Coup or Hoax in Montenegro?
For those who remember the sad spectacle of Colin Powell at the UN Security Council, promoting bogus intelligence alleging Saddam Hussein had Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD,) recent statements by American officials such as vice-president Mike Pence and Senator John McCain about an alleged “Russian…
The Killing of Ali Abdullah Saleh – Is Peace in Yemen Possible?
By James M. Dorsey Based on remarks at a 19 December 2017 NUS Middle East Institute seminar The Middle East being the Middle East, everything is interrelated. What happens in the region impacts Yemen and what happens in Yemen impacts the region. The crisis in Yemen, like many conflicts in the Middle…
The Uses and Misuses of Historical Analogy for North Korea
Amid a steady fusillade of ever more capable rockets from North Korea, and an escalating volley of threats and insults flying between Washington and Pyongyang, the crisis in Northeast Asia shows no sign of slackening. On the contrary, as North Korea’s drive for a nuclear-armed ballistic missile acce…
Rage against the machines: is AI-powered government worth it?
From the Australian government’s new “data-driven profiling” trial for drug testing welfare recipients, to US law enforcement’s use of facial recognition technology and the deployment of proprietary software in sentencing in many US courts … almost by stealth and with remarkably little outcry, tec…
Al-Qaeda Slaps Around Rival Jihadis, Takes Full Control of Idlib City
The question of which is the strongest rebel group in Syria has been answered. It’s Syrian al-Qaeda or Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). The two largest Syrian rebel groups, Tahrir al-Sham and Ahrar al-Sham have clashed, and continue to clash, in numerous places in the main rebel-held territory …
Bank of America chooses Dublin as EU base after Brexit
Bank of America has picked Dublin as the main base for its EU investment banking and markets operations after Brexit, chief executive Brian Moynihan told the Financial Times. Mr Moynihan, who met Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar in Dublin on Friday, said it was too soon to say how many employees th…
Down but Not Out: How the Islamic State Could Rebound
In the wake of the Islamic State’s defeat in Mosul, the fight between the organization and its adversaries has reached an inflection point. Over the past week, credible reports from Mosul — sometimes accompanied by purported video and photographic evidence — have indicated that members of the Iraqi …
Why Are There So Many Different Languages in the World?
The thatched roof held back the sun’s rays, but it could not keep the tropical heat at bay. As everyone at the research workshop headed outside for a break, small groups splintered off to gather in the shade of coconut trees and enjoy a breeze. I wandered from group to group, joining in the discussi…
“Take to the Streets”: Turkey’s Failed Coup, One Year Later
It has been one year since the failed coup attempt in Turkey and — aside from the senior putschists themselves — no one has any idea what actually happened that day and night or who was in charge. Our lack of clarity about the nature of the coup is even more surprising given the remarkable…
Death of a Jihadi Dream: The Battle of Mosul
Situated in the fertile plains of northern Iraq, Mosul finds itself in close proximity to the site of the legendary Battle of Gaugamela, where over 2,000 years ago Alexander the Great broke through Darius III’s wall of chariots and seized an empire. After surviving countless wars and falling under t…