How Can Anyone Still Be An Interventionist?
Given the ongoing disasters in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, Libya, and the rest of the Middle East, how can anyone in his right mind still be an interventionist? Look at Iraq. The US invasion and multi-year occupation of that country was supposed to bring a paradise of peace, prosperity, and harmony to the country. That’s what killing...
A ‘Royal Rumble’ in Syria means yet more chaos for civilians
Uneasy allies? Alexei Druzhinin/REUTERSAs a child, I would eagerly await the annual World Wrestling Federation (now WWE) “Royal Rumble” – 30 of the best wrestlers, all in one ring, fighting it out in a lengthy and often brutal (and yes, scripted) affair over the course of hours to be the last man standing. The most entertaining part, I found,...
MH-17 Final Report: Who Shot Down The Plane?
The long-awaited final report of the Dutch Safety Board on the 2014 shoot-down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH-17 over Ukraine came out yesterday, but it offered very little in terms of what actually happened. With the most powerful intelligence apparatus on earth, how is it that the US cannot bring forth evidence to back its claims about Russian...
Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine, based on information received as of 19:30hrs, 12 October 2015
This report is for the media and general public. The SMM monitored the implementation of the “Package of measures for the implementation of the Minsk agreements”. Its monitoring was restricted by the parties and security considerations*. The SMM revisited three Ukrainian Armed Forces and two “DPR” heavy weapons holding areas. Verification of...
Europe On the Edge Again
Could the Baltic states‘ stance on Russia be adopted by the EU after testing times? …read more Source: Transitions Online...
The New McCarthyism
Cold War II is upon us. Once again, to write the phrase “the Kremlin” is to evoke images of an Oriental despotism both ominous and inscrutable, only slightly less sinister than the Dark Tower. Russia, once thought to have been liberated from its Soviet chains, is now the new Mordor. And, of course, Vladimir Putin is the new Sauron: cunning,...
Russia Slams Dutch MH17 Report
Aviation Authority calls for new UN probe as Buk missile-maker releases report blaming Ukraine. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Hague to Probe Russian-Georgian ‘War Crimes’
International Criminal Court chief prosecutor ‘has enough evidence’ to investigate alleged atrocities. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Ukrainian Pilot’s Sister Barred From Russia
Nadia Savchenko’s sister Vira is the main defense witness in the pilot’s ongoing murder trial. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Avoiding a new Cold War. Really?
Writing on this blog—in “Why a new Cold War can be avoided”—Jeremy Shapiro and Samuel Charap pose a stark choice between a new Cold War and Washington negotiating with Moscow on a settlement for Ukraine. They make an interesting case. But they overstate the risk of a Cold War, appear ready to negotiate over the head of a smaller state, and do not...
