Argument
An expert’s point of view on a current event.
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TOPSHOT - A protester holds up his fist as riot police prepare to intervene to disperse refinery worker holding a blockade of the oil depot of Douchy-Les-Mines to protest against the government's proposed labour reforms, on May 25, 2016. Refinery workers stepped up strikes that threaten to paralyse France weeks ahead of the Euro 2016 tournament as the government moved to break their blockades, escalating a three-month tug-of-war over labour reforms. / AFP / FRANCOIS LO PRESTI (Photo credit should read FRANCOIS LO PRESTI/AFP/Getty Images) Emmanuel Macron Is Facing the ‘Mother of All Battles’
France’s new president is about to face off against some of the West's fiercest organized labor. At stake is the future of Europe.
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GettyImages-484578260crop Could German Unification Have Happened Today?
Helmut Kohl brought together his country by acting on principles that currently are under threat — in part because of what he achieved.
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iran Iran’s Islamic State Problem Isn’t Going Away
Tehran's military adventurism in the Arab world is finally creating blowback on Iranian soil.
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German Chancellor Helmut Kohl (L) shakes hands with an unidentified woman as he takes a short walk in the streets of Dabo in company of French President Fran?ois Mitterrand (2nd L) 19 July 1983. (Photo credit should read MARCEL MOCHET/AFP/GettyImages) The Pear Who Ate Germany
Helmut Kohl was an unlikely political heavyweight, but his relentless drive helped put East and West back together.
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US President Donald Trump (L) and French President Emmanuel Macron (R) shake hands ahead of a working lunch, at the US ambassador's residence, on the sidelines of the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) summit, in Brussels, on May 25, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Mandel NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images) Emmanuel Macron Is No Anti-Trump
Just because the French president gives a good handshake doesn't mean he sees himself as the champion of the liberal West.
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TOPSHOT - Anti-government demonstrators attack the administration headquarters of the Supreme Court of Justice as part of protests against President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, on June 12, 2017. With Venezuelans suffering from high inflation, food shortages and soaring crime rates, plus a deepening corruption scandal, the Venezuelan opposition has mounted near-daily anti-government protests since April 1. The protests have left 66 dead and more than a thousand injured, according to prosecutors. / AFP PHOTO / Federico PARRA (Photo credit should read FEDERICO PARRA/AFP/Getty Images) How to Avoid a Bloodbath in Venezuela
President Nicolás Maduro won’t go down without a fight. But tightening the screws on his would-be accomplices could help save the country from total collapse.
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A general view taken on June 11, 2017 shows portraits of Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani on the back of vehicles and text reading in Arabic: "Tamim the glorious" in Doha after the diplomatic crisis surrounding Qatar and the other Gulf countries spilled from social media to more traditional forms of media -- all the way back to billboards. The diplomatic crisis surrounding Qatar and other Gulf countries has remained a peaceful one for now, but open warfare has been declared in the media -- both traditional and social. / AFP PHOTO / KARIM JAAFAR (Photo credit should read KARIM JAAFAR/AFP/Getty Images) Qatar Doesn’t Need a Blockade. It Needs an Audit.
This is Doha's chance to curtail its financial support for Al Qaeda – as long as it keeps the receipts.
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A general view taken on June 11, 2017 shows portraits of Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani on the back of vehicles and text reading in Arabic: "Tamim the glorious" in Doha after the diplomatic crisis surrounding Qatar and the other Gulf countries spilled from social media to more traditional forms of media -- all the way back to billboards. The diplomatic crisis surrounding Qatar and other Gulf countries has remained a peaceful one for now, but open warfare has been declared in the media -- both traditional and social. / AFP PHOTO / KARIM JAAFAR (Photo credit should read KARIM JAAFAR/AFP/Getty Images) Qatar Doesn’t Need a Blockade. It Needs an Audit.
This is Doha's chance to curtail its financial support for al Qaeda – as long as it keeps the receipts.
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gcc-536014978 The Middle East’s Crisis Factory
The Iran-Qatar-Saudi conflict shows that the sclerotic, unpredictable, petulant dictatorships of the region produce nothing but endless conflict and brutal repression.
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Tibetan monks and supporters of Core Group for Tibetan cause hold lighted candles as they participate in a Tibetan solidarity rally at Tashi Gomang Stupa on the outskirts of Siliguri on October 20, 2011. Tibetans living in exile in India launched protests throughout India over Chinese actions in Tibet after a spate of self-immolation's by Buddhist monks and to mark the 50th anniversary of a Chinese attack in India on October 20,1962. AFP PHOTO/Diptendu DUTTA (Photo credit should read DIPTENDU DUTTA/AFP/Getty Images) China’s Cult of Stability Is Killing Tibetans
Tibetans are setting themselves on fire in record numbers to protest Beijing’s heavy hand. But the brutal cycle of violence is only increasing.
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kingtrump The Madness of King Donald
When people start asking questions about a king's mental stability, the story usually doesn't end well for the monarch.
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Armed police officers walk past newly installed barriers on London Bridge in London on June 8, 2017 following the June 3 terror attack that targeted members of the public on London Bridge and Borough Market. / AFP PHOTO / Paul ELLIS (Photo credit should read PAUL ELLIS/AFP/Getty Images) Can Britain Still Keep Calm and Carry On?
With a government in crisis facing an increasingly dangerous terrorist threat, new options are on the table that could erode society’s resistance to further attacks.
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TOPSHOT - A demonstrator wears a mask depicting Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May, poses with a mock gravestone bearing the words "Hard Brexit, RIP", during a protest photocall near the entrance 10 Downing Street in central London on June 9, 2017 as results from a snap general election show the Conservatives have lost their majority. British Prime Minister Theresa May faced pressure to resign on June 9 after losing her parliamentary majority, plunging the country into uncertainty as Brexit talks loom. The pound fell sharply amid fears the Conservative leader will be unable to form a government and could even be forced out of office after a troubled campaign overshadowed by two terror attacks. / AFP PHOTO / Adrian DENNIS (Photo credit should read ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images) Britain Has One More Shot at Stopping the Brexit Car Crash
The recent electoral chaos has left europhiles an opening. Here’s how they can take advantage.
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Pro-Russian militiants attack a branch of Ukrainian bank Privatbank in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk on April 28, 2014. Some 300 masked pro-Russian militants wielding baseball bats attacked a branch of the bank owned by an oligarch regional governor who has voiced criticism of Moscow. The gang attacked the Donetsk office of the powerful Private banking and metal industry holding belonging to Igor Kolomoisky, a billionaire who is also governor of the nearby region of Dnipropetrovsk. AFP PHOTO/ ALEXANDER KHUDOTEPLY (Photo credit should read Alexander KHUDOTEPLY/AFP/Getty Images) The Kremlin’s Newest Hybrid Warfare Asset: Gangsters
Russia and other states have taken to hiring street gangs and thugs to do the sort of dirty work that even spies don't want to touch.
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BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JUNE 09: DUP leader and Northern Ireland former First Minister Arlene Foster (C) holds a brief press conference with the DUP's newly elected Westminster candidates who stood in the general election on June 9, 2017 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. After a snap election was called by Prime Minister Theresa May the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday. The closely fought election has failed to return a clear overall majority winner and a hung parliament has been declared. Arlene Foster and the Democratic Unionist party with their ten Westminster seats have today stated that they will back Theresa May and the Conservatives in a prop up goverment. The two parties will continue talks about the finer details of the arrangement. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images) Will Theresa May’s Coalition Bring New Troubles to Northern Ireland?
Hard-line unionist politics and a resurgent Sinn Fein are butting heads in Belfast. But with the DUP as kingmaker in Westminster, things could get really ugly.
