No one is coming to rescue Islamic State's capital
It's no secret that Washington wants Raqqa, Islamic State's proclaimed "capital" in Syria, to fall sooner rather than later. President Barack Obama has announced...
Barzani steps aside, but problems abound across the political spectrum
Twelve years after he was appointed the first president of the Kurdistan region of Iraq, Masoud Barzani is to leave his position on Wednesday. Although...
Who's afraid of the big bad recession? We all are
If there were any suggestion that the fears that have gripped stock markets since the start of 2016 were the isolated stuff of paranoid...
Could Germany's attempt to ban neo-Nazis backfire?
At the end of January, Germany's neo-Nazi National Democratic Party (NPD) introduced a bill in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's parliament to fine or throw in prison...
Trump, the GOP's spleen, is ripe for surgery
The Iowa caucuses might have been called the Iowa carcasses. Both parties saw a race between body parts: the head versus the heart.
On the...
Using Harry Potter to argue against boycotting Israel is fatuous
How would Harry Potter respond to the Israel-Palestine conflict? What would Spock say about the rational markets hypothesis? This isn't just a wacky thought...
Money for Obama's nuclear upgrades better spent on conventional weapons
As they prepare to leave office, presidents often seek to do something about nuclear weapons.
President Bill Clinton tried to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test...
The Selling of Saudi Aramco
Transparency has never been a strong calling card for Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil producing company. So when the deputy crown prince Mohammed bin...
Russia's fight in Syria reflects the Kremlin's fears at home
Russian tactical fighters have arrived in Syria, to join the tanks, transport and attack helicopters, and troops reportedly already delivered. These deployments have triggered...
Behind Saudi Arabia’s bluster is a country that feels under grave threat
Everybody suddenly seems to have an opinion about Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, until his execution on Saturday an obscure Saudi Shia cleric. Once his death...
