IRAQ This is a bit "oh, now you tell us," but on Monday Iraq's Supreme Court ruled that no part of the country can legally secede. It's unlikely any other Iraqi region would have made the attempt after seeing what happened to the Kurds, but the ruling opens the door to an even more robust … Continue reading Middle East update: November 6 2017

LIFESTYLES OF THE RICH AND FAMOUS ASSHOLES There's been a new massive leak from a big Caribbean law firm/offshoring factory akin to the 2015 Panama Papers leak. This new material, called the "Paradise Papers," comes primarily from Appleby, a law firm that specializes in offshore tax havens and has several offices in the Caribbean and in … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: November 4-5 2017

ASIA AFGHANISTAN US airstrikes in Kunduz province on Saturday reportedly killed "scores" of Afghan civilians: The airstrikes in Kunduz on Friday night targeted three villages in Chardara, a district west of the provincial capital where Taliban fighters have long maintained a strong presence.   Afghan security forces prevented access to the bomb sites in Essa … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: November 4-5 2017

Where to even begin. IRAQ With Qaim under control, the Iraqi plan is to move back east along the Euphrates and take the town of Rawa while simultaneously clearing out the rest of the Syrian border area. The focus for now seems to be back on ISIS, though conflict with the Kurds could flare up … Continue reading Middle East update: November 4-5 2017

CLIMATE CHANGE The rest of world, sans Donald Trump, is gearing up for a big climate meeting in Germany: Governments, scientists, industry groups and environmental campaigners are meeting in Germany next week to discuss implementing a global agreement to curb climate change, despite uncertainty over how the United States will figure into the effort.   … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: November 3 2017

ASIA AFGHANISTAN International Criminal Court prosecutor Fatou Bensouda wants to open a formal investigation into war crimes committed in Afghanistan. Because Afghanistan is an ICC member, she can investigate the actions of American personnel even though the US is not an ICC member. Obviously she'll also be looking at alleged crimes committed by the Taliban … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: November 3 2017

SYRIA So, uh, it wasn't exactly a banner day for ISIS. We'll get to Iraq in a minute, but the Syrian army declared that it has finally secured all of Deir Ezzor city--it had disputed reports to that effect yesterday, saying that there were still pockets of ISIS resisters in the city. This isn't a … Continue reading Middle East update: November 3 2017

ASIA UZBEKISTAN Eurasianet helpfully tries to counter the emerging media narrative that Uzbekistan is little more than ISIS's training facility: Such instant analysis falls short, mainly because it has to oversimplify in order to make a pattern plausible, many regional scholars contend. Edward Lemon, a postdoctoral fellow at the Harriman Institute at Columbia University, warned … Continue reading World update: November 2 2017

IRAQ Iraqi forces captured western Anbar's large Akkas gas field from ISIS on Thursday. Akkas hasn't yet entered production so while this is a significant recovery for the Iraqis it's not a huge loss for ISIS--they weren't selling the gas. As for the Kurdish situation, little has changed since Baghdad declared an end to talks … Continue reading Middle East update: November 2 2017

NEW YORK Obviously the story that dominated the news over the past couple of days is Tuesday's terrorist attack in Lower Manhattan. Sayfullo Saipov, a 29 year old Uzbek immigrant who came to the US in 2010, drove a rented truck down a bicycle path Tuesday afternoon, killing eight people and injuring another 12, before … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: October 31-November 1 2017