Why Is The U.S. Reluctant To Bomb ISIS Oil Fields?
Is the apparent reason for America not bombing ISIS’s oil assets “Syrian moderates” redux?
Read more...Category Archives: Middle East
The Power Of Nightmares 3: The Shadows In The Cave (BBC-2004)
Osama Bin Laden’s cave — and Plato’s.
Read more...The Power of Nightmares 2: The Rise of the Politics of Fear (BBC-2004)
Introducing the second part of the must-see series by Adam Curtis.
Read more...The Power of Nightmares 1: The Rise of the Politics of Fear (BBC-2004)
An Adam Curtis documentary on the similarities between the politics of neo-conservatives, and the politics of Islamist radicals.
Read more...Mathew D. Rose: The Ordeal of Angela Merkel
A chronicle of Angela Merkel’s rise and a catalogue of recent political mistakes which are putting her chancellorship at risk.
Read more...John Helmer: The Classic Rules for Combatting Turkish Aggression
Russia’s commitment to blocking Turkish expansion is being tested. Will Putin step up or make a strategic retreat?
Read more...Turkey’s Shootdown of Russian Jet: What You Need to Know
Turkey takes a great big swing at Assad via Russia…and what might the fallout be?
Read more...John Helmer: The Barbarians at the Gate of Civilization, but Which Empire is Falling?
Empire-booster-in-chief Niall Ferguson gets yet another well-deserved shellacking, this time on how he falsifies the record in drawing lessons from Edward Gibbon’s The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
Read more...Paris Attack Round-up and Open Thread
The chain of events in Paris, strategy and tactics of the attackers, history of ISIS and origins of “radical islam”, French particularities, media critique, Beltway meltdown and warmongering.
Read more...Afghanistan “After” the American War
A grim look at conditions on the ground in Afghanistan.
Read more...John Helmer: As Merkel and the EU Look Wobbly and Obama’s Syrian Misadventure Misfires, Will Putin Be the Last Man Standing?
How has Putin managed to survive, and even arguably prosper from, a US/EU assault on his leadership?
Read more...The End of the President Erdogan’s AKP Era in Turkey? – Part I
The state of play in Turkey before the November 1 election.
Read more...Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Special Operations ‘Successes’ Around the World
To quote Andrew Bacevich: “There is no doubt that U.S. Special Operations forces are hard at it in lots of different places. It does not follow that they are thereby actually accomplishing anything meaningful.’”
Read more...What Could Possibly Go Wrong (Next) in the Middle East?
A look at the wreckage the US has created in the Middle East, and an assessment of the prospects.
Read more...Tom Engelhardt: The Fog of Intelligence, or How to Be Eternally ‘Caught Off Guard’ in the Greater Middle East
An in-depth look at the US’s big-ticket intelligence apparatus that can’t shoot straight in the Middle East. A bug or a feature?
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