FRANCE You may have heard that there was a little presidential election in France today. Well, after a lot of uncertainty and polling and analysis and more polling and oh man that one dude is coming on, what does that mean, this is so unpredictable...it looks like Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen will be … Continue reading Conflict update: April 22-23 2017
Author: DWD
writer, blogger, lover, fighter
Conflict update: April 21 2017
Hopefully a short one tonight. I'm getting a bit of a late start and actually don't think there's much to report for a change. SYRIA The first phase of that major four-town evacuation (Fuʿah, Kefraya, Zabadani, and Madaya) has concluded successfully with an additional agreement for the Syrian government to release hundreds of detainees. The … Continue reading Conflict update: April 21 2017
Today in South Asian history: the First Battle of Panipat (1526)
As I think we’ve mentioned before, Panipat has seen three major battles since the 16th century. I don’t think I’m doing the other two battles a disservice if I say that this first one was the most significant of the three, because it established the Mughal Empire in northern India. With the exception of a brief interlude … Continue reading Today in South Asian history: the First Battle of Panipat (1526)
Today in Middle Eastern history: the Wahhabi sack of Karbala (probably 1802)
Wahhabism has always taken a dim view of Shiʿism—really, denigrating the Shiʿa is at the core of the movement’s origins. Muhammad b. Abd al-Wahhab (d. 1792) based his teachings in large part on those of the very influential 13th-14th century Hanbali scholar Ibn Taymiyah, and Shiʿa were pretty much Ibn Taymiyah’s least favorite people in the … Continue reading Today in Middle Eastern history: the Wahhabi sack of Karbala (probably 1802)
Conflict update: April 20 2017
FRANCE Details are still sketchy, but a gunman earlier this evening shot and killed a police officer on the Champs-Élysées in Paris before being shot and killed in turn by other police officers. There was a search for accomplices immediately after the shooting, but it seems at this point like the shooter was acting alone. … Continue reading Conflict update: April 20 2017
This Week in Middle Eastern history: the Second Battle of Gaza (1917)
Having noted the 100th anniversary of World War I's indecisive First Battle of Gaza just a few weeks ago, I suppose it would be inappropriate to skip over the centennial of the slightly less indecisive Second Battle of Gaza, which was April 17-19. I say that both of these battles were indecisive mostly because each was … Continue reading This Week in Middle Eastern history: the Second Battle of Gaza (1917)
Conflict update: April 19 2017
Hey! So, instead of finishing this and posting it at 11:58 like I usually do, tonight I'm going to try, you know, not doing that, and hopefully being asleep at 11:58 instead. I'd like to make that the new normal with these posts going forward, but we'll see. SYRIA At The Nation, James Carden asks whether … Continue reading Conflict update: April 19 2017
Conflict update: April 18 2017
AMERICA TO THE RESCUE If you're worried about the state of human rights around the world, I've got great news--this afternoon, America was on it: The Trump administration is seeking to highlight its commitment to human rights around the world, and so its envoy to the United Nations, Nikki R. Haley, is presiding over what it … Continue reading Conflict update: April 18 2017
Conflict update: April 15-17 2017
Happy Easter again to everyone who celebrated, and Pesach Sameach to those observing Passover, which ends tomorrow. And if any Egyptians happen to be reading this, happy Sham el-Nisim. TURKEY The weekend's biggest story was, as expected, Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan I's formal coronation. By a slim margin, also as expected, Turkish voters on Sunday approved … Continue reading Conflict update: April 15-17 2017
Conflict update: April 10-14 2017
First off all, apologies for not doing one of these earlier this week. I had intended to crank something out on Wednesday but, well, when Wednesday rolled around I didn't want to anymore. Second, Easter and Passover greetings to my Christian and Jewish readers. This is one of the rare years when the Orthodox and … Continue reading Conflict update: April 10-14 2017
The Foreign Exchanges Companion 