Richard Silverman Our president is not a religious man. But it’s suitable to quote a verse from what his Christian allies call “the Scriptures:” For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind… I will send a fire upon his cities, And it will devour their castles. –Hosea Wreckage after U.S. drone attacked…
Richard Silverstein Events in the Gulf are unfolding so quickly and ominously that it’s impossible to keep up. They could easily spiral out of control. You might go to sleep at night to a region at peace and wake up the next morning to countries aflame. In the midst of this swirl of events, it’s…
Richard Silverstein You can forget that claim you hear from Trump, Netanyahu and MBS that Iran is the greatest sponsor of state terrorism in the world. That award goes to Saudi Arabia hands down. First, it spent and wasted billions building up ISIS and arming it in order to topple the Syrian Alawite regime. It…
Peter Van Buren, who had a ‘catbird’ seat’ as a State Department leader of an FOB (forward operating base) during the Iraq war, shares his analysis of the torturous road American foreign policy took to finally hand over control of Iraq to Iran-friendly Shiite politicians. Along the way they succeeded in helping to create ISIS…
b. traven Well known, veteran Middle East journalist, Robert Fisk. tells how he really feels about our president. Of course it is “fake” news but if words like “Booby,” “Crank,” “Crackpot” and “Mad” ring a bell with you as possibly apt descriptions you can add, “a dangerous and racist xenophobe,” or ” …to enter Trump’s…
Peter Van Buren The last quarter century of Iraq Wars (from Desert Storm 1991 to the present) thrust the region into chaos while progressively erasing American dominance. Iran is picking up the pieces. As long as the U.S. insists on not opening diplomatic relations with Tehran, it will have no way short of war to…
In Part II of his analysis, Richard Silverstein explores the dangerous coalition of Israel under Netanyahu with Saudi Arabia under Crown Prince Salmon. Both seek to diminish Shiite Iran’s influence in the Middle East, and both are ready to bring financial and military pressure on Lebanon, Syria, and if need be, on Iraq, to assert…
Something unprecedented is going on in the Middle East. Not that war and chaos are anything new. But the seemingly new-found independence of some of the actors in the region, particularly Saudi Arabia, but to some extent Israel is a disturbing development. With the Trump administration effectively asleep at the international relations wheels, a coup…
Richard Silverstein As the October 15th deadline for President Trump to certify Iranian compliance with the P5+1 nuclear deal, the administration, through various media leaks made clear it will refuse to do so. His grounds for refusal are the flimsiest imaginable: Iran has engaged in objectionable behavior which the President wishes violated the deal, but…
b. traven We hold Saudi Arabia and Turkey close to our breast while both play a double game in funding, and encouraging transit of arms and fighters for ISIS and other extremist groups in Iraq and Syria. The result? Mayhem continues and Europe is overwhelmed with desperate refugees fleeing the chaos. At the same time…
The Contrary Perspective 