After the announcement of the Syria and Afghanistan pullout, some Trump-defenders have emerged. One is Rand Paul, who says: I think the burden is really on Mattis and others who want perpetual war to explain why if there is no … Continue reading →
Pros and cons. There are quite a few of each, so I suggest you read the whole thing. It ends this way: Time will tell whether Trump’s decision to remove U.S. forces from Syria was a prelude to disaster for … Continue reading →
I think this is bad news: Trump tweeting that we are leaving Syria has rocked the world…there has been pushback to Trump regarding this decision. Syria, as we all know, has been a cluster from the get go. But now … Continue reading →
See UPDATE at end of post. [NOTE: I use the past tense for Khashoggi because the consensus is that he is dead. This is certainly more likely than not. But I am not convinced of it, because it has not … Continue reading →
Stephen Green writes: It seems possible that Khashoggi was murdered in order to embarrass Crown Prince bin Salman rather than to protect him. If he was murdered at all, that is—and on the whole I think it’s likely that he … Continue reading →
[Go to end of post for UPDATE] I’ve been avoiding writing about the Khashoggi story for the simple reason that the truth—which is often elusive—seems even more elusive than usual in this matter. From moment I first read about it, … Continue reading →
This is very good news: A Turkish court freed American pastor Andrew Brunson on Friday after he spent nearly two years in jail and more time under house arrest on charges related to terrorism and espionage. Brunson had become entangled … Continue reading →
I was thinking about Bernard Lewis the other day and wondering whether he was still alive, because I remembered that even at the time of 9/11 (when I’d first heard of him) he was already pretty old. I got my … Continue reading →
…they certainly didn’t get their money’s worth: U.S. and allied warships and warplanes in the eastern Mediterranean launched a fiery barrage of missiles at multiple military targets in Syria to punish the Russian-backed government in Damascus for its alleged use … Continue reading →
While we are being distracted by such things as the NFL’s knees and Weiner’s weiner, life goes on abroad with some elections. Germany has re-elected Angela Merkel, for example. But the celebration was somewhat muted for Merkel: Merkel’s Pyrrhic victory … Continue reading →
At least, that’s the way it looks at the moment: The Telegraph understands Hashem Abedi, 20, the brother of suspected attacker Salman Abedi, was arrested last night in the capital Tripoli by counterterrorism forces on suspicion of links to the … Continue reading →
Yes, this is a frivolous post. I need a pleasant escape for a little while from the heaviness of the news. Maybe you do, too. And the world cares about these things, as measured by the buzz about the way … Continue reading →