REPRISE: Syria: Russia’s military assault on Western civilization
First published on September 26, 2016 *** See Anne Barnard and Somni Sengupta, “Syria and Russia Appear Ready to Scorch Aleppo,” New York Times, September…
war crimes
REPRISE: Trump, Russia and the betrayal of American heroes
Originally published February 2, 2017 The worst case scenario, we wrote after the election on November 8, 2016, would be if Trump acted during the…
Trump, Russia and the betrayal of American heroes
Developing The worst case scenario, we wrote after the election on November 8, 2016, would be if Trump acted during the transition and his presidency…
Russia as the great white power: Behind Trump’s affinity to Vladimir Putin
See Alan Feuer and Andrew Higgins, “Extremists Turn to a Leader to Protect Western Values: Vladimir Putin,” New York Times, December 3, 2016. Tom Hamburger,…
Seven days in December: Seven days left to stop Trump, before the Electoral College vote on December 19
Developing The Electoral College vote to elect the next president of the U.S. will be held on December 19, 2016. That means there are seven…
Dénouement: Details on make-up and advances of pro-Assad forces closing in on last insurgents in Aleppo; Russia and China veto Security Council resolution
Extraordinary details regarding the composition of pro-government forces supporting Bashar al-Assad and their advances in Aleppo are contained in the following article published in Le…
Aleppo — a wrenching epitaph for the failed foreign policy of Barack Obama
Developing See Marc Semo, “Alep-est livrée aux bombardements russo-syriens, dans l’indifférence des Occidentaux; La transition engagée aux Etats-Unis et les élections à venir dans plusieurs…
Putin calls Trump, is reassured, and resumes bombing in Syria
Developing See Christina Hebel und Christoph Sydow (Moskau und Berlin), “Putins Botschaft an Trump; Sie haben sich Zusammenarbeit zugesagt, doch während Donald Trump sich auf…
President-elect Trump, foreign policy, and the defense of core American values
Developing Given Donald Trump’s inexperience in foreign policy, he may not understand or appreciate certain fundamental principles and realities that are essential for the maintenance…
Donald Trump, Russian stooge: Putin’s Trojan horse within striking distance of victory over NATO, the EU, and the Atlantic Alliance
Developing This article has not been indexed by Google. See “Not indexed by Google: Trenchant Observer article with text of Security Council Resolution 2118; the…
Europe’s shame: EU response to Russian war crimes in Aleppo and Syria
Developing The leaders of the EU have reached their decision on how to respond to Russian war crimes in Aleppo and northern Syria. They are…
War news from Syria
While President Obama and other Western leaders look away from the horror, the terror of Russian and Syrian war crimes in Syria contnues, every day….
Watch the ball move: Obama moves attention to Mosul, distracting from abject appeasement by Merkel, EU, and U.S. in response to ongoing Russian war crimes in Aleppo and Syria
Developing Appeasement has many colors and takes many forms. In the last few days, it has taken the form in Europe of shifting the focus…
Personal Takes: Russian war crimes in Syria, appeasement, and disgust
Developing PERSONAL TAKES Once in a while, The Observer reflects on his own personal involvement in world events. Today’s news triggered such a reflection. The…
Cherif Bassiouni, top expert on war crimes, confirms Russians and Iranians, including Putin, responsible for war crimes in Syria if they were aware of operations
Developing See Josh Rogin, “Putin and Assad could face justice for war crimes in Syria, Washington Post, October 9, 2016 (7:53 p.m. EDT). Julian Borger,…
REPRISE — Civilization falters: Aleppo Burns; Obama looks the other way; Putin threatens, Petraeus underlines feasability of military options; U.S. government paralyzed by Obama’s obstinancy (Updated October 8, 2016)
Check back for further updates UPDATE: October 8, 2016 Russia has this afternoon vetoed a French-sponsored Security Council resolution aimed at halting the war crimes…
Vice-Presidential debate: Pence pushes Kaine and Clinton on military action in Syria
Developing In VP Debate, Pence Reveals Thrust of Foreign Policy Attack Against Clinton During the Vice-Presidential debate between Tim Kaine and Mike Spence, Spence revealed…
Aleppo: Srebrenice on a massive scale
Developing See Liz Sly and Louisa Loveluck, “Darkness and fear in Aleppo as the bombs rain down,” Washington Post, September 28, 2016 (6:12 p.m.). Srebrenice,…
Russian war crimes in Aleppo and Syria: Civilized nations must impose sectorial sanctions now
Given the gravity of Russian violations of international humanitarian law, by a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, civilized nations should undertake two specific…
Aleppo and Syria: Obama’s legacy of ashes
Never, it seems, have the United States and its Secretary of State groveled before the Russians to such an extent in begging for their cooperation…