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When the US President launched the war on Iran on 28 February – after the Israeli Prime Minister triggered him into action – this is how he described his war objectives. “The United States military is undertaking a massive and ongoing operation to prevent this very wicked, radical dictatorship from threatening America and our core…
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Israel has made its third attempt in 8 months to destroy Iran. This time it has got what it always wanted – the full power of the United States as its instrument. In previous pieces the present writer has asked the question of Trump: Is it America First or Israel First? That question was answered…
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Is it ‘America First’ or ‘Israel First’? Is President Trump his own man – or is he just Israel’s bitch? We will probably find out the answers to these questions shortly. The United States has assembled an unprecedented amount of naval and air power in the vicinity of Iran. Over half of the operational US…
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“You can check in any time you want but you may never leave.” (The Eagles, Hotel California) That might be said of the Petrodollar system that sustains US power and influence in the world and largely explains the gunboat diplomacy employed by Washington against Venezuela. In his press conference explaining why the US launched a…
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After maintaining a discreet distance from Israel’s war on Iran, which has been going on for a lot longer than 12 days, President Trump decided to weigh in with American power to help the Israelis finish the job. By doing this he has taken direct US ownership of the war and begun to ride two…
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There was an informative interview on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Saturday 18 January with the senior Middle East correspondent Jeremy Bowen. It took place on the eve of the ceasefire in Gaza. Informative interviews are a rarity regarding events in Gaza because the senior management of the BBC have kept a tight muzzle…
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When “ethnic cleansing” is mentioned in the West in relation to the conflict over Nagorno Karabakh it invariably is in connection with the Armenian population who voluntarily left the region in late 2023. This was three years after the Second Karabakh war of 2020 had resulted in an Azerbaijani liberation of most of its national…
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It is the anniversary this month of the complete liberation of Karabakh by the armed forces of Azerbaijan. Most of the regions of Azerbaijan taken by Armenian forces between 1991 and 1994 were reclaimed in November 2020 by the Azerbaijanis during, and as a result of, the 44 Day War. The rump of the former…
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Two years ago, on 18 July 2022 Ursula von der Leyen, head of the EU Commission, issued a Memorandum of Understanding statement in Baku, noting that because Russian gas supplies were “no longer reliable”, “The European Union has therefore decided to diversify away from Russia and to turn towards more reliable, trustworthy partners. And I…
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James Sharp, former British Ambassador to Baku, was recently interviewed on Caliber, by Orkhan Amashov. The interview dealt with some similarities between the ‘Northern Ireland’ peace process/1998 Belfast, aka Good Friday Agreement, and the current, stalled Armenia-Azerbaijan peace negotiations. The focus of the interview was on the reluctance of Yerevan to meet Baku’s demand to…
