Politics

Iran has managed to gain influence over the Middle East through the help of its ally, the Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, who supported Iran during the 1980’s war with Iraq. His help is appreciated by Tehran but might not be necessary any longer. President Bashar al-Assad might have needed the Iranians during the Syrian conflict of the last few years, but now with the peace talks looming, it seems that the strategic aim of Hezbollah has been achieved, and there is no more requirements from al-Assad to further Iran’s influence in the Middle East.

Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen has built a long record of getting nearly every major issue wrong over many decades but still eagerly dispenses the latest conventional wisdom emerging from Official Washington’s misguided “group thinks,” as ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar noticed regarding Syria. By Paul R. Pillar Ill-fated U.S. military adventures abroad have had various…

From the Archive: Official Washington operates with a reverse “meritocracy,” the more clueless the pundits are the more esteem they seem to get – as long as they conform to the latest “group think.” Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen is a prime example, Robert Parry noted in 2007. By Robert Parry (Originally published on June 19, 2007) Granted it would be…

Submitted by Sarah Lazare via TheAntiMedia.org,

State Department spokesperson John Kirby is raising eyebrows after he released a recap of 2015 “success stories” in which he credits the United States for bringing “peace” and “security” to Syria and “stepping up” to help the country’s people at a difficult time.

The UK Government has responded to a petition that called for Donald Trump to be blocked from coming to Britain, after it garnered over 500,000 signatures. The petition was set up in response to Mr Trump’s call for a halt on Muslims entering the United States and so far over 565,000 people have signed the petition. Ministers have previously criticised Trumps remarks but disagreed with banning him. The statement on the UK Government and Parliament website says:     For good reasons the Government does not routinely comment on individual immigration and exclusion decisions.