Month: November 2021

The Fall of Vukovar: Oral History of a Croatian Town’s Destruction

On the 30th anniversary of the fall of Vukovar to the Yugoslav People’s Army and Serbian paramilitaries, local residents and Croats who fought to defend the town look back on the devastating three-month siege and its brutal aftermath.

The Yugoslav People’s Army, aided by Serb Territorial Defence forces and paramilitaries from Serbia, launched a full-blown attack on Vukovar in eastern Croatia on August 25, 1991, beginning a siege that would last for 86 days and leave around 3,000 soldiers and civilians dead before the town’s defenders had to surrender.

The New Government In Iraq: Challenges Ahead – Analysis

In 2019, disillusioned with their political system, thousands of Iraqis protested and called for an end to rampant corruption siphoning their country’s oil wealth, for better public services and change in the government. The protest triggered a new election in October 2021, the result of which has given a new picture, unlike in the past. The Iraqi nationalist parties have emerged as the main gainers. This has generated hope that the new government will try to address the issues of political instability, economic crisis, inflation, unemployment, among others. The government will also have to maintain a balance between the US, the Arab allies, Iran and Turkey, the main external actors active in Iraq. Given the number and intensity of the challenges, the new government will have to show some extraordinary diplomatic skills to manage them.

Poland-Belarus border: What you need to know about the crisis

Thousands of migrants and refugees are stranded along the Belarus border with Poland amid a raging geopolitical row.

A simmering months-long border crisis along the European Union’s frontiers with Belarus has morphed into a serious geopolitical dispute and stoked fears of a humanitarian disaster.

Since November 8, there has been a sharp uptick in the number of refugees and migrants heading to the Belarus-Poland border in the hope of crossing into the bloc.

Spain: Migration Crisis Spirals Out of Control

“Guys, listen, most of you want to emigrate. Follow this plan: we need 40 volunteers. All the Brooklyn guys who book a flight to Turkey will fly over Spain. One of you will activate the GPS and when the plane approaches Spain you will begin to scream and feign an illness. The stewardess will come and ask for patience until the plane arrives in Turkey. At this moment the others begin to protest and claim that the passenger is going to die… If everyone shows sympathy for the sick passenger, the plane will make an emergency landing in Spain to protect the reputation of the company and to free itself of responsibility.” — Description of a plot to enter Spain illegally, published in a Moroccan Facebook group, as reported by El Mundo and EFE news agency, November 7, 2021.

“Without Us, There Would Be No Islamic State:” The Role of Civilian Employees in the Caliphate

Abstract: In its state-building project, the Islamic State had to rely extensively on civilian employees to staff its governing institutions. But despite the importance of these civilian employees to the Islamic State, there has been relatively little scholarship published on their role, and there has been a lack of understanding of the different types of employees. Interviews with 43 former Islamic State civilian employees shed light on the two distinct categories of Islamic State employees: those who became full members of the group (muba`yain) and those who did not (munasirin). There are significant differences in how these two categories were treated by the Islamic State, the positions they were able to fill, the financial benefits they received, and the processes through which they joined and left Islamic State employment. The anecdotal evidence suggests that civilian Islamic State employees in specialist occupations or who were particularly useful to the group had greater latitude to push back against the Islamic State or in other words had a greater degree of moral agency. Understanding the nuances is important in assessing the culpability of the Islamic State’s civilian workers and the danger they may pose in the future.

Iraq’s Surprise Election Results

All is still not well in Iraqi politics some eighteen years after the U.S. invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein’s regime. In 2019, a wave of popular protest known as the Tishreen movement swept across the country, as demonstrators called for fundamental reform of the post-2003 political system. Elections held in October, which the government brought forward by six months in response to anger on the street, are the only tangible result of the protests to date. Yet well under half the electorate showed up to vote, raising doubt that the system can generate the legitimacy it so desperately needs. Meanwhile, some of the losing parties are crying fraud in a bid to change the results or at least improve their chances of gaining advantageous positions in a new cabinet. Some have resorted to violence – including, it appears, an assassination attempt on Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi – to press their demands. The most plausible outcome is another coalition that is ill equipped to govern and thus may not survive for very long.

Russian Air Force Takes Revenge On ISIS In Deir Ezzor Desert

Violent explosions rocked the areas under the control of the Syrian regime in the western countryside of Deir Ezzor, yesterday morning (Sunday), caused by intense air strikes, carried out by Russian warplanes on areas in the desert of the region, in an attempt to target ISIS, which is hiding in the caves and caves of the Badia. From him, hours after an ambush carried out by the organization, which caused heavy casualties among the militias loyal to the regime.

Syria will attend the next Arab summit in Algeria, Syrian politician predicts

“In my estimation, Syria will be present at the next Arab summit in Algeria,” Omar Rahmoun tells the Tehran Times.

It seems that the ice between Damascus and Arab countries are thawing.
United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on Tuesday in a sign of reestablishing ties between Syria and the Persian Gulf states.

Afghanistan: From American Strategic Defeat to Regional Integration Platform

In fact, if the Heartland were to succeed in joining the Rimland, the maritime superiority of the United States and more generally of the thalassocratic powers would be over. At that point, the U.S. would only have to shift all its military weight to the Indo-Pacific region and unleash a war directly against China, perhaps under the pretext of Taiwan and claims on the South China Sea. Of course, much will depend on the ability of the Eurasian powers to stabilize Afghanistan, to provide for the risks of Daesh terrorism and other Salafist groups closer to Washington’s interests than to Kabul’s.

Iraq’s elections weaken PKK in Sinjar

Iraq’s October elections may have strengthened the Iraqi Kurdistan administration’s hands in the Yazidi enclave of Sinjar.

The ongoing power struggle between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP, the main political group ruling Iraqi Kurdistan) and armed Kurdish militants from Turkey over the Iraqi Yazidi enclave, Sinjar, has extended to the Iraqi elections, with the vote resulting in a surprising debacle for the latter.