December, 2023

• 12 December

  Hamas’s Goal in Gaza

  

  The Strategy That Led to the War—and What It Means for the Future Among the many striking aspects of Hamas’s October 7 attack against Israel, one that has received relatively little scrutiny is the location. For much of the past decade, the Gaza Strip no longer appeared to be a …

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• 12 December

  Aiding Terror: How Terrorists Exploit Humanitarian Organizations

  

  “We built the tunnels to protect ourselves from airplanes … the refugees, the UN is responsible for protecting them.” The now infamous statement by Musa Abu Marzuk of Hamas, in a television interview of October 2023, illustrates a severe problem that has developed in the interplay between humanitarian aid and …

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• 12 December

  Petrodollar Endgame Moves Even Closer

  

  I’ll be the first to admit that two of the main themes on this blog – the United States’ sovereign debt crisis and the deterioration of the petrodollar – have been extraordinarily slow-moving theses. In both cases, there have been developments that stand at odds with my contentions. For example, …

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• 12 December

  Operation Iron Swords
  Updated to 1 p.m., December 10, 2023

  

  The combat arena: Fighting continues in the northern and southern Gaza Strip. IntegratedIDF forces continued to expand their presence in the area, attacking hundreds of Hamasterrorist targets. The local media reported fierce fighting and the surrender of dozens ofGazans. Senior Hamas terrorists claimed they had the upper hand, were successfullycombatting …

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• 12 December

  Moscow and Gaza: Is Russia Ready for a Major Shift in its Middle East Policy?

  

  Gaza was among the main topics on the agenda of Russian President Vladimir Putin as he arrived in the Middle East region on Wednesday, December 6. Some news reports referred to the trip as ‘rare’, especially since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in February 2022. We know that the …

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• 12 December

  The Dark Side Of AI: Israel’s Controversial Use Of Data And Algorithms In Gaza – OpEd

  

  AI is a broad term that refers to the ability of machines or software to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence such as perception, reasoning, learning, decision making and problem solving. AI has many applications and implications for modern warfare, both on and off the battlefield. Here, we will …

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• 12 December

  Extraordinary Elections: Bid To Restore Tycoons’ Rule In Serbia? – Analysis

  

  Extraordinary parliamentary elections in Serbia, extraordinary elections for the Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, and extraordinary local elections for the capital city of Belgrade and an additional 65 local self-governments will take place on 17 December 2023. According to analysts, these elections are considered the most important since …

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• 12 December

  The New York Times Wants Everyone To Know About The Growing Zelensky-Zaluzhny Rivalry

  

  The West would prefer for Zelensky to get on board with their demands for resuming peace talks with Russia or for him to at the very least not further destabilize the state by widening his rift with Zaluzhny. Instead, he’s flat-out refused peace talks with Russia under any circumstances and …

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• 12 December

  Kiev’s Impending Conscription Propaganda Campaign Proves That Ukrainians Don’t Want To Fight

  

  The confluence of these three trends – Ukrainians souring on Zelensky, the West souring on this proxy war, but Zelensky remaining delusional about the latter and consequently ordering a new conscription drive against the will of his own people – could lead to some political surprises in the coming future. …

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• 12 December

  Ukraine Is Bracing For A Possible Russian Counteroffensive By Fortifying The Entire Front

  

  To summarize: 1) Ukraine is bracing for a Russian counteroffensive by fortifying the entire front; 2) that scenario could be averted, however, by freezing the conflict; 3) but Zelensky refuses to do so due to his messianic delusions of victory despite sobering up a bit lately; 4) A Russian breakthrough …

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