Category Archives: Uncategorized

Ukraine invasion opens a new era

Australian, 25/02. 06:00 Moscow time (UTC+3), on Thursday, February 24th, 2022, is likely to be remembered as one of those hinge moments on which history turns.  At that hour, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation with the goal … Continue reading

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Putin’s Masquerades

Jerusalem Post, 18/2 Past Russian practices of deception and intimidation may offer clues as to the direction of events in Ukraine History moves in curious patterns. The countdown to the current fraught moment in Ukraine may be accurately identified.  It … Continue reading

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Turkey’s Ethnic Cleansing Strategy in Syria uses Israeli-Arab NGO

Jerusalem Post, 4/2 On June 21, 2021, a newly built mosque was inaugurated in the village of Sheikh Khurez, in north west Syria, close to the Turkish border.  Sheikh Khurez is located in the part of Syria under the nominal … Continue reading

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Iran: the China Connection

1/2 With the world focused on the crisis in Ukraine, a joint exercise in the Indian Ocean involving the navies of Iran, China and Russia passed largely un-noticed last week. The exercise, dubbed ‘2022 Marine Security Belt’ was the third … Continue reading

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Iranian attacks in Iraq reflect weakness, disarray

Jerusalem Post, 21/1 A series of bomb and grenade attacks have taken place over the last week in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. They were directed at financial facilities and political offices associated with a  number of factions currently taking part … Continue reading

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Four Mid-East Trendlines to Watch in 2022

Jerusalem Post, 7/1 As 2022 begins, the Mid-East strategic picture is in a state of flux and change.  Stable and long held assumptions about the region, its dynamics, its main players and its power structures are being challenged.  So what are the … Continue reading

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China at the Crossroads

A version of this article appeared in the Australian Newspaper, in December, 2021. Will the US-China Cold War reach the Middle East? The rise of China as a peer competitor to the United States is the most significant geo-political process … Continue reading

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Did Turkey use Chemical Weapons in northern Iraq? 

Jerusalem Post, 24/12 On December 3rd, a stormy demonstration took place outside the headquarters of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in the Hague.  40-50 demonstrators, most of them Kurds, were arrested. The demonstrators were demanding that … Continue reading

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Erdogan’s Turkey and Hamas: A natural partnership

Jerusalem Post, 11/12 At a conference in Istanbul last week, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh expressed his gratitude for the role that Turkey is playing in the advancement of the Palestinian cause. “From the land of the beloved Turkey, which is … Continue reading

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Iran is not Leaving Syria any time soon

Jerusalem Post, 19/11 The departure of an Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander from Syria this month has led to some speculation in regional media that the Syrian regime is seeking to recalibrate its relations with Teheran. Two Saudi news outlets claimed … Continue reading

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