By Robert Cassidy, RealClearDefense: “Many open source articles and books explain why, what at first looked like, a successful war, with the Taliban taking flight, then saw the regeneration of the Taliban and the onset of a protracted war of attrition ...”
Trump’s Warning to Iran
By J. Robert Kane, RealClearDefense: “The aggression in Latin America through Iranian operations is not benign. It has serious effects. Namely, Iran is trying to replace the U.S. as the power ally to Latin American countries”
By Rohollah Faghihi, Al-Monitor: “There is a war going on within the Iranian presidential palace, where two leading members of the administration are striving to force First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri out of the government.”
U.S., MIDDLE EAST:
U.S. Considering Military Options to Keep Strait of Hormuz Open
From The Jerusalem Post: “The U.S. is considering military options should Iran decide to close the strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route for oil produced in the Middle East, reported Maariv on Saturday.”
By Anthony Patrick, Divergent Options: “Sharp power actions are normally covert in nature allowing the perpetrator plausible deniability. Given the combined military and economic power of western democracies, sharp power is the preferred method for disruptive actions against the international order by authoritarian powers.”
U.S. Provocations Present Opportunity for Iran
By Ian Dudgeon, The Strategist (ASPI): “U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s provocative speech on 22 July that attacked Iran’s leadership and policies, and prompted a brief but hostile exchange between President Hassan Rouhani and President Donald Trump about the threat of war, has provided an opportunity for Rouhani to seize the initiative and sell himself and the Iranian government, domestically and internationally.”
Al-Monitor examines President Mahmoud Abbas’ legacy as Palestine says good-bye to the US-led peace process in the latest installment of our long-form journalism.