September 22, 2020 Eurasia, Iran, Middle Orient
Ashraf Rifi, Lebanon’s former justice minister and one-time head of the country’s security forces, has told IranWire that the French government had worked to bring about a new government in Lebanon, measures that had included discussion with Iranian officials and Hezbollah. The talks, Rifi said, may well result in an …
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September 22, 2020 Eurasia
In an article published by the Carnegie Moscow Center, analyst Dmitry Trenin warns that Russia’s relationship with Germany is nosediving thanks to Alexey Navalny’s poisoning. In fact, Moscow’s ties to Europe generally are now teetering on total alienation, Trenin says, arguing that a series of scandals has ousted the last …
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September 21, 2020 Eurasia, South East Asia
China’s Type 055 guided-missile destroyers have the potential to be refitted with “aircraft carrier killer” missiles but the weapons would have to be lighter and smaller than existing land-based technology, observers said.
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September 21, 2020 Afghanistan, Eurasia, South East Asia
Afghanistan’s warring sides started negotiations for the first time, bringing together the Taliban and delegates appointed by the Afghan government Saturday for historic meetings aimed at ending decades of war.
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September 21, 2020 Afghanistan, Eurasia, South East Asia
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was in Qatar Saturday for the opening of peace talks there between the Taliban and the Afghan government. Hopefully, the Taliban have figured out by now that these talks are not simply a face-saving exercise for the U.S. to exit South Asia. If they haven’t, …
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September 21, 2020 Afghanistan, Pakistan, South East Asia
Toward the end of August, a delegation from the Afghan Taliban led by the group’s deputy, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, travelled to Islamabad. There, they met with Pakistan’s foreign minister and head of its Inter-Services Intelligence, the military’s intelligence wing. The first gathering, held at Pakistan’s Foreign Office, was meant …
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September 21, 2020 Eurasia, South East Asia
China’s Defense Ministry on Sunday blasted a critical U.S. report on the country’s military ambitions, saying it is the U.S. instead that poses the biggest threat to the international order and world peace.
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September 21, 2020 Eurasia, Middle Orient
“For whatever reason, they’re not that successful at hitting anyone,” Gen. Frank McKenzie says. “I don’t know how long we can count on that continuing.” More than eight months after a barrage of rockets killed an American contractor and wounded four American service members in Kirkuk, Iraq, militia groups continue …
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September 21, 2020 Eurasia, South East Asia
The U.S. Air Force flew three B-1 heavy bombers over the East Siberian Sea, north of Russia’s far east, as part of a series of recent maneuvers that the military said Friday are meant to demonstrate American capabilities and ability to support allies, but which a top Russian commander blasted …
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September 16, 2020 Eurasia, Middle Orient
On Friday, Syrian state-run news SANA reported that the Israelis conducted an airstrike in the suburbs outside of Aleppo in southern Syria. The target was the town of al-Safirah where the Syrians once had a major missile production facility. SANA quoted an unnamed military source who said that “at 1:30 …
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