05 April 2025

Spinning Yemen and Syria

https://www.npr.org/2025/03/27/nx-s1-5341420/syrias-transitional-leader-is-a-former-jihadist-can-he-help-stabilize-the-region

This interview was informative to a point. It was also striking in that it attempted to spin the HTS takeover of Syria. The US Establishment is so ecstatic that Assad is gone, they are willing to spin the situation in order to assuage public fears. While Robert Worth suggested Israel is less than pleased - as demonstrated by their seizure of territory beyond the Golan Heights, and the numerous strikes to cripple that nation's military capability, I still felt like the whole question of Jolani/al-Sharaa was viewed through an Israeli lens.

02 April 2025

NATO and the 2023 Floods in Libya

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derna_dam_collapses

https://www.declassifieduk.org/why-the-media-arent-telling-the-whole-story-of-libyas-floods/

Since these events took place in 2023, it might as well be ancient history. Apart from those who follow the Middle East, this story was ignored and is by now largely forgotten.

But to ignore this is a mistake. Likewise if one wants to understand what's happening today in Sudan, Ethiopia, and what is brewing in South Sudan, the history needs to be revisited. Contemporary events cannot be understood otherwise.