Saturday, April 20

Geopolitics

Geopolitics refers to international relations and power politics as they are influenced by geography, history, and alliances.

GUEST POST: Congress, Ukraine Is Still Germane
17Jan By Guest WriterNo Comments
Foreign Aid, International Development, Geopolitics, Type of News: Guest Post, Types of News: Analysis, United States

GUEST POST: Congress, Ukraine Is Still Germane

Don't Renege On Our Promise To Ukraine Editor's Note: The U.S. Senate is currently considering a $100 billion supplemental spending bill, S.Amdt.1371 to H.R. 815. It would provide $61 billion in aid to Ukraine, $14.3 billion for Israel, and Taiwan, and include $14 billion for U.S. border security. As much of the world's attention has shifted to the Middle East, support for Ukraine in its war against Russian aggression is waning in some countries, including the United States. Ukrainian President Zelenskky addressed top officials from United States, the European Union, China, the Middle East have gathered for the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum on January 16, 2024. Op-Ed by William Slomanson Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Thomas Jefferson School of Law. William Sl...
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Iraqi PM Says Its Time For US Troops To Go Home
6Jan By Patti MohrNo Comments
Arms Sales, Military Industry, Geopolitics, Middle East, Types of News: Brief

Iraqi PM Says Its Time For US Troops To Go Home

January 6, 2024—As Israel and Hamas continue battling in Gaza, the conflict is having a destabilizing impact on the wider region. It is impacting Iraq and Syria, where the U.S. military has forces, as well as Lebanon, Yemen, Iran, and shipping in the Red Sea. This week Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani is making it clear to the U.S. government that he is ready for the 2,500 U.S. troops stationed there to go home. The government started "setting the date for the start of the bilateral committee to put arrangements to end the presence of the international coalition forces in Iraq permanently," the prime minister's office said on Friday, according to a Reuters news report. "We stress our firm position in ending the existence of the international coalition after the justi...
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Canada And China Spar In The East Asian Skies
17Oct By Patti MohrNo Comments
Geopolitics, Types of News: Brief, Types of News: Videos

Canada And China Spar In The East Asian Skies

October 17, 2023—Five meters. That was the distance between a Royal Canadian Air Force and a Chinese jet in international airspace. “It was quite frankly dangerous and reckless. And those types of behaviors are not ever acceptable and we will express that to the People’s Republic of China in the most appropriate way,” said Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair. Several news outlets reported the incident, which shows the intensity of geopolitical relations in East Asia. According to Reuters, China's Foreign Ministry responded to the complaint by saying Canada "aircraft illegally intruded into the airspace" of islands claimed by China. Canada's Global News was one of the first to report it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nc7unKkuI04 Disputed Territory The land is uninh...
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US And Japan Affirm Security Alliance Amid Heightened Tensions In Asia
5Oct By Patti MohrNo Comments
Arms Sales, Military Industry, Geopolitics, Types of News: Brief

US And Japan Affirm Security Alliance Amid Heightened Tensions In Asia

Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin affirmed the U.S.-Japan security alliance on Oct. 4, 2023. October 5, 2023—Defense ministers from the United States and Japan strengthened their two countries' security alliance on Wednesday amid heightened tensions in Asia. Japan is expediting a planned purchase of Tomahawk cruise missiles, moving the date up one year. The United States, meanwhile, reaffirmed its promise to defend Japan's mainland and territories in what U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called an "ironclad commitment." U.S.-Japan Alliance "This is a time of historic momentum in the U.S.-Japan alliance," Austin said on Wednesday. "We support your government's bold decisions to invest in advanced capabilities including counterstrik...
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Oil Prices Jump As Saudi Arabia And Russia Make Output Deal
19Sep By Patti MohrNo Comments
Energy Policy, Oil & Gas, Geopolitics, Types of News: Brief

Oil Prices Jump As Saudi Arabia And Russia Make Output Deal

Photo by Johannes Havn on Pexels.com The Decision Indirectly Impacts Inflation, Interest Rates, And Russia's Brutal Assault On Ukraine September 19, 2023—As oil prices prop up inflation and the Russian war economy, policy decisions impacting oil are significant. So it matters when two of the world's largest oil-producing countries make a deal to restrict output to push up prices. The two countries are Saudi Arabia and Russia. As oil prices continue to rise so does the scrutiny of Saudi Arabia's decision to side with Russia. The Price of Oil This story starts with a look at the cost. The price of oil rose in August and again in September to $92 a barrel WTI (U.S.) and $95 a barrel Brent (British). On average, oil output from OPEC countries also jumped month-on-month by 6 per...
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US, Vietnam Strengthen Strategic Partnership
11Sep By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, Geopolitics, Political Systems, Domestic Politics, Types of News: Analysis

US, Vietnam Strengthen Strategic Partnership

New Partnership Paves The Way For Billions Of Dollars In Business Deals U.S. President Joe Biden and General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong deepened strategic ties. September 10, 2023 Credit: White House photo September 11, 2023—The United States and Vietnam elevated their relations to a new level on Sunday—the highest strategic partnership in Vietnam and a significant one in the United States. U.S. President Joe Biden and General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong agreed on Sunday to deepen political and diplomatic ties while paving the way for billions of dollars in business deals. It comes 10 years after the two countries formed the Vietnam–U.S. Comprehensive Partnership, and it re...
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Currency Wars: Dollar Dominance Here To Stay? Maybe. Maybe Not.
16May By Patti MohrNo Comments
Currency, Debt, National Budgets & Interest Rates, Geopolitics, Globalization, Global Disintegration, Types of News: Brief

Currency Wars: Dollar Dominance Here To Stay? Maybe. Maybe Not.

China, India, and Others Vie For Status The United States has a significant economic advantage in having the U.S. dollar serve as the dominant form of global exchange. But several global leaders want to change that. China and Russia have long plotted to bring the dollar down. China wants its yuan to take over as the global currency leader. It's convincing trading partners like Argentina and Brazil to dump the dollar as a means for making trade and instead use the yuan. As Washington Post reporters Meaghan Tobin, Lyric Li, and David Feliba explained in an article today, Argentina's economy is in crisis, and its holdings of U.S. dollars are running thin. As a result, the government agreed last month to pay for $1 billion worth of Chinese imports with yuan. A New BRICS Currenc...
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20 Years After The Iraq War, The Truth Still Suffers
29Mar By Patti MohrNo Comments
Corruption, Bribes, Illicit Finance & Money Laundering, Geopolitics, International Law, Legal Battles, Types of News: Analysis

20 Years After The Iraq War, The Truth Still Suffers

Iraq today has competitive elections, but it is not "free." Its democratic governance is impeded by corruption, weak institutions, and militias. Iraq Lacks Key Freedoms, and No Redemption For U.S. War Hawks March 29, 2023—In the run-up to the 2003 Iraq war, the atmosphere in Washington, D.C. was like a giant groupthink exercise. Most people knew it was an illegal war and the Bush administration's claims about chemical weapons were shaky at best. But they dared not counter the president's position. President George W. Bush had a "freedom agenda," and that agenda made him susceptible to treachery and manipulation. His administration became convinced that Iraq held weapons of mass destruction, and they became determined to make that belief become a truth that needed to be corrected...
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NATO Steps Up Support For Ukraine Sovereignty
14Feb By Patti MohrNo Comments
Geopolitics, Types of News: Brief

NATO Steps Up Support For Ukraine Sovereignty

NATO defense ministers met Feb. 14, 2023 in Brussels. February 14, 2023—As the war in Ukraine intensifies even beyond the intense fighting that has taken place to do, the NATO alliance and its members are amping up their support for Ukraine. NATO defense ministers and staff met in Brussels today to plan to provide more military support for Ukraine, increase the production of defense equipment, and strengthen and replenish members' own stocks of goods. Support for Ukraine includes training pilots, heavy weaponry, the modern air defence systems, the ammunition, and tanks. Asked by a reporter ahead of the meeting about the NATO's involvement in supplying equipment to Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said it is right to support Ukraine's fight to maintain its sove...
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What Happens When China Buys Up Europe’s Ports?
2Nov By Patti MohrNo Comments
Europe, EU, Eurozone, Geopolitics, Global Trade, Globalization, Global Disintegration, Types of News: Analysis

What Happens When China Buys Up Europe’s Ports?

China's Xi Jinping has a stake in developing relations with Greece and other countries in Central and Eastern Europe. Photo: Li Xueren/Xinhua China's State-Owned Cosco To Buy Stake In Another European Port November 2, 2022—Greece may be a pioneer and champion of democracy, but in the business of trade it owes a great deal to communist China. In fact, its largest port, Piraeus, is owned by a Chinese state-owned shipping company called Cosco Shipping. That's the subject of a fine piece of reporting by Kaki Bali for Germany's DW, called "In Greece's Largest Port of Piraeus, China Is The Boss." Bali looks at the implications on trade and geopolitics as China's Cosco buys up ports in Greece, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands and Brussels. Noting the modernization of the port and jobs,...
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