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...

U.S. Spends Billions in World’s Most Corrupt Country

By David Francis

For the second straight year, North Korea, Somalia and Afghanistan topped Transparency International’s annual list of the most corrupt countries in the world. Corruption in North Korea and Somalia is...
Is China Trading a Fly Zone for a Growing Economy?

By Patrick Smith

There is a simple way to look at the complicated crisis that arises as China presses new claims to jurisdiction over air space above the Pacific. Beijing’s recent announcement that it will assert...
Karzai Exploits New Drone Strikes in Afghanistan

By Tim Craig, The Washington Post

The U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan apologized Friday for mistakenly killing a 2-year-old boy during an airstrike, the latest crisis to confront American officials hoping to finalize a long-term...
Snowden May Have Stored ‘Doomsday’ Info on Data Cloud

By Mark Hosenball, Reuters

British and U.S. intelligence officials say they are worried about a "doomsday" cache of highly classified, heavily encrypted material they believe former National Security Agency contractor Edward...
Why Kerry’s Iran Deal Will Hold Up

By Patrick Smith

Secretary of State Kerry pulled off a hat trick in Sunday’s pre-dawn hours, when six world powers and Iran announced an interim deal in Geneva on the latter’s nuclear program. Kerry was all over the...

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