Wednesday, March 31, 2021

Ukraine

 Decoding Russia’s military buildup near Ukraine. The array of combined arms forces deployed to the border area is cause for concern. Especially in the context of the political situation.



Tuesday, March 30, 2021

Pandemic treaty

 Global pandemic treaty? No thanks. The interest in preventing another global pandemic is obvious. China’s actions have proved that the best mechanism to reduce that risk is less clear.



 


Monday, March 29, 2021

China partnership risks, Iran's Islamic immolation

 China is jeopardizing its Europe and Middle East influence with Iran, Myanmar, Russia partnerships. Trying to have its cake and it eat, China risks losing more than half of the prize.

Iran immolates Islamic identity by excusing China’s Uyghur genocide. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s actions are fundamentally incompatible with his supposedly intrinsic moral vision.




Tuesday, March 23, 2021

Hospital Syria

Will Biden respond to Russian hospital attack in Syria? He has no excuse for punishing an ally, Saudi Arabia, over human rights concerns while giving an adversary, Russia, a pass.



Monday, March 22, 2021

Blinken Belgium, China Philippines

Antony Blinken rightly travels to NATO, and wrongly gives Belgium a defense spending free pass.

Facing Chinese fleet invasion, Rodrigo Duterte kneels before Xi Jinping.



Friday, March 19, 2021

Georgia

 In the Republic of Georgia, the U.S. must lead where the European Union has failed. The survival of a fragile democracy rests in the balance.




Thursday, March 18, 2021

Putin retaliates, Anchorage lies

 Putin retaliates by questioning Biden’s mental faculties. The Russians have found a useful tool with which to sate their domestic propaganda.

China brings six lies to Anchorage. Yang Jiechi wants Americans to adopt a rosier, rosy as in red, attitude towards Beijing.


Wednesday, March 17, 2021

Russia recall

 Russia tries to intimidate the U.S. with Ambassador recall. Moscow is concerned by the Biden administration’s early activity towards greater sanctions pressure.



Monday, March 15, 2021

Myanmar

China's growing Myanmar problem. Beijing is caught between its tolerance for oppression and its under-fire economic interests.



Friday, March 12, 2021

Belarus

 China's human rights defense: Belarus is with us. Beijing doesn't appear to recognize that dictatorships don't make credible human rights allies.



Thursday, March 11, 2021

Press freedom

Press freedom, or why Meghan Markle and Prince Harry might come to regret their American residence. The U.S. does not apply the same strictures upon its media outlets when it comes to public figures.



Wednesday, March 10, 2021

Alaska

 China will bring two messages to the Alaska meeting. Win-win cooperation pledges and red line assertions.



Tuesday, March 9, 2021

F-35

Pentagon and Lockheed Martin heads must roll over F-35 disgrace. The failure of the 5th generation strike fighter program is quite extraordinary.



Friday, March 5, 2021

Spy chief

 Vladimir Putin crowns a new spy chief. Sergei Korolyov seems set to replace the FSB director, or the head of the national security council.



Thursday, March 4, 2021

Germany-Russia

 Why is Germany operating Russian chemical weapons facilities on its soil? The answer is unclear.



Tuesday, March 2, 2021

Germany Navalny, Russian retaliation?

Biden fires a pebble warning shot at Germany with Russia sanctions. Targeting German companies but avoiding Nord Stream II, Biden avoids really affecting Putin.

Russians threats of asymmetric retaliation should meet Biden's firm riposte. Moscow cannot be allowed to escalate against U.S. persons.





Monday, March 1, 2021

Hong Kong

Xi Jinping's Hong Kong tightrope. The Chinese leader must balance international concerns alongside a desire to establish absolute authority.