Geopolitics

U.S. strike takes out Iran’s strategic mastermind

Qasem Soleimani, one of Iran’s top military commanders who U.S. officials say was responsible for the killing of hundreds of American service members and wounding of thousands more, was killed in a Jan. 2 airstrike ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump. Read More.

NSC right-sized after ‘coup attempt’ by Obama holdovers

The Trump administration is significantly downsizing the White House National Security Council not only to improve efficiency but, analysts say, to rid the NSC of Obama-era holdovers suspected of leaking President Donald Trump’s conversations with foreign leaders. Read More.

U.S. struck pro-Iran forces; Japan sends warships to Gulf

The United States will continue to confront Iran and its proxies for its attacks on American forces in the Middle East, Trump administration officials warned. Read More.

Pro-Iran leader of U.S. embassy raid met Obama at White House

Several pro-Iranian faction leaders were among those leading the attack on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Dec. 31. Read More.

'I like peace': But U.S. puts Iran, North Korea on notice

Iran will pay a heavy price for its role in the attack on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, President Donald Trump said on Dec. 31. Later in the day, the president said that price will not likely include war with Iran. Read More.

Korean conservatives resort to YouTube, tune out media

Distrust in the mainstream media is not limited to the U.S. but is said to be more intense in South Korea which lacks conservative alternative media and is facing what earlier would have seemed impossible: the threat of a left-wing dictatorship. Read More.

Media silence as rape survivor from Iraq wins Peace Prize

News that Yazidi sex slave survivor Nadia Murad was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war barely registered on the American media radar screen. Read More.

'Frightening' trends in once anti-communist South Korea

From the viewpoint of a foreigner, one common denominator marks South Korea’s seismic shifts from left to right, liberal to conservative, socialist to capitalist. Read More.

The world of 2020: Standoffs, abuse, hope

Peering into the crystal snow globe, it’s time to predict, prognosticate and presage into the year ahead. Read More.

U.S. spy planes spent Christmas tracking North Korea

The U.S. flew four aircraft, the RC-135W Rivet Joint, E-8C, RQ-4 Global Hawk and RC-135S Cobra Ball, near North Korea on Dec. 24-25, according to the reports. Read More.

China incursions anger Japan ahead of Xi's state visit to Tokyo

China’s practice of sending its vessels near the Japan-controlled Senkaku islands continued in the days prior to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to China this week and could raise tensions ahead of Chinese supreme leader Xi Jinping’s state visit to Japan next year, analysts say. Read More.

Report: Khamenei personally ordered bloody crackdown

Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei personally directed the violent crackdown on anti-government protests which, some estimates say, resulted in more than 1,500 deaths, a report said. Read More.

Russia, Iran, China set joint naval drills

China, Iran, and Russia will hold joint naval drills, amid tensions between Teheran and Washington. Read More.

GREATEST HITS, 2019: Russia collusion? Hunters now hunted

When thousands of once-sealed government documents in the Russia collusion hoax are released in unredacted form, “those who eagerly assumed the role of the hunters may become the hunted, due to their own zealous violation of the nation’s trust and its laws,” columnist Victor Davis Hanson said. Read More.

President Trump says he’s ready for Kim’s ‘Christmas gift’

Earlier this month, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un promised to deliver a “Christmas gift” unless the United States abides by the end-of-the-year deadline set by the North for the U.S. to soften its stance on stalled talks on denuclearization. Read More.