Yet the Obama administration overplayed its hand, and realpolitik now spells out the deepening of the Russia-China strategic partnership across the entire Eurasian land mass; Eurasia as a prospective, massive commercial emporium stretching from Beijing to Berlin, or from Shanghai to St. Petersburg and beyond towards Rotterdam and Duisburg. Without the exceptionalist obsession of some key Beltway factions, none of the elements of Cold War 2.0 would be in play, as Russia is a natural ally of the US in many fronts. That in itself reveals the state of “strategic thinking” by the current US administration.
Category: Israel
Five of the world’s top banks will pay over $5 billion in fines after pleading guilty to rigging the price of foreign currencies and interest rates. Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland…
Law of War Conference: Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBORMroqtMo http://mondoweiss.net/2015/05/ministers-nagasaki-hiroshima This is a story about the media blackout of important information about Israel: that their leaders are seriously misguided. Two weeks ago, Electronic Intifada reported…
Colonel Ian Henderson was a British official dubbed “the Butcher of Bahrain” because of atrocities he repeatedly committed during the 30 years he served as chief security official of that Middle Eastern country. His reign…
The news that Western leaders skipped the Victory Day celebrations in Moscow on May 9 hit the radar screen. Chinese leader Xi Jinping was at the top of the guest list. Did they pull a…
We found this completely fascinating. It is done by Russia state TV so it gives a positive take on Putin, but it is devastatingly convincing. We really can’t recommend this documentary enough. It is made by…
Author’s note: 1912. Balkanization, the term coined in the early 19th Century refers to the division of the Balkan Peninsula, formerly ruled almost entirely by the Ottoman Empire, into a number of smaller states between…
Israel and Saudi Arabia feel that the United States is playing a bad hand in its negotiating with Iran, trying to offer more and more compromises while Iran isn’t budging. In a previous article, I described the strange reality we face in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refuses to engage in any kind of dialogue with the US administration to receive a generous and perhaps unprecedented “compensation package” as a result of the emerging agreement between Iran and six world powers. My article elicited numerous reactions, not only from Jerusalem and Washington, but from the entire international alignment, especially Europe and the Middle East.
An already tense and dangerous situation in the South China Sea threatens to become even worse. The latest development focuses on reports that the United States is considering plans to initiate systematic military patrols with ships and planes in that volatile area. Without even waiting for confirmation that the reports are accurate, Beijing expressed its great displeasure regarding such a step. If this actually comes to pass, Washington is about to deepen its involvement in a bitter, multi-sided territorial dispute. The underlying issues are murky and complex. Based on dubious interpretations of both history and international law, China claims an oceanic boundary that would convert some 80 percent of the South China Sea—and the small islands dotting itf—from international waters into Chinese territorial waters.
Russia is avidly hoping for a rapprochement between India and China after the ongoing, high-profile visit of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to China Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to China on Thursday May 14, for negotiations with President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China. As part of the three day visit Modi hopes to achieve a breakthrough in relations with China, which have so far been hindered by a boundary dispute and territorial claims from both parties. Judging from indirect indicators, the visit might be a game changer in relations between New Delhi and Beijing.