Democratic Taiwan: More important than ever after failed U.S. ‘pivot to Asia’

Democratic Taiwan: More important than ever after failed U.S. ‘pivot to Asia’

Special to WorldTribune.com By Sol W. Sanders Largely ignored by the mainstream media, the Jan. 15 Taiwan elections have enormous implications not only for the Island’s 25 million people, but for China – and the U.S. Ironically, the election of the Democratic Progressive Party [DPP] leader, Tsai Ing-wen, a woman at that — reinstalled a […]

Conflicting U.S. views on conflict resolution with N. Korea: What if there is no solution?

Conflicting U.S. views on conflict resolution with N. Korea: What if there is no solution?

Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, EastAsiaIntel.com Donald Gregg, U.S. ambassador to Korea as the country was making the transition to democracy in the early 1990s, did not take kindly to my column [A former U.S. diplomat’s inexplicable defense of Kim Jong-Un] in which I quoted him, accurately, as praising Kim Jong-Un “for improving the […]

By closing Al Jazeera America after spending $2 billion, Qatar lowers global profile

By closing Al Jazeera America after spending $2 billion, Qatar lowers global profile

Special to WorldTribune.com Qatar’s decision to pull the plug on Al Jazeera America is seen as an indication of its new leader’s “more cautious” approach in the international arena. Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani shut down Al Jazeera America after Qatar pumped some $2 billion into a U.S. network that had abysmal ratings since […]

The shale revolution, propaganda, sheer idiocy and an abundance of energy

The shale revolution, propaganda, sheer idiocy and an abundance of energy

Special to WorldTribune.com By Sol W. Sanders The Shale Revolution continues to wreak havoc as revolutions are wont to do. The abundance of U.S. natural gas, in many ways a more satisfactory fossil fuel than either coal or oil because of its lesser emissions, has dynamited the whole worldwide energy market. Whether or not the […]

Text of explainer-warning leaflets to ISIL tanker drivers released

Text of explainer-warning leaflets to ISIL tanker drivers released

Special to WorldTribune.com Leaflets dropped by the U.S. in Syria and Iraq warned drivers of tankers carrying Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) oil to “leave the trucks and flee” as air strikes on the tankers were imminent. “Warning. Airstrikes are coming, oil trucks will be destroyed,” read one leaflet. “Get away from your […]

Congress asking questions about U.S. payoff to Iran

Congress asking questions about U.S. payoff to Iran

Special to WorldTribune.com Congress is investigating the Obama administration’s $1.7 billion payment to Iran that many observers say was “ransom” for the release of five U.S. hostages. While the White House insists the payment to Iran was to settle a decades-old financial dispute, lawmakers have questioned the timing of the payment, which was made just […]

Israeli official: Obama helped fund Iran’s next war against ‘our children’

Israeli official: Obama helped fund Iran’s next war against ‘our children’

Special to WorldTribune.com The leader of Israel’s Yesh Atid party said the Obama administration’s support for lifting sanctions on Iran “will translate to rockets aimed at our children.” “The next conflict in the North or South of Israel is just a matter of time,” Yair Lapid said on Jan. 25 during a briefing to the […]

Palestinian Authority commentary blames U.S. for 9/11, creation of Islamic terror threat

Palestinian Authority commentary blames U.S. for 9/11, creation of Islamic terror threat

Special to WorldTribune.com The United States engineered the September 11, 2001 attacks to create “an imaginary enemy called ‘terror,’ ” the Palestinian Authority (PA) said. An opinion piece by Dr. Osama Al-Fara in the official PA daily newspaper said the U.S. is responsible for all the chaos and civil wars in the Muslim and Arab […]

Analyst: Impossible for Saudis to destroy U.S. shale industry

Analyst: Impossible for Saudis to destroy U.S. shale industry

Special to WorldTribune.com Despite its best efforts, it is impossible for Saudi Arabia to destroy the “resilient” U.S. shale industry, an analyst said. Because of its mid-cost nature, compared to the high cost of conventional drilling, shale will rebound quickly, according to Daniel Yergin, founder of IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates, who said groups are […]

Kerry appears ill at ease in Riyadh where he sought to assure Gulf allies

Kerry appears ill at ease in Riyadh where he sought to assure Gulf allies

Special to WorldTribune.com In a visit intended to reassure America’s ally Saudi Arabia over Iran’s continued “interference” in the Middle East, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry instead appeared uneasy and defensive, reports said. Kerry met in Riyadh on Jan. 23 with Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) foreign ministers. “Overall […]