EUROPE German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters on Friday that European militaries need to "unify systems" in the coming years in order to reduce inefficiencies in defense spending on the continent. A case in point: both Britain and a Franco-German partnership are working on competing next generation fighter projects instead of collaborating their efforts, though … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: July 20 2018

ASIA AFGHANISTAN Over the past two days the Taliban has attacked two police checkpoints--one in Ghazni province and the other in Zabul province--killing 12 Afghan police officers. The group tells the AP that it's working to minimize civilian casualties as a concession toward possible peace talks, but it hasn't received any indication that the US … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: July 20 2018

SYRIA Syrian rebels in Quneitra province either have begun or will soon begin evacuating the area, which abuts Syria's Golan region and thus its border with Israel, so that it can be turned over to Syrian government forces. Rebels who wish to remain in Quneitra and surrender will be allowed to do so but bear … Continue reading Middle East update: July 20 2018

EUROPE John Feffer puts Donald Trump's eventful European trip in the context of the global Euroskeptic movement: Why on earth would Trump embark on this surrealistic misadventure in foreign policy? True, his first instinct seems to be to disrupt. His statements also reveal his preference for “strong” leaders over “weak.” Perhaps, as some intelligence community … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: July 18-19 2018

ASIA GEORGIA Georgia is run as a fiefdom by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, who served one term as the country's prime minister in 2012-2013 but prefers to operate behind the scenes to remain as unaccountable as possible. Earlier this year he stepped back into the spotlight a bit, returning to his previous post as head of the … Continue reading Asia/Oceania/Africa update: July 18-19 2018

SYRIA Most of the rebels in Quneitra province appear to have agreed to the standard "surrender and/or be bused to Idlib" deal that Russia and the Syrian government have been offering to everybody lately. Likewise, rebels in the city of Nawa, in Daraa province, surrendered on Wednesday. With the exception of some scattered fighting with … Continue reading Middle East update: July 18-19 2018

EUROPE NATO Jacobin's Branko Marcetic argues that the reflexive liberal defense of NATO against Donald Trump's behavior is obscuring an important discussion about whether NATO should still exist at all: At best, NATO is a Cold War relic whose attempts to broaden its mission in the twenty-first century have been disastrous failures. At worst, it’s a … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: July 17 2018

ASIA AFGHANISTAN The Taliban attacked a police checkpoint in Kandahar late Monday night, killing at least nine cops while losing 25 of their own fighters according to Afghan officials. They suffered another major loss on Tuesday, when an ISIS suicide bomber attacked either a meeting between local leaders and Taliban officials or a funeral (accounts … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: July 17 2018

SYRIA Stop me if you've heard this one already, but the Syrian military on Tuesday continued its offensive in the country's southwest, to deadly effect. At least 10 people were reportedly killed in a barrel bomb attack on a village called Ain al-Tineh, while the city of Nawa was subjected to repeated airstrikes, with reports … Continue reading Middle East update: July 17 2018