Author: M Barbu

America Has No Good Options on Iran

Iran is closer than ever to being able to build a nuclear weapon. After President Donald Trump pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal, Tehran began enriching uranium to higher levels and stockpiling more of it. As a result, Iran now has the capacity to make enough fissile material for a nuclear bomb in less than a month—compared with the roughly one year it would have needed to do so before the United States quit the nuclear accord in 2018.

Iran’s leaders and President Joe Biden’s administration both say they want to return to the 2015 deal, but the parties remain far apart on what nuclear steps or sanctions relief should come first and how far-reaching those steps would need to be. Every day that the talks drag on without resolution, Iran’s centrifuges keep spinning; in late December, European governments warned that “weeks, not months,” remained before restoring the old deal would no longer be possible.

Time for NATO to Close Its Door

The NATO alliance is ill suited to twenty-first-century Europe. This is not because Russian President Vladimir Putin says it is or because Putin is trying to use the threat of a wider war in Ukraine to force neutrality on that country and to halt the alliance’s expansion. Rather, it is because NATO suffers from a severe design flaw: extending deep into the cauldron of eastern European geopolitics, it is too large, too poorly defined, and too provocative for its own good.

Excellent Xinjiang Health, Growth & Education Outcomes Contradict Sinophobic US Lies

The US and its allies are countering the re-emergence of China with a Sinophobic confection of new alliances, military threats, jingoism and false propaganda about a falsely claimed Uyghur Genocide in Xinjiang. However excellent health, infant mortality, maternal mortality, population growth and education outcomes in Xinjiang reported by China and confirmed by respected NGOs contradict Sinophobic US, UK and Australian claims of a Uyghur Genocide.

Skeptic’s Alert: Washington and NYT Expose Russian False Flag

On 14 January, a breaking news story from the New York Times informed its readers: “U.S. Says Russia Sent Saboteurs Into Ukraine to Create Pretext for Invasion.”

Unsurprisingly, Washington “did not release details of the evidence it had collected.” Why did the NYT not question the withholding of evidence? Why even deign to report what so easily could be dismissed, by definition, as hearsay? Is that because the White House is a paragon of truth-telling? Did its erroneous reporting by disgraced writer Judith Miller that Iraq possessed weapons-of-mass-destruction precipitating a US-led invasion not teach NYT a lesson?

An Epochal Decline in American Global Power

Throughout 2021, Americans were absorbed in arguments over mask mandates, school closings, and the meaning of the January 6th attack on the Capitol. Meanwhile, geopolitical hot spots were erupting across Eurasia, forming a veritable ring of fire around that vast land mass.

Let’s circle that continent to visit just a few of those flashpoints, each one suffused with significance for the future of U.S. global power.

Op-Ed: The newest variant of violent extremism? Using paranoia about the pandemic as a recruiting tool

For anti-government and anti-authority extremists, the COVID-19 pandemic has been a godsend. In many ways, it seems almost tailor-made for anti-government propaganda, exerting an almost magnetic pull on conspiracy theorists and other far-right extremists. The Omicron variant sweeping the globe has made vaccine mandates a global talking point, which has led a paranoid and growing fringe of extremists to threaten violence against healthcare workers, scientists and government officials in countries around the world.

U.S. and Russia Meet as Moscow Plans its Next Move

American and Russian diplomats met in Geneva earlier this week, with numerous items on the agenda—a high-profile showcase of diplomacy designed to head off further escalation between Washington and Moscow.

Russia has continued its saber rattling, making bellicose statements even while negotiations continue apace.

The Kremlin’s increasingly aggressive posture in Europe has garnered pushback, particularly among Nordic countries and the Baltic states, which fear Russian encroachment.

Terrorism experts say ‘lone wolf’ attacks more likely than organized event

As tributes pour in to remember what happened during the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, as well as the lives lost following it, some experts are shifting their focus forward. An unclassified report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) indicates Americans should be aware of the possibility of lone wolf terror attacks. The report says that is more likely that an organized event similar to what happened Jan. 6, 2021.

Iran Sponsors Attacks and Escalates Tensions throughout the Region

Iran-backed attacks on U.S. forces and allies in early January represent Iran’s ongoing effort to avenge the killing of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – Qods Force commander Qasem Soleimani two years ago.

Strategically, Iran seeks to show that it can threaten the United States or its allies anywhere in the region, and at any time.

Iranian leaders calculate that the attacks will cause the United States to further reduce its military footprint in the region and will intimidate regional adversaries.

Unprecedented Unrest Erupts in Kazakhstan

The anti-government unrest gripping Kazakhstan represents the most serious threat to the country’s authoritarian leadership since its independence from the Soviet Union.

The rioting was initially sparked by an increase in fuel prices but reflected longstanding resentment of Kazakhstan’s leaders’ repressive policies and monopolization of major industries.