Alawites flee Syrian rebel offensive near Mediterranean: ‘Tremendous fear of atrocities’

Alawites flee Syrian rebel offensive near Mediterranean: ‘Tremendous fear of atrocities’

Special to WorldTribune.com NICOSIA — Syria’s ruling Alawite minority has been evacuating villages amid a Sunni rebel offensive along the Mediterranean coast. Opposition sources said thousands of Alawites fled their communities along the Mediterranean Sea in August. The sources said the Alawites have flooded cities protected by the regime of President Bashar Assad, particularly the […]

The unexplained ambush of Navy SEAL Team Six

The unexplained ambush of Navy SEAL Team Six

Jeffrey T. Kuhner What really happened to Navy SEAL Team Six? In August 2011, the elite special forces unit suffered the worst battlefield calamity in its history. A Taliban fighter shot down a Chinook helicopter carrying 22 Navy SEAL Team Six members in Afghanistan. All 38 persons on board — the Navy SEAL warriors, other […]

What foreign observers forget about post-Morsi Egypt: It’s the economy, stupid

What foreign observers forget about post-Morsi Egypt: It’s the economy, stupid

Special to WorldTribune.com By Gregory R. Copley, Editor, GIS/Defense & Foreign Affairs Egypt’s military leadership entered August 2013 without any illusions as to the magnitude of the challenges facing the Egyptian Armed Forces, the Egyptian government, and all of Egypt, in the coming months and years. The decision by the Supreme Council of the Armed […]

Saudi analyst’s advice: ‘Act as if the United States does not exist’

Saudi analyst’s advice: ‘Act as if the United States does not exist’

Special to WorldTribune.com ABU DHABI — A leading Saudi analyst close to the royal family has advised Arab allies to ignore the United States amid its support of the Muslim Brotherhood. Tariq Al Homayed, the former editor of the Saudi-owned A-Sharq Al Awsat, called on Arab countries to dismiss U.S. pressure for democratic changes. Al […]

U.S. in the Mideast: From a stabilizing to a destabilizing influence

U.S. in the Mideast: From a stabilizing to a destabilizing influence

Sol W. Sanders   The Obama administration’s Middle East policies – it would be foolhardy to call them “strategy” – would be ludicrous were they not so threatening to American interests, regional and world stability. The latest permutation is Washington’s position against the Egyptian military and its satellite, hopefully provisional, civilian government. Washington’s insistence that […]

Fall of ‘Islamic model’ in Egypt has Erdogan fearing coup in Turkey

Fall of ‘Islamic model’ in Egypt has Erdogan fearing coup in Turkey

Special to WorldTribune.com By Miles Yu, Geostrategy-Direct.com ANKARA — Prime Minister Recep Erdogan, alarmed by the military coup in Egypt, was said to fear a similar scenario in Turkey. Diplomatic sources said Erdogan was the only NATO or Middle East leader to have openly sided with the Muslim Brotherhood against Egypt’s military. They said the […]

Israel to construct sea barrier at Sinai border with Egypt

Israel to construct sea barrier at Sinai border with Egypt

Special to WorldTribune.com TEL AVIV — Israel’s military has approved a project to erect a sea barrier along the border with Egypt. Officials said the Israel Navy has been assigned to plan the construction of a barrier that would prevent insurgents in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula from reaching Israel. The officials said the Project Hourglass would […]

Policy battles over U.S. pressure paralyze Israel’s security community

Policy battles over U.S. pressure paralyze Israel’s security community

Special to WorldTribune.com Geostrategy-Direct.com TEL AVIV — The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been torn over a power struggle regarding responsibility for Israel’s strategic affairs. Israeli sources said the struggle has pitted the National Security Council against the Strategic Affairs Ministry amid U.S. pressure on the Jewish state. They said Netanyahu has veered […]

Report: U.S. officials say Israeli air strike hit Syrian arms depot on July 5

Report: U.S. officials say Israeli air strike hit Syrian arms depot on July 5

Special to WorldTribune.com WASHINGTON — Israel was said to have again attacked Syria. The United States determined that the Israel Air Force struck a Syrian military depot in the port of Latakia on July 5. Three U.S. officials told CNN that the attack targeted the P-800 Yakhont coastal defense system procured by the regime of […]