SYRIA "Dozens" (somewhere north of 50, but a final count probably won't be available until at least tomorrow) of people were killed this evening when an airstrike hit a mosque in the town of al-Jinah, in western Aleppo province, at evening prayer. Upwards of 300 people may have been in the mosque when it was … Continue reading Conflict update: March 16 2017
Author: DWD
writer, blogger, lover, fighter
Conflict update: March 15 2017
SECOND VERSE, SAME AS THE FIRST Well, that was fast. Donald Trump's Muslim Ban 2.0, which is totally not about religion, you guys, just got blocked by a federal judge in Hawaii for being, you know, pretty much about religion. In his ruling, District Judge Derek Watson in particular rejected one of the administration's favorite … Continue reading Conflict update: March 15 2017
The size of the tent doesn’t matter
FiveThirtyEight's Harry Enten wrote a piece yesterday on Joe "I Vote With Donald Trump Two-Thirds Of The Time" Manchin (D?-WV) and his value, much evidence to the contrary, to the Democratic Party: So I can see why progressives would be peeved with Manchin. But it’s sort of silly to compare Manchin to the median Democrat. … Continue reading The size of the tent doesn’t matter
Conflict update: March 14 2017
DONALD TRUMP AND THE HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL According to Foreign Policy, nominal Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sent a letter recently to a group of nonprofits warning that the Trump administration is prepared to withdraw from the UN Human Rights Council unless "considerable reform" is undertaken in that body. Tillerson's letter highlighted the presence on the … Continue reading Conflict update: March 14 2017
Conflict update: March 13 2017
TURKEY A few hours ago Ankara turned its diplomatic dispute with the Netherlands up to 11 by barring the Dutch ambassador from returning to Turkey and announcing that it was suspending diplomatic relations with Amsterdam. The Turkish government further said that it was closing its airspace to Dutch diplomats and that it would pursue action … Continue reading Conflict update: March 13 2017
Conflict update: March 11-12 2017
TURKEY So let's start with the good news: Turkey and the Netherlands haven't declared war on each other. Yet. As far as I know. But the good news pretty much ends there. On Saturday, Dutch authorities took the fairly provocative step--look, I give Recep Tayyip Erdoğan a lot of shit around here, but I don't … Continue reading Conflict update: March 11-12 2017
They hate us because we’re assholes
In China and Iran, two countries that are even more enthusiastic about capital punishment than America, authorities sometimes pursue what's called a "bullet fee." Basically they try to bill the family of an executed person for the cost of the execution--plus, who knows, a little extra for overhead and expenses or whatever. Families don't have … Continue reading They hate us because we’re assholes
Today in Middle Eastern history: the Fall of Baghdad (1917)
The First Battle of Kut was virtually a total Ottoman victory, and it stands as one of the lowest points for the British military not just in that war, but ever. Following the disaster, the British army replaced its commander in Mesopotamia, Lt. General Percy Lake, with the newly arrived Lt. General Frederick Stanley Maude. It was … Continue reading Today in Middle Eastern history: the Fall of Baghdad (1917)
Conflict update: March 10 2017
ETHICS, HOW DO THEY WORK As it so happens, while Michael Flynn was advising candidate Donald Trump on foreign policy, he was also being paid to act as an agent of the Turkish government--except, oops, he apparently forgot to mention that to anybody until earlier this week. Flynn even wrote pro-Turkey op-eds without disclosing that … Continue reading Conflict update: March 10 2017
Conflict update: March 9 2017
UNITED STATES It's very early to draw conclusions, particularly considering the current circumstances in Iraq, but it's starting to look like when Donald Trump said he was going to "bomb the shit out of them," that was another thing that people were right to take literally. And, apparently, "them" in that phrase meant, well, pretty … Continue reading Conflict update: March 9 2017
The Foreign Exchanges Companion 