Global Hotspots

Trump Has Just Raised the Stakes With Moscow and Tehran in Three Risky Moves

By Patrick Smith

President Trump made three big moves on Syria and Iran this week. They crisscross and contradict one another, but the administration’s game plan in the Middle East just got a lot clearer.
Here’s the Enormous Economic Leverage China Has Over North Korea

By Greg Wright, The Conversation

North Korea got the world’s attention – and President Donald Trump’s – when it said on July 4 that it had successfully launched an intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time. The weapon,...
Trump’s Fly-by-Night Mideast ‘Policy’ Embraces the Saudi’s New Crown Prince

By Patrick Smith

It’s not likely that President Trump knew what he was getting into when he embraced the Saudis as the rightful leaders of the Islamic world and the war on terror during his visit to Riyadh last month...
Russia’s Top Troll Strikes Again: Putin Offers Comey Political Asylum

By Rob Garver

While much of the world looks at the turmoil in Washington, DC with apprehension and dread, at least somebody watching the expanding investigation of President Trump and his associates is enjoying...
Here’s How the US Could Cripple North Korea’s Economy

By Rob Garver

Punishing North Korea economically for its misdeeds may be simpler than many believe, according to a new report from a Washington non-profit.

Time for Trump to Face It: From Now on, Every Week Is ‘Russia Week’

By Rob Garver

The Trump administration’s efforts to keep Russian interference in last year’s election out of the headlines are being overwhelmed by events, as another week ostensibly dedicated to a different issue...
Putin’s Just Trolling the World Now on Trump and the US Election

By Rob Garver

Russian President Vladimir Putin conceded for the first time that perhaps computer hackers from his country actually had worked to undermine Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.
Here’s One Credible Reason to Doubt the Russia-Kushner Story

By Rob Garver

Following the Washington Post report on Friday that top White House adviser Jared Kushner had approached the Russian ambassador to the US about opening a secret line of communications between Moscow...
How Trump Really Could Make a Difference in the Middle East

By Liz Peek

Two presidents, two trips to the Middle East in their first year in office. That is where the similarities end. I was in Cairo for President Obama’s much-celebrated speech in 2009 as a guest of...
Trump the Diplomat? Will He Charm or Harm US Relations?

By Patrick Smith

Whoever put together President Trump’s first foreign tour has a good grasp of the grand gesture. When he departs Friday, his main stops are Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the Vatican, making Trump the...

Pentagon’s ‘Too Big to Fail’ F-35 Gets Another $10.6 Billion

By Jonathan Berr, The Fiscal Times

Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the most expensive weapons system in history, nearly crash-landed a few years ago under the weight of repeated delays and cost overruns. Despite its...
New Weapon in Syrian Civil War: Female Avatars

By Arjun Kharpal, CNBC

Hackers stole Syrian opposition fighters' strategic battle plans by using "attractive" female Skype avatars to target victims, according to a new report. The attacks, which happened between November...
Russia’s Eroding Economy Risks Putin’s Economic Union

By Rob Garver

With the Russian economy shrinking and fighting continuing to rage in Ukraine, cracks have begun appearing in Vladimir Putin’s Eurasian Economic Union – suggesting more potential trouble down the...
First Greece, Now Spain: Is Europe in for a Political Earthquake?

By Patrick Smith

It took a mere six days for the election victory of the anti-austerity Syriza party in Greece to start ricocheting around Europe like a stray bullet in a concrete bunker. And already the fight...
ISIS Takes Oil Facility in Northern Iraq

By Stephen Kalin, Reuters

Islamic State insurgents on Saturday seized a small crude oil station near the northern Iraqi city Kirkuk where 15 employees were working, and explosions in and around the capital Baghdad killed at...

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