The Battle of Kasserine Pass, on February 19-25, 1943, was the second part of the Battle of Sidi Bouzid earlier that month. Or more to the point, Sidi Bouzid—along with a smaller battle between German and Allied forces at Tunisia’s Faïd Pass in late January—served as the opening act of this much larger engagement. Both Sidi Bouzid … Continue reading Today in North African history: the Battle of Kasserine Pass ends (1943)
Author: DWD
writer, blogger, lover, fighter
Well, if anybody should know…
The 2016 campaign just keeps getting more absurd: Mitt Romney on Wednesday raised questions about Donald Trump's taxes that strikingly resembled attacks used against the former GOP presidential nominee four years ago. "Frankly, I think we have a good reason to believe that there's a bombshell in Donald Trump's taxes," Romney said in an interview … Continue reading Well, if anybody should know…
Now Iran has arrested Siamak Namazi’s father
We talked about the case of Iranian-American, and current Iranian prisoner, Siamak Namazi a couple of days ago. Well, now this has happened: Iranian authorities this week arrested the elderly father of an American jailed in Iran since October, the man's family said on Wednesday. Siamak Namazi, a dual U.S.-Iranian citizen, was detained by Iran's … Continue reading Now Iran has arrested Siamak Namazi’s father
Today in South Asian history: the Battle of Karnal (1739)
Nader Shah (d. 1747) is often considered the last of the great (in the sense of “impressive,” not “good”) Central Asian conquerors, after Genghis Khan and Timur (Tamerlane), and (depending on who’s making the list) assorted other figures like the first Mughal Emperor Babur. He’s also the man who kept Iran more or less intact … Continue reading Today in South Asian history: the Battle of Karnal (1739)
Lebanon is the focus of the latest Gulf pile-on
The Gulf Cooperation Council is getting pretty good at orchestrating diplomatic scrums targeting countries it (and by "it" I mean "Saudi Arabia") deems problematic. They refined their technique on one of their own, Qatar, back in 2014 before rolling it out in earnest on Iran last month. Now Lebanon appears to be getting the same … Continue reading Lebanon is the focus of the latest Gulf pile-on
Still better than nothing
Yesterday I laid out what I think was a pretty pessimistic analysis of the Syrian ceasefire. I think it's doomed to fail and think that it could fail in spectacular fashion, by giving Bashar al-Assad the equivalent of an international seal of approval to continue his campaign to end the Syrian civil war by killing … Continue reading Still better than nothing
Today in Middle Eastern history: the 1966 Syrian coup
Syria’s road from French colony (er, I mean “mandate”) to the mess it is today was littered with coups d’état: three in 1949, one each in 1951, 1954, 1961, 1963, and 1966, and finally the 1970 Corrective Movement that brought Hafez al-Assad to power. I’m probably missing a couple somewhere along the way. Through it all, … Continue reading Today in Middle Eastern history: the 1966 Syrian coup
What the Supreme Court beef says about the GOP
I've resisted the urge to write anything about the dearly departed Antonin Scalia, in no small part because I've learned that it really isn't nice to speak ill of the dead, but I don't really know what nice thing I'd say about a guy who once argued that demonstrating innocence was not enough to save … Continue reading What the Supreme Court beef says about the GOP
Why not try something else?
Today is turning into "Shit is Fucked Up and Bullshit" day, which isn't intentional but, you know, there are a lot of problems out there. The next rough spot is on the Korean Peninsula, where things keep getting tenser and tenser. North Korea tested The (Probably Not an) H-Bomb of Justice in early January, then … Continue reading Why not try something else?
Ukraine reminds everybody that it’s still there and still at war
Per Vox's Zach Beauchamp, it looks as though violence is back on the rise in eastern Ukraine: The resumption of hostilities in Ukraine, with exchanges of machine gun and mortar fire across the front line up to levels not seen since last summer, suggests a willingness by Russia, which supports the rebels in eastern Ukraine, … Continue reading Ukraine reminds everybody that it’s still there and still at war
The Foreign Exchanges Companion 