Yearly Archives: 2021

Iraqi Shiite leader Sadr to sit out October election

Muqtada al-Sadr also said he would withdraw his support for the current government and its replacement. Influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr says he will boycott Iraq’s upcoming general election, announcing that he is withdrawing support from the current and future governments. “In order to preserve what is left of the …

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Hayat Tahrir al-Sham kicks Chechen jihadis out of Idlib

After Hayat Tahrir al-Sham told the Chechen jihadi group Jund al-Sham it could either join its ranks or leave Idlib, the group’s members evacuated their military positions in the countryside of Latakia. Well-informed sources among jihadi groups told Al-Monitor that the Chechen Jund al-Sham (Soldiers of the Levant) group has …

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Talabani family feud at center of power struggle in Iraqi Kurdistan party

The apparent takeover of the Iraqi Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party by Bafel Talabani is more family affair than policy dispute. The power struggle within Iraqi Kurdish Talabani dynasty sharply escalated late Tuesday as dozens of gunmen stormed the offices of a fledgling media outlet owned by Lahur Sheikh Jangi …

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US says nuclear talks to continue, despite alleged Iran kidnapping plot

State Department spokesman Ned Price said Washington is “ready to go” ahead with talks, after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the task of renegotiating the deal had been handed over to the next administration. The United States will continue to negotiate a mutual return to the landmark Iranian nuclear accord, …

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Has Turkey changed its anti-Islamic State strategy?

Although Turkish authorities have increased security operations against Islamic State cells in the country, Ankara’s anti-IS strategy remains riddled with gaping holes. Increasing security operations against Islamic State (IS) cells across Turkey since June have raised the question whether Ankara is changing its oft-criticized anti-IS strategy as the latest operations …

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Russia’s Options Following A Taliban Takeover Of Afghanistan: Cooperation With The Taliban Or Containing Them

The American withdrawal from Afghanistan coupled with the exponential growth of those parts of the country under the rule of the Taliban have caused alarm in Russia. Kommersant’s foreign policy expert Maxim Yusin painted a series of gloomy scenarios. The Taliban could expend into the former Soviet republics in Central …

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Iran Drives Development of Persian Gulf–Black Sea International Transport and Transit Corridor

Back in 2016, Iran put forward a regional initiative to expand the Persian Gulf–Black Sea International Transport and Transit Corridor, which, in addition to the Islamic Republic itself, involves Armenia, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Bulgaria and Greece. This multimodal corridor begins from the Gulf and southern Iran, heads northward …

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After 20 Years and $2.26 Trillion, the US has Lost Its Longest War in Afghanistan

Another lost war! Another denial! The US actually began its war on the people of Afghanistan back during the presidency of Jimmy Carter, who foolishly followed the advice of his Russia-hating, rabidly anti-Communist Polish emigre National Security Director Zbigniew Brzezinski. Brzezinski, in mid-1979, successfully convinced the gullible Carter to launch …

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How Nations Turn Evil

This commentary analyzes the triggers that cause nation-states to embrace evil. No country is inherently good or evil. From time to time, however, nations turn evil. Just as every human is potentially criminal, every nation is potentially wicked. Triggers alter action-potential into action. Frequently, governments accuse each other of being …

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