Headlines

Is Hormuz the US dollar’s Suez?

In the dog days of summer 70 years ago, Gamal Abdel Nasser announced the nationalization of the Suez Canal. The move triggered the invasion of Egypt by a joint force of British, French and Israeli troops. Although the military operation was a success, it was a diplomatic

Asia

The mirage of Israel-Lebanon rapprochement

Those of us who have spent years chronicling the long, tragicomic history of American diplomacy in the Middle East could be forgiven a certain weary déjà vu watching Secretary of State Marco Rubio convene Israeli and Lebanese officials at the State Department in April. The

Asia

The Lockheed-Tanaka bagman

‘In every trouble spot I have cautiously visited, there has always been one watering hole where, as if by secret rite, hacks, spies, aid workers and carpetbaggers converge. John le carre That observation by the British spy fiction master is one with which I wholeheartedly

Asia

How Pacific islands can gain from Australia-Japan ties

In their meeting on May 4 in Canberra, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his Japanese counterpart, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, agreed to prioritize a range of issues including supply chains, energy, critical minerals, trade and security. Under the framework of

Asia

Pentagon bans reporters from public affairs office

The Trump administration’s “attempts to silence objective journalism just hit a new low,” said one press freedom advocate late Monday after the Pentagon announced that the US Department of Defense would mark its press office as a classified area, banning journalists from the

Asia