Yesterday, the media questioned the American presence in Afghanistan. Today, the media are crying wolf over the chaos of the Afghanistan withdrawal. Tomorrow, the media will blame the US government(s) for its long overdue (successful) troop withdrawal. It's always the same: the media are like an eternal opposition party. I expect this approach from liberal-left...
Donald Trump is the best thing that could have happened to NATO. Without Donald Trump this military defence organisation was about to go into oblivion. What the Russian President did not manage, Donald Trump did: a resurrection of NATO. NATO has become a top priority again and even according to Mitch McConnell of the Republican Party (Politico). Interestingly, this...
I had not heard the name Nagorno-Karabakh for quite a while. Last time must have been 1994 when the Russians brokered a ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan. A quick look at the map below reveals some interesting major parties in this conflict: Iran, Turkey and Russia. FT 5 April 2016: "Azerbaijan and the Armenian-backed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh agreed a...
The angry response of the Russian President following the shooting of a Russian fighter plane by Turkey was quite revealing: he alleged that Turkey had helped bankroll Isis through oil sales. The chairman of the foreign affairs committee of Russia’s lower house, tweeted that Turkey’s economic losses as a result of the deterioration of relations with Moscow would...
Recent developments between EU and Turkey are confusing. I cannot imagine that the Turkish President has a sincere interest in joining the EU as that act would strip some of his authoritarian powers. And I cannot imagine that the majority of the EU population would ever agree with 100 million Turkish Muslims joining a Christian dominated EU. The delicate...
As a boy I once read the fascinating novel "Through Wild Kurdistan" (1892) by Karl May (1842 - 1912). I have taken an interest in the Kurds ever since. Recent events have reinvoked my interest. Today's events can however only be understood when looking at the vast history of the Kurds. For thousands of years, Kurds have been nomadic warriors. The...
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