In The News

The Huffington Post: Why Trump’s Strategy to Deal With North Korea Won’t Cut It

Jesselyn Cook December 29, 2017
North Korea fired another intercontinental ballistic missile in late November, and US President Donald Trump continues calls for China and President Xi Jinping “to crack down on its defiant trading partner with tougher sanctions.” North Korea does not appear to lean toward denuclearization despite Trump’s ongoing promises for “major sanctions.” While Trump counts on Xi and China’s economic...

AL.com: Listen Up, America, Alabama Has Spoken

December 13, 2017
US elections have big implications for the rest of the world, and all eyes were on the special election in Alabama for a single US Senate seat. Turnout was heavy and voters elected Democrat Doug Jones over the Republican candidate who expressed opposition to immigration and rejected scientific consensus around climate change. Roy Moore also supported increased military spending and described...

The Guardian: Trump Pulls US Out of UN Global Compact on Migration

Patrick Wintour December 8, 2017
Citing its commitment to US political sovereignty and strict immigration policies, the Trump administration has pulled the country of the United Nations’ global compact on migration. The announcement came within hours of the opening of a UN global conference on migration in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. According to Patrick Wintour of the Guardian, “The UN had always insisted that the compact was...

Reuters: Source Claims Deutsche Bank Gets Mueller Subpoena

Arno Schuetze and Nathan Layne December 5, 2017
The US rule of law has a long reach. US federal investigators looking into Russian interference of the 2016 presidential election are reported to have asked Deutsche bank for data on accounts held by associates of Donald Trump and his family. “Germany’s largest bank received a subpoena from Special Counsel Robert Mueller several weeks ago to provide information on certain money and credit...

The Washington Post: In the Middle East, The Dream of Democracy Is Dead

Asli Aydıntaşbaş November 27, 2017
In 2010 a Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire to protest harassment that limited his ability to earn a living. His action triggered region-wide populist uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa that became known as the Arab Spring. Fleeting hopes for radical reconstruction of state and society now seems dead, buried and even forgotten. Asli Aydıntaşbaş observes...

The Guardian: Israeli Military Chief Wants Closer Saudi Ties as Iran Tensions Rise

Peter Beaumont November 23, 2017
Israeli military chief Gadi Eisenkot affirmed his nation’s commitment to a regional US-backed axis against Iran during an interview with the Saudi newspaper Elaph. Eisenkot described Iran as the major threat for a region destabilized by extremism, autocracies, wars and lack of economic opportunities. According to Eisenkot, Israel could share intelligence with what he called “moderate” Arab states...

The Guardian: Mugabe's Fall and China

Simon Tisdall November 21, 2017
A recent visit to Beijing by Zimbabwe’s General Constantino Chiwenga is fueling speculation about Chinese involvement in Harare – à la the US Central Intelligence Agency in Iran in 1953. Simon Tisdall observes for the Guardian: “If so, the world may just have witnessed the first example of a covert coup d’état of the kind once favoured by the CIA and Britain’s MI6, but conceived and executed with...