The Free World: An Alarming Status Report

It seems urgent for the long-term survival of the United States and the Free World – where people enjoy unprecedented freedom of speech, property rights, economic opportunity, religious freedom and other civil liberties – not to accept assaults on these hard-won achievements either at home or abroad.

The ‘Inside Track’ Of Putin-Xi Jinping Talks – OpEd

In international diplomacy, summit meetings stand apart from regular high-level meetings when they are held at key moments or important junctures to reinforce partnerships and/or launch major initiatives.

The summit meeting at Beijing last Thursday between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin last falls into such a category, taking place at a momentous juncture when a great shift in the global power dynamic is happening and the breathtaking spectacle of history in the making playing out in real time.

Pakistan-Afghanistan: Durand Line Bone Of Contention – Analysis

On May 14, 2024, at least 12 terrorists and one Army soldier were killed while five other Security Forces (SF) personnel sustained injuries when terrorists from Afghanistan in their attempt to infiltrate inside Pakistan attacked Pakistani checkpoints in the Teri Mangal area, along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, in the Kurram District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). The attack, launched with heavy weapons, targeted security installations within a 10 kilometres radius.

The Message Europe Should Take From Xi’s Visit – OpEd

Was Xi Jinping’s first trip to Europe in five years a success? It certainly appeared that Xi’s visits to France, Serbia and Hungary, which had both a trade and a political agenda, were successful for the Chinese leader. Can we say the same for France, the EU or Europe? Well, there is not a straight or single answer. And this by itself unveils some of Europe’s grave contradictions on important geopolitical, security and trade issues.

US vs. China: Who Really Stands for Peace?

Thousands of innocent civilians are dying– men, women, children– being bombed to death as they sit in their homes. Thousands of Ukrainian and Russian men have been unwillingly drafted into the military, torn from their families, forced to kill each other, and forced to die. Images and videos of cold-blooded genocide plague our news in a constant loop, and our government has the audacity to sit in their comfy little chairs and not only deny what is happening, but to also order more money sent to continue these horrors.

The State of al-Qa`ida Central

Abstract: More than a year and a half after the killing of Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul, al-Qaida Central has yet to acknowledge the demise of its emir and announce his replacement. After having lost its franchises in Iraq and Syria and after having seen its hegemony on the global jihadi scene hollowed out, the organization now operates without a declared leader, a first in its history. Coupled with the protracted absence of operational success of its own, this track record reinforces the widespread notion that al-Qaida Central has become and will remain irrelevant. However, while the challenges facing the group are real, it should not be written off, as it has proved time and again more resilient than expected and can still count on its longstanding network of affiliates and followers to survive and potentially reverse its fortunes.

Defending Israel, but not Kurdistan?

When U.S. Patriots shot down an Iranian missile over Erbil on April 15, Kurds wondered why such defenses weren’t activated when they were attacked.

Late in the night of April 13, Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, was shaken by the sound of a Patriot missile battery shooting down an Iranian ballistic missile flying toward Israel. “One of those missiles was a ballistic missile that was taken down in the vicinity of Erbil that was en route toward Israel,” Pentagon press secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder confirmed in a press briefing.