Category Archives: Middle East

Energy Wars of Attrition

What looked like a masterstroke by the Saudis has turned out to be the energy industry version of trench warfare.

John Helmer: FireEye – A Case Study in How the Financial Times Weaponizes Its Middle East Reporting

Why is the Financial Times running security threat claims from FireEye, an information technology company, that FireEye can’t substantiate?

Cyber Security and the Financial System – What Do Governments Want from the Banks?

Governments are combining aggressive, ambitious talk with a curious helplessness in warning banks they really should be Doing Something about terrorist risk.

The North Korean Connections of US Billionaire Naguib Sawiris and US Defence Company Contrack Watts

US Billionaire Naguib Sawiris and his Contrack Watts, a major US defence contractor, turn out to have ties to North Korea, via an amazingly profitable mobile phone company

The Middle East as America’s New Vietnam

There are obvious similarities between the US misadventures in the Middle East and our failed intervention in Vietnam. Yet the comparison is seldom made.

Is the Saudi Market Share Strategy Backfiring?

The Saudis appear to have bitten off more than they can chew.

Andrew Bacevich: Six National Security Questions Hillary, Donald, Ted, Marco, etc., Don’t Want to Answer and Won’t Even Be Asked

In the realm of national security, election 2016 promises to be not just a missed opportunity but a complete bust.

How Europe Will Fail to Address the Migration Crisis in Early 2016

Explaining the reasons for Europe’s gridlock on its migration crisis.

Peter Van Buren: Why the US Should Withdraw From the Middle East

Why it is time for the US to stand down in the Middle East and let local actors take control.

Michael Klare: Plunging Oil Prices – A Recipe for More War?

Low and generally volatile oil prices are a prescription for more political instability in major oil producing nations.

Does The U.S. Have A Middle East Strategy Going Forward?

This post describes how the US is running its Middle East policies by the seat of its pants, with not surprising bad results.

Ilargi: Marine Le Pen Will Reap What The EU Has Sown

Thanks to EU and Eurozone misrule, Le Pen is right when she says: “Nothing can stop us”.

How Far Can The Syria Conflict Spiral Out Of Control?

An astute, high level reading of Russia and Turkey’s jousting.

Is France Building an Apartheid State?

In France, members of Arab and African communities languish in a spiral of poverty, relegated to second-class citizenship and physically separated through deliberate planning.