Next Cold War Roundup 2/1/16 Syrian Peace Talks After delays and controversies, the Geneva 3 Syrian peace talks are proceeding, despite many experts’ doubts that they would ever get started or produce any useful results.  The Saudi-backed High Negotiating Committee arrived in Geneva after receiving some assurances from the US

Next Cold War Roundup 1/29 Turkey Threatens to Enter War on Syrian Border. _ The Times in UK claims that Russia is working on a deal to create a Kurdish “enclave” and the Times frames this as a Russia provoking Turkey: “Kremlin provokes Akara with deal to secure Kurd enclave“:

Next Cold War Roundup 1/27/16 Syrian Peace Talks Delayed. Opposition Groups Still Undecided on Attendance. _ Syrian “opposition” has three main categories: Sunni groups organized by Saudi Arabia into something called the “High Negotiation Committee” (HNC), Syrian Kurds (YPG) and Syrian political groups. The HNC contains some jihadist groups that

The United States’ imperial intervention in the Syrian Civil War may have just escalated further with the creation of a US military base in northern Syria.

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 1/13/16 _ 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 1/8/16 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”

A US government media organization has reportedly merged with a right wing outlet, raising questions about the impartiality and legality of state media.

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