Early this month, something horrific happened at an Oromo Irreechaa celebration/impromptu political protest in the central Ethiopian town of Bishoftu. The Ethiopian government says its police fired warning shots into the air in response to "troublemakers" in the 2 million-plus crowd attending the festival, and those shots triggered a stampede that killed more than 50 … Continue reading Ethiopia’s domino effect
Author: DWD
writer, blogger, lover, fighter
Say hello to President Aoun
As...expected, I guess, though it wouldn't have been a total shock had something gone awry, Michel Aoun was elected the new President of Lebanon today, ending a more than 2 year vacancy in that position. Aoun is a former army chief of staff who, despite having fought against Syria and its allies during the Lebanese … Continue reading Say hello to President Aoun
Conflict update: October 30
Syria Rebel forces assaulting western Aleppo to try to break the government siege of eastern Aleppo are giving Bashar al-Assad a run for his money in the human carnage department. Staffan de Mistura, the UN special envoy for Syria, said today that "scores of civilians" have been killed by rebel artillery and suicide bombers since … Continue reading Conflict update: October 30
Conflict update, October 29
Iraq It took a few days, but the predominantly-Shiʿa Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) have now joined the Mosul offensive. With regular Iraqi forces pushing toward Mosul from the south and Kurdish Peshmerga advancing from the east and north, the PMU are being deployed to the west to capture surrounding towns and fully encircle the city. … Continue reading Conflict update, October 29
MENA conflict update, October 28
I haven't done one of these in a couple of days because there wasn't much happening to warrant it and I didn't want to just get into a pointless daily routine. Nobody needs that. Still, here are some updates: Syria Rebel forces led by, that's right, Jabhat Fatah al-Sham launched an assault against the western … Continue reading MENA conflict update, October 28
Biting the hand that feeds you
I mentioned in passing yesterday that relations between Saudi Arabia and Egypt are a little strained lately, so I thought I should explain that a bit. Basically, it's all about Syria, but it's also a throwback to a simpler time in the history of the modern Middle East. The Saudis are, as ever, intent on … Continue reading Biting the hand that feeds you
Dear Blob: the world isn’t static
Even though I know it exists, I'm still regularly baffled by the assumption, which appears to be common in DC foreign policy circles, that the rest of the world is this static, unchanging thing that can be affected by American actions but never reacts to them. The best current example of this assumption is the … Continue reading Dear Blob: the world isn’t static
MENA conflict update, October 25
Syria A day after informing the world that there would be no more humanitarian ceasefires in Aleppo unless the US somehow made al-Qaeda surrender, today the Russians let everybody know that their aircraft haven't come within six miles of the city in a week and that they plan to continue this hold on airstrikes indefinitely. … Continue reading MENA conflict update, October 25
“President Aoun” is looking more likely
Lebanon took another step toward getting a new president over the weekend. After initially appearing oddly non-committal about his candidacy, Hezbollah--via its leader, Hassan Nasrallah--announced on Sunday that its members of parliament would vote for Michel Aoun in a presidential election that is likely to take place next Monday. Hezbollah and Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement … Continue reading “President Aoun” is looking more likely
South Sudan’s civil war has been very profitable, and it may be turning even uglier
Last month, an investigative organization called The Sentry published a report showing that the nearly three year long civil war in South Sudan has been, among other things, a cover for the looting of the country by two "kleptocratic networks"--one headed by South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and the other by his former VP and … Continue reading South Sudan’s civil war has been very profitable, and it may be turning even uglier
The Foreign Exchanges Companion 