The crisis affecting Mali and southern Algeria is only the latest phase in a long pattern of conflict. The often nomadic Saharan Tuareg, with populations spreading far beyond northern Mali, have never had a stable relationship with the more settled… Continue Reading
Amb. Chas Freeman (ret.) spoke to a Middle East Policy Council (MEPC) forum on U.S. Grand Strategy — or, in his words “Grand Waffle” — in the Middle East on Capitol Hill yesterday and has graciously agreed to have the… Continue Reading
by James Russell As the Senate prepares for what will be contentious confirmation hearings for Chuck Hagel to be the next Secretary of Defense, it is important to debunk some of the popularized narratives that are being offered by neoconservative… Continue Reading
Since his nomination as Secretary of Defense and even in anticipation of it, the right-wing media has been accusing Chuck Hagel of being anti-Israel with the help of GOP grandstanding from senators such as Lindsay Graham of South Carolina. “Hagel,… Continue Reading
As former top State Department intelligence specialist Wayne White points out for Lobe Log, in the absence of a tenable ceasefire agreement, the quagmire that is the Syrian civil war will likely intensify, thereby only worsening post-Assad scenarios. “The bottom line is that a… Continue Reading