US Exit Marks Syria Endgame
Reading Time: 4 minutes While the Syrian regime, Russia and Turkey have emerged as the biggest winners of the US exit from Syria, hidden understandings and ambiguities of the ceasefire deal bode more bloodshed.
Portugal’s No-Drama Election Offers Respite From Trump Chaos
Reading Time: 6 minutes One of western Europe’s newest democracies embraces civil political discourse. What a concept!
Trump Call Transcript: No Laughing Matter for Zelensky
Reading Time: 3 minutes The performance of Volodymyr Zelensky in a call with Donald Trump is earning Ukraine’s comedian-turned-president only awkward laughs.
With Afghan Peace Talks Faltering, Can Taliban Reintegrate Into Society?
Reading Time: 3 minutes Despite President Donald Trump’s stunning announcement this month, Afghan peace talks are not yet dead. They are, however, only a first step on a long road to peace.
Hong Kong Government’s Concession Unlikely to Mollify Protesters
Reading Time: 5 minutes Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has withdrawn the extradition bill that ignited three months of street protests, but her surrender appears unlikely to pacify the city’s demonstrators.
Iran-US Crisis: The Six Angry Men Who Could Trigger War
Reading Time: 14 minutes US-Iran tensions over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program and its backing of foreign proxies has put the Middle East on edge. Are the hawks in Washington and hardliners in Tehran bent on conflict?
Trump’s China Tantrum
Reading Time: 4 minutes President Donald Trump’s designation of China as a “currency manipulator” is more a tantrum than an intellectually honest policy decision. It may nonetheless intensify a dangerous US-China trade spat.
Nuclear Disarmament: A Solution Not Being Offered
Reading Time: 5 minutes The United States and Russia both recognize that chemical and biological weapons are too dangerous for any government to possess — including themselves. Why are nuclear weapons an exception?
Deportation Looms for Mexican Journalist Seeking Asylum
Reading Time: 4 minutes Over the past 11 years, Emilio Gutierrez has been on a roller coaster — detained two times and threatened with deportation, then given reprieves.
Are US Tax Dollars Wasted on Afghan Helicopters Nobody Will Fly?
Reading Time: 4 minutes Afghan forces are unlikely to field enough pilots to fly US-supplied Black Hawk helicopters after planned US withdrawal.
Let Them Drown? Italy’s Trump Closes Ports to Refugees
Reading Time: 12 minutes Italy’s Matteo Salvini, a populist politico and loud-mouthed Trump clone, is using the migration crisis to sabotage the European Union.
Picking Sides in Saudi Arabia’s Feud With Canada
Reading Time: 3 minutes What happens when you oppress basically everybody who is not a prince? You have idiots running the country. Exhibit A is Saudi Arabia, which just started an ill-advised fight with Canada.
Imagining Trump and Putin in Private
Reading Time: 4 minutes There is lots of speculation about what President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will talk about when they meet one-on-one next week. We have a pretty good idea.