Paul Schmutz Schaller for The Saker Blog Introduction In some sense, this article is a comment on some aspects of Andrei Martyanov’s two books „Losing Military Supremacy: the Myopia of American Strategic Planning“ (2018) and „The (Real) Revolution in Military Affairs“ (2019). I am not aiming at discussing these excellent books; if you do not intend to read them, you may at least look at the book reviews of The
Pepe Escobar – posted with permission The United States may be destined for a shorter historical existence than the Mongol era established by Genghis Khan A considerable spectrum of the liberal West takes the American interpretation of what civilization consists of to be something like an immutable law of nature. But what if this interpretation is on the verge of an irreparable breakdown? Michael Vlahos has argued that the US
Today, Vladimir Putin was presented with letters of credence by 23 ambassadors of foreign countries. The ceremony was held in the Grand Kremlin Palace’s Aleksandrovsky Hall. The presentation of letters of credence is usually held several times per year. This is the first ceremony held this year. By tradition, the president gives a welcoming address to the ambassadors. Full Transcript : http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/62732 Presentation of foreign ambassadors’ letters of credence February 5,
By Pepe Escobar – posted with permission Chinese President Xi Jinping is leading a scientific ‘People’s War’ against the coronavirus President Xi Jinping formally told WHO head Tedros Ghebreyesus, at their meeting in Beijing earlier this week, that the coronavirus epidemic “is a devil and we cannot allow the devil to hide.” Ghebreyesus for his part could not but praise Beijing for its extremely swift, coordinated response strategy – which includes
By George Eliason for The Saker Blog To paraphrase a saying so relevant today it’s scary, those that don’t understand history are bound to be bitten on the buttocks by it. Do you hear that sound? That’s history running up behind you. Israel just had a Holocaust commemoration that featured celebrating the memory of unrepentant WWII murderers and torturers along with the memory of their victims. That’s a win, win
by Naresh Jotwani for The Saker Blog Consider the hypothetical case of an economy with annual GDP of 5 trillion US dollars, the broad economic dynamics of which are the subject matter of this exploration. The hypothetical country whose economy we analyse here is named AB, because its internal economy is composed of two distinct components A and B. The total population of AB is 100 million, but only about
Original link: http://middleeastobserver.net/muqtada-al-sadr-us-occupation-the-iraqi-resistance/ (Please support MiddleEastObserver.net on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/MiddleEastObserver) Description: Prominent Lebanese political analyst Nasser Kandil analyses the strategic significance of Iraqi Shia leader Sayyed Muqtada al-Sadr’s recent call for a “million-man march”, which demanded that the US military completely withdraw from the Arab country. Kandil is a regular fixture on Lebanese and Arab media, often commentating on matters relating to the regional ‘Resistance Axis’, an emerging anti-Israeli/anti-US imperialist alliance composed of, but
By Pepe Escobar posted with permission The Middle East is the key to wide-ranging, economic, interlinked integration, and peace Under the cascading roar of the 24/7 news cycle cum Twitter eruptions, it’s easy for most of the West, especially the US, to forget the basics about the interaction of Eurasia with its western peninsula, Europe. Asia and Europe have been trading goods and ideas since at least 3,500 BC. Historically,
Mansoureh Tajik for The Saker Blog Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim, “In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.” This essay may be billed as a companion to, or a rebuttal of, or a commentary on Pepe Escobar’s article titled, “The Roots of American Demonization of Shia Islam” posted here. I am uncertain about a suitable label. Perhaps the readers could formulate a mental tag & file as they deem appropriate.
By Chris Faure for The Saker Blog It was a good speech that Mr Trump made at Davos. He studied his lines and his part well. Starting off with a serious sonorous recitation of The Great American Comeback and following with economic numbers that are so incredibly good, the best ever, a turnaround and a boom, he ended this part stressing the best in the entire world and in all
By Ramin Mazaheri and crossposted with PressTV (Ramin Mazaheri is the chief correspondent in Paris for Press TV and has lived in France since 2009. He has been a daily newspaper reporter in the US, and has reported from Iran, Cuba, Egypt, Tunisia, South Korea and elsewhere. He is the author of the books ‘I’ll Ruin Everything You Are: Ending Western Propaganda on Red China’ and the upcoming ‘Socialism’s Ignored Success:
By Pepe Escobar with permission and crossposted with The Unz Review The US targeted assassination, via drone strike, of Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, apart from a torrent of crucial geopolitical ramifications, once again propels to center stage a quite inconvenient truth: the congenital incapacity of so-called US elites to even attempt to understand Shi’ism – thus 24/7 demonization, demeaning not only Shi’as by also Shi’a-led governments. Washington had been
By Aram Mirzaei for The Saker Blog Nobody has escaped the news of the so called “popular demonstrations” in Iran during the recent days. Hundreds of thousands of articles, updates and tweets have been made on this matter, and many have talked about what the reasons behind these protests have been. Many videos show groups so called Iranians tearing down the pictures of Martyr Qassem Soleimani, while others chant “death
by Ramin Mazaheri and crossposted with PressTV (Ramin Mazaheri is the chief correspondent in Paris for Press TV and has lived in France since 2009. He has been a daily newspaper reporter in the US, and has reported from Iran, Cuba, Egypt, Tunisia, South Korea and elsewhere. He is the author of the books ‘I’ll Ruin Everything You Are: Ending Western Propaganda on Red China’ and the upcoming ‘Socialism’s Ignored Success:
Comments and Timeline : Sputnik
By Pepe Escobar – posted with permission Coming decade could see the US take on Russia, China and Iran over the New Silk Road connection The Raging Twenties started with a bang with the targeted assassination of Iran’s General Qasem Soleimani. Yet a bigger bang awaits us throughout the decade: the myriad declinations of the New Great Game in Eurasia, which pits the US against Russia, China and Iran, the
31 Facts Showing How the Rich are Getting Richer and Everybody Else Poorer by Jon Hellevig for The Saker Blog There is no hiding anymore, the United States has become an oligarch owned banana republic with nukes, and with a monopoly currency which has allowed it to rig the markets for half a century. But now we are only a couple of hours from curtain – Midnight in America. With
by Naresh Jotwani for The Saker Blog I have tried this simple “parlour game” a few times in India. Pass a blank slip of paper to every person present in a group. Request each person to answer the following question anonymously on the slip provided. An old, richly bejeweled lady is passing along a dimly-lit and lonely lane at night. A lone robber robbing all her jewellery would certainly not
Besides discussing internal demographic, economic and weapons issues, the president said the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the US, China, Russia, Britain and France – carry a “special responsibility for securing the sustainable development of humanity.” These five nations must begin to devise measures aimed at neutralizing any conditions for a global war, and develop new approaches towards securing the stability of the planet. RT Commentary
Original link: http://middleeastobserver.net/senior-hamas-official-qasim-soleimani-gave-us-everything-iran-has-to-offer/ (Please support MiddleEastObserver.net on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/MiddleEastObserver) Description: In an extended interview with Al-Mayadeen TV, senior Hamas official Dr. Mahmoud al-Zahar discusses the role of the late Iranian General Qasim Soleimani in supporting ‘Palestinian resistance groups’ and particularly his relationship with the Hamas movement. The following translation contains keys excerpts from the interview. Source: Al-Mayadeen TV Date: 11-01-2020 Transcript: The host: Dr. Mahmoud al-Zahar, welcome back. There is no doubt that Hamas’
