with Ukrainian President Volodymr...
The Growing Russia-China Relationship
Under the pressure of US sanctions, threats, aggression and an imposed Second Cold War, the Russia-China relationship is growing closer and closer. Personal Relationship On December 15, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin met for a...
A Surprise Russian Ultimatum: New Draft Treaties To Roll Back NATO
The release a couple of days ago on the RF Ministry of Foreign Affairs website of its draft treaties to totally revise the European security architecture has been picked up by our leading mainstream media. The New York Times lost no time posting an article by its most...
When Hypocrites Rule Washington and Washington Is Exempt from the World’s Rules
With Eastern Europe heating up as Russia threatens war against Ukraine, the received wisdom in Washington is that concessions are impossible. After all, rewarding Vladimir Putin’s conduct would only encourage him to increase his demands next time. Moreover, the issue...


