Some years ago, I spoke with a former Soviet official who had worked in North Korea. He said that you could try to direct, cajole, or nudge the leadership to do something that, to a foreigner, looked to be in their best interests. They would smile, seem to nod assent, or might even say yes, then do the opposite—even when it directly contradicted their presumed interests. You can call it bloody-minded, self-centered, even pig-headed; they don’t care. But this dogged insistence on going their own way is as much a part of North Korea’s historic behavior pattern as it is a palpable obstacle to international cooperation—even with North Korea’s close allies.

Συνεχίστε την ανάγνωση του «The North Korea that can say no»

Day and night, for years, an overwhelming force has been battering this quiet nation, one of the cradles of human civilization.

Hundreds of thousands have died, and millions have been forced to flee abroad or have been internally displaced. In many cities and villages, not one house is left intact.

But Syria is, against all odds, still standing.

During the last 3 years I worked in almost all of Syria’s perimeters, exposing the birth of ISIS in the NATO-run camps built in Turkey and Jordan. I worked in the occupied Golan Heights, and in Iraq. I also worked in Lebanon, a country now forced to host over 2 million (mostly Syrian) refugees.

The only reason why the West began its horrible destabilization campaign, was because it “could not tolerate” Syria’s disobedience and the socialist nature of its state. In short, the way the Syrian establishment was putting the welfare of its people above the interests of multi-national corporations.

Συνεχίστε την ανάγνωση του «Syria is the Middle Eastern Stalingrad»

Του Στέφανου Κωνσταντινίδη

Μολονότι η διεθνής κοινή γνώμη έδειξε έκπληξη για την πρόσφατη κρίση ανάμεσα στη Σαουδική Αραβία και το Ιράν, πολλοί είναι οι πολιτικοί αναλυτές που πιστεύουν πως πρόκειται για μια καλά μελετημένη στρατηγική κρίσης από μέρους της Σαουδικής βασιλικής οικογένειας για να αντιμετωπίσει τα δικά της έντονα εσωτερικά κοινωνικό-πολιτικά προβλήματα.

Συνεχίστε την ανάγνωση του «Περιφερειακές γεωπολιτικές ισορροπίες: Το ΟΧΙ της Σ. Αραβίας στον Ερντογάν»