ASIAARMENIA US National Security Advisor John Bolton visited Armenia on Thursday and blamed Russian arms sales for exacerbating the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan. Moscow is the main weapons supplier to both Armenia and Azerbaijan. Lest you think this was some high-minded and wholly out of character exercise in pacifism, Bolton also added a sales pitch … Continue reading World update: October 25 2018

SYRIA The Russian government says that it has evidence that a January drone strike on its Hmeimim air base in Syria was orchestrated by the US. Or at least it was guided by a US "spy plane." The Russians are apparently "very alarmed" over this. The Wall Street Journal published a story last week about a … Continue reading Middle East update: October 25 2018

ASIA AFGHANISTAN Residents of the Rodat district of Nangarhar province are saying that Afghan forces killed at least 14 civilians in an operation there on Wednesday. It's unclear whether the Afghans were targeting the Taliban or ISIS, both of which are operating in that province. Afghan authorities say they're investigating the reports. The early reviews of … Continue reading World update: October 24 2018

SYRIA Syrian state media and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights both say that a US airstrike in the vicinity of the town of Sousa on Wednesday killed multiple civilians. The SOHR cited a death toll of 16 while Syrian media didn't get into specifics. The US has been pummeling civilians in Sousa for days … Continue reading Middle East update: October 24 2018

SYRIA Syrian Democratic Forces fighters now reportedly control about half of the town of Sousa, after making significant headway on Monday and withstanding an ISIS counterattack on Tuesday. Sousa is located in the last pocket of ISIS-held territory east of the Euphrates River, centered around the town of Hajin. TURKEY Well Tuesday brought us Turkish … Continue reading Middle East update: October 23 2018

ASIACAUCASUS After he leaves Russia (see below), National Security Advisor John Bolton will make a swing through the Caucasus, where he's expected to emphasize the need for security cooperation against Iran. He's likely to get a lukewarm reception for that pitch. Caucasian countries would really rather not get sucked into the US-Iran rivalry because it's … Continue reading World update: October 23 2018

EUROPERUSSIA So, John Bolton went to Moscow on Monday, presumably to talk about renegotiating the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty that he just convinced Donald Trump to tear up. The Russian government has expressed dismay over ending the treaty, which bars the US and Russia from fielding land-based intermediate-range (500-5500 kilometers) nuclear missiles, even though the … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: October 22 2018

MIDDLE EASTERN CHRISTIANS This probably doesn't come as much of a surprise, but Al-Monitor's Bryant Harris writes that Donald Trump's "pro-Christian" Middle East policies are more about delighting his evangelical base in the US than about supporting Christians in the region. Trump has, for example, made Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi a close ally even … Continue reading Middle East update: October 22 2018

ASIA AFGHANISTAN An Afghan soldier opened fire on NATO troops on a military base in Herat province on Monday, killing one and wounding two others. It may have been another Taliban-organized "insider" attack but there's also talk that the attacker was angry at NATO forces stemming back to the killing of Kandahar strongman Abdul Raziq … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: October 22 2018