by Pepe Escobar for The Asia Times From the start, the “positive chemistry” in the Mother of All Sit-Downs was a given. The format – with only the four principals, Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and two translators – prevented any leaks. What was originally scheduled for 35 minutes went on for 2 hours and 16 minutes, and not even an impromptu
by Peter Koenig “Welcome to Hell!” is the slogan with which G20 protesters greet the self-appointed leaders of the world to their summit on 7 and 8 July 2017 in Hamburg, Germany, under Madame Merkel’s auspices to discuss the calamities of our globe and how to resolve them. Never mind that the distress of Mother Earth has been mostly caused by those who represent the West, and now pretend to
by Ramin Mazaheri Russia’s economic output in 1921 – following World War One and then four years of (International) Civil War – was slashed by a mind-boggling 80% as compared to 1913. The Russian Civil War was truly international because there were 14 foreign armies operating on Russian soil after 1917: The Germans occupied 25% of Russia’s former territory, the British took oil fields around Baku and furnished 1 million
by Ghassan and Intibah Kadi In a previous article titled “A Muslim Spring” published on the Saker, on the 12th of June 2017, the analysis of the then recent Qatar standoff took us into the direction of whether new Middle Eastern alliances were taking form and old ones dismantling. Developments since then reveal that the distinctive parts of the new embryos are already differentiating and emerging. The initial article foresaw
by Ghassan Kadi In an article published on the Saker titled “Kurdish Autonomy; Partition or Masterplan”, and as the unsavoury prospect of establishing an independent Kurdish state in Syria was taking form, I emphasised that this scenario is avoidable, and at worst, if it had to happen, and if all cards were played correctly, then a seemingly impending disaster could be turned around and that any potential harm could be
by Ramin Mazaheri Qatar crisis from the Iranian view: Waiting for a feudal revolution, still… This simplest way to understand the Iranian view of the current Qatar crisis is to grasp this totally-ignored reality: No matter what happens, there are many Iranian politicians, mullahs, social leaders and average citizens who will not stop calling to abolish the Qatari monarchy. Who makes similar calls in the West? Nobody. This issue –
by Pepe Escobar for the Asia Times Anyone attempting to “rebuild” Afghanistan will have their work cut out. The success of China’s Belt and Road Initiative hinges on progress being made, however Will the New Silk Roads, a.k.a. Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) ever manage to cross the Hindu Kush? Temerity is the name of the game. Even though strategically located astride the Ancient Silk Road, and virtually contiguous to
by Jimmie Moglia According to the great Dr. Johnson, “Men can be estimated by those who know them not, only as they are represented by those who know them.” An unavoidable universal contingency – for, indeed, we don’t know most of the people we judge. And the same, but for a few much-travelled individuals, applies to nations. We also know that “on the tongue of Rumor, continual slanders rise, stuffing
by Ramin Mazaheri I was flying from New York to Silicon Valley on the “Job Creators’ Red Eye”, and I had a chance to catch up on some foreign cultural news from our nation’s paper of record, The New York Times. There was a very interesting item about the extremely backward practices of Asians regarding romance. This partly-ironic, mostly-pitying article focused on China. Immediately, my blood ran cold. It had
by Peter Koenig There is hardly a day that goes by without a terror attack somewhere in the world, emphasis on western world. There were three successive UK terror attacks within less than three months, one in Manchester two in London, where all the ‘terrorists’ – who all yelled coincidentally Allahu Akbar (God is Great) while committing their heinous crimes – were killed. None was left alive for testimony. Since
by Yameen Khan The United States is actively committed to bring Russia into submission via encirclement and a two pronged attack. NATO’s expansion of bases in vassal states right up to Russia’s borders, coupled with an attempt at encroachment in Syria, should allow The Hegemon to undermine Russia’s underbelly from the Caucasus to Central Asia. To understand how Russians usually respond to Western power a little time travel, starting 1219
by Eric Zuesse This will present a typical example in which the U.S. promotes Al Qaeda and other jihadists, and then honors that promotion by calling this PR not “propaganda” as it really is, but instead outstanding “news reporting,” and then honors that “news reporting,” with prestigious ‘journalism’ awards from the Overseas Press Club, and The Peabody. Throughout, the jihadists in Syria are being referred to in these ‘news’-reports as
by Ramin Mazaheri That headline is not even a bold statement because Macron has promised austerity and…when has austerity ever worked? It is really that simple. There has been nearly four decades of trickle-down economics and anti-socialist policies, but there has been no promised increase in the standard of living. It has only dropped since the gains of the 1970s, the era of maximum worker power in the West. I
by Pepe Escobar for the Asia Times hina’s cardinal foreign policy imperative is to refrain from interfering abroad while advancing the proverbial good relations with key political actors – even when they may be at each other’s throats. Still, it’s nothing but gut-wrenching for Beijing to watch the current, unpredictable, Saudi-Qatari standoff. There’s no endgame in sight, as plausible scenarios include even regime change and a seismic geopolitical shift in
Leaked email suggests Russophobia campaign prelude to US invasion of Ukraine (Note: This leaked email has not yet been verified by WikiLeaks:) Date: 2017-06-14 Source: Pentagon Classification: SECRET/NOFORN/BLTPBJ S E C R E T SECTION 03 OF 1,242 WASHINGTON – 314159265 SUBJECT: Major General protests decision to continue the Russophobia campaign CLASSIFICATION APPROVED BY: CLASSIFIED REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) I strongly urge those reading this email to finally acknowledge that
by Ghassan Kadi As the world citizens watch with horror the escalation between the USA and Russia on one hand and with China on the other hand, and as they fear the worst; a nuclear holocaust, citizens of the Muslim World watch the escalation between Saudi Arabia and Iran and fear the “regional worst”, and that is an all-out Sunni Shiite strife. It must be remembered that even though Muslim
by Ramin Mazaheri Emmanuel Macron very quickly made it official: He will introduce a bill which will transform extraordinary state of emergency powers into regular police practice. According to Le Monde, which saw a leaked copy of the bill: “…almost all the measures of the state of emergency will be found in common law.” What this means is that the post-Charlie Hebdo war hysteria has not only never stopped, but
by Peter Koenig On 8 of June, I had the privilege to attend a press conference hosted by the Venezuelan Ambassador in Bern, Switzerland. The purpose of the press conference was to clarify the current highly misrepresented situation in Venezuela, as well as explaining the process of electing a new National Constitutional Assembly (Asamblea Nacional Constituyente – ANC) on July 30, 2017. In his hour-long presentation, the Ambassador introduced the
by Ghassan Kadi The sudden, unprovoked and coordinated outrage of Middle East regional powers, as well as international powers, against Qatar is something akin to a story in “Fables de La Fontaine”. With a bit of a twist, it resembles the story of “The Animals Seized with the Plague”. For the benefit of those who are unfamiliar with this fable, the animals convened to find out why they were struck
by Ramin Mazaheri So ISIL claims to have made their first attack in Iran. The response in Iran appears to be: So what? Despite an attack occurring near Tehran’s international airport there was no disruption in air travel. Citizens were asked to stay off the metro, but nothing went on lockdown. There was no martial law. Not even a state of emergency has been declared. No civil liberties have been
