December, 2023

• 22 December

  Biden team wary of retaliating against Houthi attacks at sea

  

  Senior Biden administration officials agree that striking Houthis in Yemen is the wrong course of action for now, per three U.S. officials, even though some military officers have proposed more forceful responses to the militants’ attacks in the Red Sea. There’s high-level consensus within the administration that it does not …

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• 22 December

  Oil and gas prices surge as BP stops Red Sea shipments following Houthi attacks

  

  Oil and natural gas prices rose sharply Monday after BP (BP) said it would pause all shipments through the Red Sea because of increased attacks on commercial vessels by Houthi militants from Yemen. The decision by one of the world’s biggest oil companies follows similar moves by major shipping firms, …

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• 22 December

  What attacks in the Red Sea could mean for the global economy

  

  In the past week, Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have fired missiles at container ships in the Red Sea in addition to attacking US and allied warships. Houthi representatives have said that those attacks will continue against ships related to Israel in any way, to support Hamas and as a …

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• 22 December

  What’s behind the attacks on ships in the Red Sea

  

  For years, a Yemen-based Islamist group called the Houthis have periodically attacked ships traversing the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the opening of the Red Sea. These attacks were focused on Saudi or Emirati vessels, typically carrying medical supplies, weapons, or oil, and they occurred during flare-ups in the ongoing conflict …

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• 22 December

  A Resolution to the Transnistria Conflict Is More Distant Than Ever

  

  The de facto state of Transnistria and its dispute with Moldova has always been a peripheral matter for the international community. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it has faded even further into the background. When Azerbaijan established full control over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023, the post-Soviet …

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• 22 December

  India’s Arms Sales To Armenia Aim To Assist Yerevan’s Clumsy Balancing Act

  

  Unlike the US and France, which are taking the lead in the West’s efforts to lure Armenia away from Russia for regional divide-and-rule purposes, neither India nor Iran believes that their actions in correspondingly exporting such wares to Armenia and facilitating them destabilize the region. The West exploited Azerbaijan’s back-to-back …

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• 21 December

  The World Is at War

  

  [Senator JD] Vance has apparently not heard of World War II, which did not end with a negotiation either in Europe or the Pacific. Leaders, officials, and legislators across the political spectrum have gone crazy, thinking their crowd-pleasing but truly awful ideas, if implemented, will have no consequences. [Biden] is …

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• 21 December

  Increased Russian-Iranian Defense Cooperation Poses Threat To Ukraine And The West – Analysis

  

  On November 28, Iranian state media reported that Tehran had finalized a long-awaited deal with Russia to procure Sukhoi Su-35 fighters jets, attack helicopters, and military trainer aircraft. Although some sources dubbed the announcement as another round of government speculation, Iranian Deputy Defense Minister General Mahdi Farahi confirmed the reports …

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• 21 December

  Georgia’s Twelve European Labors – Analysis

  

  It’s official. The European Union formally let Georgia into the reception area for prospective members. A summit of European leaders endorsed on December 14 a proposal to put the country on the EU membership waiting list, prompting grand celebrations. But the real work for getting out of the post-Soviet woods …

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• 21 December

  Daily Jihad in France

  

  From the murder of Sébastien Sellam in 2003 to that of Mireille Knoll in 2018, all murders of Jews in France have been committed by radicalized Muslims. Shouting “we are coming to kill white people”, they attacked, murdering Thomas Perotto, aged 17, who had his throat slit. Seventeen other people …

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