Michael Rubin, 1945
The Lebanese pound is in freefall. While officially the government pegs it at 1,500 to the U.S. dollar, the black market rate now approaches ten times that. Lebanese have always understood the extent to which their elites diverted or stole the billions of dollars the international community and World Bank provided their government, but the decline in their national currency now
C. Raja Mohan, Foreign Policy
In a deepening geopolitical shift, New Delhi is inching closer on many fronts.
Gavin Esler, The National
There was a time when just about everyone knew the jargon of ICBMs and a nuclear missile's throw weight. I could even recite the differences between START I, START II and the INF treaty, but I have had to look it all up again to check the details. The INF - Intermediate Nuclear Forces - treaty was a landmark in ending the Cold War.
Chris Patten, Project Syndicate
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government recently spelled out how Britain will use its supposed freedom outside the European Union. But the country faces a growing number of tough choices that Johnson will not be able to avoid for much longer.
J. Hillman & D. Sacks, CFR
"The Belt and Road Initiative, Chinese President Xi Jinping's signature foreign policy undertaking and the world's largest infrastructure program, poses a significant challenge to U.S. economic, political, climate change, security, and global health interests."
Yaakov Katz, Jerusalem Post
The Jewish people are meant to be the people of the big ideas. Monotheism, Shabbat, Communism, Zionism are just some examples.
Ekaterina Zolotova, GPF
Fighting has resumed between the Ukrainian military and Russian-backed rebels in Donbass who accused the government in Kyiv of preparing for a large-scale offensive. Troops in the region were, indeed, put on high alert, and when asked, a representative to the peace talks said Kyiv would not rule out the possibility of war. To be clear, Ukraine has reason to want to provoke Russia. Doing so would perhaps breathe life back into the talks for implementing the Minsk Agreement, which was signed back in 2015. Читать дальше...
Vita Spivak, Carn. Mos.
As Russia becomes increasingly pulled into China's tech orbit, the Rubicon will be the Kremlin's final decision on whether to use Chinese or Western technology to develop 5G networks in Russia—and currently Chinese companies look like the favorites.
Muhammad Shehada, Haaretz
In Israel's history, only three prime ministers have held publicly acknowledged talks with Hamas. And only one has proved to be a reliable pragmatic partner for the Islamist movement: Benjamin Netanyahu.
Graham Fuller, Responsible Statecraft
The U.S. leadership must have set some kind of new record in managing to personally insult the leadership of the two other great powers of the world within 48 hours of each other in these early days of Biden administration foreign policy. Almost as if they were graduates of "The Donald Trump Charm School."
Thomas O Falk, Al Jazeera
The premier has focused obsessively on weakening his rival Bennett - and for good reason. Even if he hands Netanyahu his victory, the Yamina head will exact a painfully high price
