April, 2024

• 27 April

  The Delusion of Peak China

  

  Ever since Chinese President Xi Jinping secured his third term in power in the fall of 2022, he has had a rough time. Shortly after his reappointment, street protests pushed him to abruptly abandon his signature “zero COVID” policy. After a quick reopening bump in early 2023, the economy has …

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• 27 April

  Great power competition is back. What does that mean for US special operations forces?

  

  After 9/11, US special operations forces (USSOF) became well known for direct-action missions that captivated the public’s imagination and demonstrated unparalleled tactical success. The highly publicized raids, precision strikes, and elimination of terrorist threats solidified USSOF’s reputation as the tip of the spear in the US military’s arsenal. In recent …

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• 27 April

  The war in Ukraine could reach a decision point by the NATO Summit. Policymakers need to prepare now.

  

  Russia has launched its third major mobilization wave in anticipation of its upcoming spring/summer campaign to take more land in Ukraine. On March 31, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to begin the next conscription drive, setting the target at 150,000 new inductees slated for military service. This came …

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• 27 April

  Hamas leader in Gaza met fighters, inspected battle sites

  

  The leader of the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, Yehya al-Sinwar, has recently inspected areas that saw clashes between Hamas and Israeli forces, a senior official in the movement told the Qatar-owned Al-Araby Al-Jadeed newspaper. Al-Sinwar has been leading the movement in the field and reports about …

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• 27 April

  Senior Iranian Regime Officials Warn Of Iran’s Coming Nuclear Breakout

  

  Introduction Since Iran’s April 14, 2024 drone and missile attack on Israel, named “True Promise,” by the Iranian regime, and against the backdrop of statements by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general Rafael Grossi that Iran is “weeks rather than months” away from having enough enriched uranium to develop …

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• 27 April

  From Gaza to Jerusalem, it’s the same war

  In an interview with business newspaper The Marker about Israel’s economy in 2012, Benjamin Netanyahu boasted, in what has since become a kind of idiomatic phrase, that “if you leave out the Arabs and the ultra-Orthodox, [Israel’s] in great shape.” Today, the prime minister seems to be refining that tagline …

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• 27 April

  Defending Israel, but not Kurdistan?

  

  When U.S. Patriots shot down an Iranian missile over Erbil on April 15, Kurds wondered why such defenses weren’t activated when they were attacked. Late in the night of April 13, Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, was shaken by the sound of a Patriot missile battery shooting down …

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• 27 April

  Marking 200 Days Of Israel-Hamas War, Yemen’s Houthi Ansar Allah Movement Calls For Maritime Escalation Against Israel And A ‘General Mobilization’ Of The ‘Jihadi Yemeni People’

  April 24, 2024, marked 200 days since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. On the occasion, Yemen’s Ansar Allah Houthi movement issued statement reaffirming its support for Palestinians and calling for further escalation against Israel. Houthi Political Bureau Calls For Further Maritime Escalation To Confront “Unparalleled Level Of Jewish Hatred …

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• 27 April

  Iranian Journalist Comes Out Against The Demand To End The Gaza War Before It Has Been Decided, Attacks Hamas: No Organization Has The Right To Kill At Will

  

  In his March 22, 2024 column in the London-based daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Iranian journalist and author Amir Taheri, who resides in the U.S., came out strongly against the solidarity with Hamas expressed around the world after the October 7 attack on Isael, and against the calls to end the Gaza …

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• 27 April

  Qatari Shura Council Member Essa Al-Nassr: October 7 Was An Introduction To The Annihilation Of The Zionist State; There Can Be No Peace With Them; They Are The Slayers Of The Prophets

  In a video posed on Ahmed Alshalfi on X (Twitter) on April 22, 2024, Qatar representative to the Arab Parliament, Shura Council Member Essa bin Ahmad Al-Nassr, said there can be no peace with the “Zionist entity.” He explained that the Zionists’ faith condones deception, the violation of agreements, and …

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