Saudi Finance Minister: “I Wouldn’t Care If The Oil Price Is Zero”
The Saudi government has developed plans for root and branch economic change. But how can they cope if (when) it falls short?
Read more...Category Archives: Middle East
Peter Van Buren: Whistleblowers, Moral Injury, and Endless War
Introduces new novel, Hooper’s War, about the moral injury suffered in war. Did this motivate Chelsea Manning to become a whistleblower?
Read more...Tom Engelhardt: America’s Globalization of Misery
A hard look at the results of one of America’s globalization projects, that of the casual creation of failed states.
Read more...Andrew Bacevich: What Obsessing About Trump Causes Us To Miss
Why fixating on Trump has the convenient effect of shifting attention away from other important topics. Cui bono?
Read more...Why Are The Oil Markets Crashing?
Sunny predictions for oil prices in 2017 are looking a tad premature.
Read more...Gaius Publius: Honeymoon of the Generals in the Age of Trump – Wolfowitz on McMaster, Mattis
Trump has turned conduct of his wars over to neocon mad dogs like Paul Wolfowitz that even hawkish Reagan made sure to keep out of power.
Read more...Wilkerson: “We’re Staying in Afghanistan for the Next 50 Years”
A discussion of US rationalizations for committing more troops to Afghanistan with no endgame in sight.
Read more...Why Anti-War Purity Tests Are Not Sound Political Strategy
Why head on opposition to war has failed and other approaches have better odds of long term success.
Read more...How to Keep Losing Wars in the Middle East
The US game plan for the Middle East seems to be not just more wars, but losing more wars.
Read more...Gaius Publius: New Evidence that Syrian Gas Story Was Fabricated by the White House
The Obama White House blamed Assad for a 2013 sarin attack in advance of evidence. The claim fell apart. The Trump White House is making a rerun.
Read more...US Launches Airstrikes Against Syria (Updated)
The US has just attacked Syria. Unless the Russians abandon Syria, this looks like the war the neocons wanted.
Read more...Airline Cabin Laptop Ban: More Security Theater?
US + UK ban laptops and other electronics from cabin baggage on flights from Mid East: Why? Airlines scramble in response, lame jokes ensue.
Read more...New Oil Price War Looms As The OPEC Deal Falls Short
The OPEC deal last year was weak and is vulnerable to US shale players increasing production.
Read more...How Russia Is Using Oil Deals To Secure Its Influence In The Middle East
A string of oil deals between Russian oil companies and Arab petrostates have shifted the center of political gravity in the Middle East and North Africa towards Moscow
Read more...Iraq: “Is It Oil?”
Why the Iraq oil problem was not so much access, as in meeting U.S. oil needs, but that U.S. firms had been frozen out of Iraq.
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