Next Cold War Roundup 1/20/16 Immediately After Iran Sanctions Lifted, a Flurry of Diplomacy on Ukraine, Russia, EU, Turkey, China, and Last Minute Prep for Syria Peace Talks _ There are a lot of closed door meetings happening on Ukraine with some heavy hitters in Ukraine, US, Russia, Germany, France.  This

Next Cold War Roundup 1/18/16 Iran Sanctions Lifted, Prisoners Swapped, US Treasury Slapped New Ballistic Program Sanctions "We’ve achieved this historic progress through diplomacy, without resorting to another war in the Middle East." —@POTUS #IranDeal — The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 17, 2016   _ #JCPOA (Iran nuclear deal) criteria were

Next Cold War Roundup 1/15/16 Saudi King May Abdicate to Son, Prince Reckless _ An report from 13 Jan. Institute For Gulf Affairs article says “Saudi King Salman Al-Saud plans to abdicate his throne and install his son Mohammed as king, multiple highly-placed sources told the Institute for Gulf Affairs.”

Next Cold War Roundup 1/13/16 _ Turkey’s president Erdogan is under massive pressure.  In the week leading up to yesterday’s Istanbul suicide bombing,  a wave of media reports on Erdogan’s brutality against Kurds, lack of allies and destabilization he was causing was in motion. A Google News search reveals a

Next Cold War Roundup 1/11/16 Misinformation from Media and Activists Caused Confusion About the Status of Starving Population Under Siege in Syria _ There is no doubt that siege is used as a weapon by all belligerents in the Syrian war — the Syrian government, the opposition fighters, Al Qaeda and

Next Cold War Roundup 1/6/16 ISIS, Syrian rebels and Stinger MANPAD Missiles _ SkyNews claims to have received video from “Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters who took it from a captured Isis trainer in Turkey” shows ISIS modifying inoperable Stinger missiles from old Iraqi army stockpiles, replacing thermal batteries, a process

Next Cold War Roundup 1/8/16 Libya _ Thank goodness someone reads email news dumps slipped in on holidays. In this case it was the excellent investigative journalist, Brad Hoff. The New Year’s Eve release of Hillary Clinton emails now show that she was “getting personally briefed on the battlefield crimes”

Next Cold War 1/4/16 The R4+1 alliance of Russia, Syria, Iran, Iraq and Hezbollah, plus other militias, national defense forces and various other allies have been making progress in almost every direction. The map above shows the significant territorial gains in the past month. The Syria peace negotiations continue and

Next Cold War Roundup 12/30/15 Ramadi, Iraq _ More details are coming out about how Ramadi was reclaimed by Iraqi forces and US coalition.  The reports coming from the US  and the reports coming from Iraqi government sources are very different. _ More than one source reports that ISIS mainly

Next Cold War Roundup 12/28/15   Kurds and New Syrian Democratic Forces Coalition Seize Tishrin Dam, Cross Erdogan’s Red Line (The Euphrates River), Poised to Cut ISIS Supply Lines _ The US-backed coalition, Syrian Democratic Forces, have seized the strategic Tishrin dam on the Euphrates  river, south of Kobane.  The