August, 2021

• 22 August

  America as a Base Nation Revisited

  

  It was the spring of 2003 during the American-led invasion of Iraq. I was in second grade, living on a U.S. military base in Germany, attending one of the Pentagon’s many schools for families of servicemen stationed abroad. One Friday morning, my class was on the verge of an uproar. …

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• 22 August

  The Crimes of the West in Afghanistan and the Suffering That Remains

  

  As in Iraq, as in Libya, as in Mali. It is time to finally bury the doctrine of the so-called “responsibility to protect”, which was coined at the time of the beginning of the Afghan war, and to brand it as what it was from the beginning: a neocolonial project. …

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• 22 August

  And so it begins again: The media recycles Afghanistan war lies

  

  In the days following the desperate evacuation of US troops from Afghanistan, the corporate press has launched an international propaganda campaign raising concerns for the “human rights” of residents of the Central Asian country. For the last 20 years, the corporate media and imperialist powers of the world raised no …

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• 22 August

  Hezbollah leader says Iranian fuel en route to Lebanon

  

  The delivery could help Lebanon deal with its fuel crisis, but it may also put Lebanon at risk due to US sanctions on Iranian fuel, one rival politician said. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said on Thursday Iranian fuel would sail to Lebanon “within hours.” “Our first ship has completed all …

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• 22 August

  Turkey offers to mediate disputes between Sudan, Ethiopia

  

  Erdogan also said he stands behind a peaceful resolution to the violence in Tigray. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered Thursday to mediate a bloody border dispute between Ethiopia and Sudan. Speaking alongside Ethiopian President Abiy Ahmed following their meeting in Ankara on Wednesday, Erdogan also said his government supports …

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• 22 August

  Turkish airstrike kills members of US-backed Kurdish force in Syria

  

  A Turkish airstrike has killed four members of a US-backed Syrian Kurdish force. Four members of a US-backed Syrian Kurdish force were killed in a Turkish air attack on the town of Tal Tamar Thursday, according to the Syrian Democratic Forces, part of an escalating multi-pronged campaign against Kurdish militants …

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• 22 August

  Hossein Amirabdollahian: A Quds Force favorite becomes Iran’s new foreign minister (Part 2)

  

  Due to his divergent views on Iran’s international and regional policies, Hossein Amirabdollahian had various disagreements with then-Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif while serving as deputy foreign minister beginning in 2011, and these ultimately led to his removal from the post in June 2016. The official reason announced for the …

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• 22 August

  Russia and the GERD: An uneasy balancing act

  

  Since late June, Russia has expanded its diplomatic involvement in the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) dispute between Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia. On June 23, Ethiopian Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed their joint support for a resolution of the GERD dispute led by the …

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• 22 August

  Hossein Amirabdollahian: A Quds Force favorite becomes Iran’s new foreign minister (Part 1)

  

  Hossein Amirabdollahian, Iran’s new foreign minister, is famous for his exceptionally close relationship with the Quds Force, the foreign operations branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as well as its regional allies. Mr. Amirabdollahian, born in 1964, holds a PhD in international relations from the University of Tehran. …

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• 22 August

  What’s next in Afghanistan? The prospects for future political violence

  

  As the U.S. withdrew troops from Afghanistan, the Taliban pushed through large portions of the country, capturing strategic regional centers and ultimately securing the capital city of Kabul. In its pursuit, the Taliban faced relatively little resistance as it seized government strongholds. Rather than widespread fighting, reports indicate that Taliban …

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