REPRISE: Kiev caves in to Russian military threats, offering far-reaching...
Originally published April 12, 2014 The Atmosphere in Washington On Saturday, April 12, The New York Times did not have a story (or even a reference) on its front page on the Ukraine. The Wall Street...
View ArticlePutin’s power in the Kremlin and his dangerous nuclear and other threats
Developing For a particularly incisive analysis of Vladimir Putin and the threat he represents, see Eric Morse, “The deadly chaos behind Putin’s mysterious acts,” The Globe and Mail, March 24 2015...
View ArticleU.S. strategy and leadership needed: The Middle East and other countries...
On some days, the news is so disturbing that you want to take a broader view of what is going on in a region, or the world. The Middle East appears to be convulsed by civil war and situations that...
View ArticleThe Iran nuclear deal: Has Barack Obama earned his Nobel Peace Prize?...
See Roger Cohen, “The Door to Iran Opens,” New York Times, July 16, 2015. David Ignatius, “After the nuclear deal, how to contain Iran’s meddling in the Middle East,” Washington Post, July 16, 2015....
View ArticleNot indexed by Google — Censorship by another name: Obama and the Iran...
A number of articles of a controversial nature have not been indexed by Google in real time. The latest is the following article, which points out that while the P5+1 nuclear deal is a signal...
View ArticleThe cold-blooded REALPOLITIK of the American president: Obama’s intellectual...
Developing Obama seems to have opposed stronger action in Syria and in opposing Russian aggression in the Ukraine out of some demented belief that he is smarter than everyone else, and it is OK to...
View ArticleNot indexed by Google, Again — Obama’s cold-blooded Realpolitik and the Iran...
Six days have passed and Google has still not indexed the following article: “The cold-blooded REALPOLITIK of the American president: Obama’s intellectual calculations in foreign policy, and his heart...
View ArticleREPRISE–Syria: Russia and Iran complicit under International Law in the...
Late News—- See MICHAEL R. GORDON and ERIC SCHMITT, “U.S. Moves to Block Russian Military Buildup in Syria,” New York Times, September 8, 2015. Vladimir Putin is now engaged in extremely dangerous...
View ArticleKerry and Obama’s strategy on Syria: Work through the Russians and thow a...
See MICHAEL R. GORDON and ERIC SCHMITT, “Russian Buildup in Syria Raises Questions on Role,” New York Times, September 19, 2015. Stefan Braun, Berlin, und Nicolas Richter, Washington, “Syrien-Konflikt:...
View ArticlePutin’s playing “chicken” in Syria and the risk of escalation to nuclear war
Developing With reports of Russian aircraft having forced American planes to change course in order to avoid a collision, the risks of escalation in Syria to nuclear war have suddenly become quite...
View ArticleThinking clearly about Putin and Syria
Barack Obama, John Kerry and other Western leaders should always bear in mind wiho Vladimir Putin is, and what he has done in the last four years with respect to Syria, the Crimea, the eastern Ukraine,...
View ArticleUpdate on Putin and Syria
Update: Cut-off of provision of electricity to the Crimea, and the downing of a Russian plane by Turkey on November 24, 2015 Two events have now pushed relations with Putin to a dangerous edge. The...
View ArticleWar criminal Bashar al-Assad charges British air attacks illegal
Bashar al-Assad is recently quoted as complaining that British air attacks against ISIS in Syria are illegal. ZeitOnline und AFP, “Assad nennt britische Luftangriffe “illegal”; Die Angriffe der...
View ArticleREPRISE: The last international lawyer, or so it seemed
A fitting commentary on 2015 follows: Originally published on September 27, 2015 THE LAST INTERNATIONAL LAWYER, OR SO IT SEEMED It was a curious time, when the world fell apart and no one noticed....
View ArticleSyria: Russian victory, American defeat
See Stefan Kornelius, “Syrien: Wo bleiben die USA?,” Sueddeutsche Zeitung, 7. Februar 2016 (22:05 Uhr). “Ein offener Staaten-Krieg mit Syrien im Zentrum steht kurz bevor. Die Amerikaner schauen...
View ArticleSyria: Aleppo and the shame of the world
For background, see (1) Roger Cohen, “America’s Syrian Shame,” The New York Times, February 8, 2016. (2) David E. Sanger, “Russian Intervention in Syrian War Has Sharply Reduced U.S. Options, New York...
View ArticleA “cessation of hostilities” in Syria? (with link to text of communique)
Developing The ghost of Kofi Annan lives on, in the form of the U.N. negotiations under the aegis of Stefan de Mistura and the Security Council’s resolution in December, 2015 laying out the latest...
View ArticleChessmaster Putin allows humanitarian convoys to distract attention from air...
Russia seems to be complying with part of the sketchy “Cessation of Hostilities agreement in Munich on February 12, 2016, by allowing humanitarian aid convoys to enter areas that have been surrounded...
View ArticleSyria–“Cessation of hostilities” and realities on the ground (Updated March...
Update: Situation as of March 4, 2016 In analyzing reports of the “ceasefire” in Syria, the reader should bear in mind that no serious monitoring mechanism has been put in place. Russia and the Unitd...
View ArticleRussian / Syrian attack on Red Crescent convoy in Syria is a Russian and...
Russian or Syrian aircraft have bombed a Red Crescent humanitarian aid convoy and warehouse in Syria. Despite calls to Russian and Syrian forces from UN officials, the bombing continued during the...
View Article
