Along with China, Iran, and North Korea, Russia is one of a handful of strategic competitors posing a substantial threat to U.S. strategic interests. Russia has now interfered to some extent in at least three democratic elections in the United States. Russian hackers are probably responsible for the recent SolarWinds …
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US Navy adds new task force to patrol Red Sea
Task Force 153 will patrol the Red Sea and waters around Yemen, as Iran shows no sign of relinquishing support for the Houthis. The US will establish a new multinational task force to patrol the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, the commander of US Navy forces in the …
Read More »OPEC loans $100 million to Morocco to promote financial inclusivity
Financial technology (fintech) is expanding across the Middle East and enabling more people to use financial tools. But some cultural barriers remain. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has announced a loan to Morocco aimed at promoting financial inclusivity. OPEC’s Fund for International Development signed a $100 million …
Read More »Iran Quds Force commander lauds Israel attacks
The head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ overseas missions expressed admiration for the assailants behind the recent attacks in Israel, which he took as a sign of the Jewish state’s vulnerability. After a chain of deadly attacks inside Israel, commander of Iran’s Quds Force Esmail Ghaani declared that Tehran …
Read More »Islamic State uses dust storm as cover for desert attack on Iraqi soldiers
An Islamic State cell operating in Iraq’s largely desert province of Anbar killed two Iraqi soldiers the day after an armed drone allegedly from Iran-linked armed groups was shot down at a major base hosting coalition forces in the same area. Islamic State (IS) fighters took advantage of reduced visibility …
Read More »Delisting IRGC as terror group would send ‘terribly wrong message,’ says Israel’s US ambassador
Michael Herzog, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, discussed the looming Iranian nuclear accord, chances of a Palestinian political process, the war in Ukraine, Arab-Israeli normalization and more, at a breakfast hosted by Al-Monitor. Israel is concerned it will bear the consequences of a restored nuclear agreement with Iran that …
Read More »From Mosul to Raqqa to Mariupol, Killing Civilians is a Crime
Americans have been shocked by the death and destruction of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, filling our screens with bombed buildings and dead bodies lying in the street. But the United States and its allies have waged war in country after country for decades, carving swathes of destruction through cities, towns …
Read More »The Role of Capitalism in the War in Ukraine
To the motives for war in human history, capitalism added another: profit. That motive drove technological advancement and created a genuine world economy. It also built new capitalist empires such as the Spanish, Dutch, British, French, Belgian, Russian, German, Japanese, and American empires. Each of these countries built its empire …
Read More »The Return of Conquest?
Why the Future of Global Order Hinges on Ukraine Russian President Vladimir Putin has long declared that Ukraine has never existed as an independent country. The former Soviet republic is “not even a state,” he said as early as 2008. In a speech on February 21 of this year, he …
Read More »Could the Siloviki Challenge Putin?
What It Would Take for a Coup by Kremlin Insiders Among the many questions surrounding Russia’s disastrous war in Ukraine, one of the most notable concerns the growing tensions between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his own security services and military. The war started with Putin holding a televised security …
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