Whatever one may think about its lack of morality, it was coldly pragmatic and wasn’t responsible for sparking World War II, just for temporarily putting off what proved to be its most deadly phase in Europe. The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (MRP) is back in the news after President Putin explained to …

Iranian Judiciary Chief Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei discussed the removal of US forces from Iraq, counterterrorism, and border security with senior Iraqi politicians in Baghdad on February 13 and 14. Iranian judicial officials rarely travel abroad. Acting Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mohsen al Mandalawi claimed that the Iraqi Parliament will pass …

Fatalities linked to militant Islamist violence jumped by 20 percent in the past year, claiming more than 23,000 lives—a new record. Over 80 percent of these deaths were in the Sahel and Somalia. Highlights Fatalities linked to militant Islamist violence rose by 20 percent in the past year (from 19,412 …

The US is edging closer to war with Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces, a state security agency composed of armed groups, some of which are close to Iran, but which for the main are Iraqi nationalists. The US carried out a drone strike in Baghdad, Wednesday that killed three members of …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …