Tag: Russia

The Case of the Keystone Cossacks

The Case of the Keystone Cossacks – by Michael Weiss | Foreign Policy.

There is something poetic about seeing #Russia’s foreign policy being undermined, no matter how lightly at this stage, by Russian mercenaries. After all, #Putin’s policy towards #Syria has been purely thuggish, profiteering and vile since the outset of the Revolution. More importantly though, the whole thing has prophetic implications as well. In short, Putin’s is undermining Russia’s own security, the writing is on the wall in bold letters, and he simply cannot see it.

Syria talks should focus on fighting ‘terrorists’: Russia

Syria talks should focus on fighting ‘terrorists’: Russia | Reuters.

Lavrov is right in that the fight in Syria has always been against “terrorists,” but terrorists in our midst come in many flavors and he can only taste one. That’s why his country remains part of the problem.

The Secret History of Hezbollah

The Secret History of Hezbollah | The Weekly Standard.

Indeed, Tony Badran. Iran’s policies and strategies have little to do with Israel and America and more to do with the usual competition/struggle involving Arabs, Persians and Kurds, or Sunnis and Shia, and the usual power politics inside each country and region. In other words, it’s an extension of our indigenous historical processes that have been going for centuries, if not millennia. Israel’s presence and US policies (not mention Europe’s, Russia’s and China’s, etc.) in the region are complicating factors at best, but the dynamics themselves are fueled by internal needs and interests. It’s about time we reexamined the modern history of our region from this perspective, and countered the ideological interpretations prevalent all around us, because they distort facts and detract our attention from focusing on the real nature of our problems, and suggesting more practical policies for handling them.