Ex-FBI agent: CIA nominee Brennan converted to Islam, visited holy sites

Ex-FBI agent: CIA nominee Brennan converted to Islam, visited holy sites

Special to WorldTribune.com WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama’s nominee to head the CIA is said to have secretly converted to Islam in Saudi Arabia. A former FBI agent reported that CIA nominee John Brennan secretly converted to Islam between 1996 and 1999 when he served as CIA station chief in the Saudi capital of Riyad. […]

All the president’s men and the music that moves them

All the president’s men and the music that moves them

Wesley Pruden Barack Obama says he’s not a Muslim, but a Christian. That’s his business, between the president and God. The president clearly has a soft spot in his heart for Islam. He once described the call to evening prayer, which he first heard as a child in a Muslim school in Indonesia, as “one […]

Inside man on North Korea works to keep lines of communication open

Inside man on North Korea works to keep lines of communication open

Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com A dazzling array of manipulators and operators, swindlers and do-gooders and odd-balls parade across the stage of the Asian drama, some long enough for star billing, others relegated to bit roles, maybe 15 minutes or less of fame, before fading into obscurity. Get to know them a little, […]

Sale of Exxon Mobil stakes makes Beijing top consumer of Iraq’s oil

Sale of Exxon Mobil stakes makes Beijing top consumer of Iraq’s oil

Special to WorldTribune.com Compiled by Miles Yu, Geostrategy-Direct.com The U.S. oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp has decided to sell its stakes in the West Qurna phase 1 oilfield in Iraq. Exxon will sell its stakes to Chinese state-run oil giant China National Petroleum Corp [CNPC], China’s official newspaper China Daily confirmed on Jan. 24. With […]

As U.S. ‘pivots’ to East Asia, Taiwan is drifting into Beijing’s orbit

As U.S. ‘pivots’ to East Asia, Taiwan is drifting into Beijing’s orbit

Sol W. Sanders   TAIPEI – The U.S.’ 50-year-old alliance with [Formosa] Taiwan is eroding slowly but surely in the face of Beijing’s siren call and growing indifference of the Obama administration. Yet at a moment when U.S. strategy ostensibly calls for a “pivot” toward Asia, the de facto alliance could never have been more […]

Congress silent as Gore defends terror TV deal with ‘relatively independent’ Al Jazeera

Congress silent as Gore defends terror TV deal with ‘relatively independent’ Al Jazeera

Special to WorldTribune.com By Cliff Kincad It is fun to watch Big Oil critic Al Gore squirm as he is questioned about selling out to the oil-rich dictatorship in Qatar. But his sale of Current TV to Al Jazeera is not a laughing matter. This transaction is a homeland security threat that violates numerous U.S. […]

Pyongyang poker: N. Korea ups the ante with the U.S., Japan, S. Korea and China

Pyongyang poker: N. Korea ups the ante with the U.S., Japan, S. Korea and China

John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Shortly after the Security Council unanimously condemned the recent North Korean missile launch and demanded that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea abandon nuclear testing, Pyongyang’s rulers decided to up the political ante. They announced that they are on the verge of a third nuclear test and for good […]

CNN suggests Whole Foods CEO should stifle his views on Obamacare

CNN suggests Whole Foods CEO should stifle his views on Obamacare

Special to WorldTribune.com By Cliff Kincaid A brave soul, John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods, raised the specter of fascism when he was talking about the requirements of the top-down federal Obamacare system. The term made Carol Costello of CNN go into orbit on a recent program but Mackey got the better of the exchange […]

Obama’s windy words, dovish appointments and lack of resolve

Obama’s windy words, dovish appointments and lack of resolve

Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com WASHINGTON — A mood of collective celebration swept over the American capital as President Barack Obama entered his second term under clear skies in freezing temperatures. It was as though the country were taking a break from fears about the economy, the next “fiscal cliff” and debate on […]

After policy disasters, U.S. AFRICOM to deploy troops to 35 countries

After policy disasters, U.S. AFRICOM to deploy troops to 35 countries

Special to WorldTribune.com Compiled by Miles Yu, Geostrategy-Direct.com The United States will deploy troops to 35 African countries in 2013 to deal with increasing Al Qaida or Al Qaida-like terrorist threats. The total number of Africa-bound troops will be around 3,500 and they will come from the 2nd Brigade’s Heavy Combat Team of the First […]