The debate over U.S. foreign aid is a distraction. That’s not to say that the amount of taxpayer money flowing to foreign countries in the form of military and economic assistance is insignificant. Even at less than 1% of the federal budget, the United States still spends more on foreign …
Read More »Biden’s Dilemma: Navigating Political Support Amid Global Conflict – Analysis
The United States (US) Congress is currently facing an unprecedented strain, primarily due to the ongoing tug-of-war between Republicans and Democrats on a range of issues, spanning from domestic politics to international and geopolitical matters. Importantly, domestic issues now seem inseparably hyphenated with US national security and international politics. In …
Read More »Albanians Aren’t Indebted To Italy For Its 1990s ‘Welcome’ – OpEd
Edi Rama’s justification for the migrant deal with Rome – that Albanians owe Italy a historic ‘debt’ to Italy – is based on a misreading of history. The protocols signed by Albanian PM Edi Rama and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni last November by which the government in Tirana will allow Italy …
Read More »Egypt is Gaza’s most fickle friend The President hates Hamas, but his people despise Israel
A few years ago, while reporting in Gaza, I paid a visit to the Rafah border crossing with Egypt. Mohammed, my fixer, wasn’t keen. The guards there, he explained, were unfriendly. Sometimes they’d fire in the air if people approached; other times they’d shoot to kill. Beatings or at least …
Read More »There Is No Place for the Palestinians of Gaza to Go
On February 9, 2024, Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his army would advance into Rafah, the last remaining city in Gaza not occupied by the Israelis. Most of the 2.3 million Palestinians who live in Gaza had fled to its southern border with Egypt after being told by …
Read More »US gives Israel blank check to massacre civilians in Rafah
In multiple statements over the past 24 hours, US officials have made clear that they will take no action against Israel no matter how many civilians it massacres in its planned assault on Rafah, where one million displaced people are sheltering. These statements effectively give Israel a blank check to …
Read More »Syria Today – Hezbollah Training Russian Drone Operators in Homs; Cross Border Aid Extended Three Months
Ukraine says Russian troops are being trained on the use of Iranian drones at the Shayrat airfield in Syria’s western province of Homs. At the same time, Syria has extended permission for the United Nations to deliver aid to opposition-held areas in the northwest of the country via two Turkish …
Read More »Syria Today – ISIS Attack; SDF Clashes with Arab Tribes
Militants from the Islamic State group attacked military barracks in central Syria, while Deir-ez-Zor witnessed clashes between Kurdish forces and arab tribes. Missile attacks on US base in Syria Iranian-backed groups launched missile attacks on a US base on the west bank of the Euphrates River in Syria, MEMO reported. …
Read More »Syria Today – US Base Under Attack; Organizations Call for More Aid; Russia Recruiting Mercenaries
Explosions have been reported near a US army base in Syria following an attack linked to retaliatory US airstrikes against Iranian-aligned groups and their positions. Meanwhile, the United Nations and human rights organizations have called for increased aid for Syria, one year after a devastating earthquake struck Turkey and the …
Read More »Russia’s Dangerous New Friends
How Moscow Is Partnering With the Axis of Resistance Since invading Ukraine in 2022, Russia has forged deep ties with Iran. Moscow—which joined a sanctions regime against Tehran in the 2010s in an effort to restrict its nuclear program—has begun diplomatically shielding the Islamic Republic and boosting its investment in …
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