Monday, April 26, 2021

Notations On Our World (Weekly Edition): On the Week That Was....



Our team was on the prowl this week as we captured the image above from JFTB-Los Alamitos.  As it was a challenging week, we wanted to begin with praise of all who served in Afghanistan as America withdraws by September 11: 



It was also the week that saw justice for George Floyd although the struggle continues to remain and the Politico's Matt Wuercker reflected about the continued challenges of Racism in America: 


The week that was also was the week that saw the Annual EarthDay 2021 celebration and this admonition was critical to be remembered in this endeavor: 




We leave all with a snapshot of the week that was:   

 


'We don't need to panic': US and European powers alarmed by growing 'danger' from Putin's Russia

'We don't need to panic': US and European powers alarmed by growing 'danger' from Putin's Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s crackdown on domestic dissidents and military buildup along Ukraine’s border are driving relations between Moscow and the Western powers toward a perilous inflection point, according to U.S. and European officials.

Read the full story here.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks at the United Nations Security Council, New York, Feb. 11, 2020.
 
 
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The pressure is intensifying for President Mahmoud Abbas to postpone the elections, which are becoming a dangerous game for the Israelis and other concerned parties.

 
 
 
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The vote over the Knesset’s Arrangement Committee has offered the so-called Bloc for Change a second shot at assembling the next government.

 
 
 
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Despite government efforts to develop the Egyptian railway network, train accidents have become recurrent.

 
 
 
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Although the Palestinian electoral law has been amended to raise the quota for women's participation in the Palestinian elections from 20% to 26%, Palestinian women continue to be unfairly represented on electoral lists.

 
 
 
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of April 2021 is a wounded animal, whose attention is focused on one goal only: saving himself.

 
 
 
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The Syrian opposition is working to empower women and increase their participation at the political level, amid low female representation in official institutions.

 
 
 
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Turkey's promotion of cultural heritage, including through its tourism and entertainment sectors, is one reason for Erdogan's popularity. However, the perception of the Ottoman legacy is gradually shifting from one of praise to one of condemnation toward Turkish policies.

 
 
 
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Months after a reconciliation agreement was signed, relations between Egypt and Qatar remain shy amid small steps at rapprochement.

 
 
 
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A majority of Israelis have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

 
 
 
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Turkish authorities also expanded vaccine eligibility today.

 
 
 
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The announcement comes less than a year after the two countries agreed to establish formal ties as part of the Abraham Accords.

 
 
 
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Along the lines of the inter-Kurdish talks, Syria’s Syriacs and Assyrians appear to be joining hands in holding an internal dialogue to unify their vision and national discourse in the country.

 
 
 
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Talks between the two countries were organized by Iraq's Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.


Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a mass campaign rally this month, despite the COVID pandemic, on behalf of his Hindu nationalist Bharata Janata Party in Kolkata, India
Opinion || How Modi Led India Into a COVID Catastrophe
Mohamed Zeeshan | 25.04.2021







Texas Monthly – Aaron Nelsen – Apr 21, 6:00 AM

Every month for the past decade, Scott Nicol, a 51-year-old artist and activist, has set out from his home in McAllen to roam the Rio Grande Valley in search of ladders used to scale the border wall in South Texas. On a cool and overcast day in…



Monday, April 19, 2021

Notations On Our World (Weekly Edition): Out & About in Our World On the Week That Was

 

 
As a new week dawns, we present a snasphot of #RandomThoughts On the deliberations throughout the week on our World courtesy the Economist, The Washington Examiner, Al Monitor & the Guardian.  We look forward to the opportunity to serve:

Gun 'sanctuary state' proposals divide GOP officials

Gun 'sanctuary state' proposals divide GOP officials

A swath of Republican governors and legislators are pushing proposals for gun "sanctuary states," aimed at making states immune from federal firearms laws.

Read the full story here.

Supreme Court declines to decide if felons can own guns

NEWS

Supreme Court declines to decide if felons can own guns

By Nicholas Rowan



Eight years ago I visited the newly built Afghan National Defence university in Qargha, outside Kabul, for a ceremony at which NATO formally handed over military control to Afghan forces. My battered notebook says that Anders Fogh Rasmussen, then NATO’s secretary-general, stood alongside Hamid Karzai, then the country’s president, and praised the “formidable forces” who would “guarantee the security of Afghanistan” in years to come. It did not quite work out like that.

I thought of that moment as I listened to a speech by President Joe Biden on April 14th. He announced that America would remove every last soldier from Afghanistan by September 11th—symbolically, the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that provoked America’s invasion. “I’m now the fourth United States president to preside over American troop presence in Afghanistan,” he said. “I will not pass this responsibility on to a fifth.” Our piece this week explains what might follow. 

It is hard to describe America’s departure as anything but a defeat. Its causes will be debated for years. Neighbouring Pakistan played both sides, allowing its ports to be used for supplying the war while also sheltering and supporting the Taliban. The invasion of Iraq in 2003 pulled resources and attention away from Afghanistan at a crucial moment. America and its allies built a highly centralised state, concentrating power in Kabul. Local warlords were allowed to get away with murder, quite literally. And as my colleague Daniel Knowles reported in May 2019, the Taliban often deal with local disputes more brutally than the government—“but much less corruptly.” 

The Taliban will not necessarily sweep through the country in weeks, come September, but they do have the upper hand. “They have encircled key cities across the country,” notes one recent piece of analysis , “capturing police checkpoints and controlling the roads ever closer to cities like Kandahar and Kabul, once bastions of government control.” Afghan security forces are large on paper, but weak in practice, with little ability to supply remote outposts or evacuate casualties by air. Without American planes above, the Taliban can mass in larger formations. Even with a steady supply of American cash, the government of Ashraf Ghani will struggle to keep its grip on power. 

Countries such as China, India, Iran, Pakistan and Russia will not sit idly by if the Afghan state begins to fall apart. Spy agencies from those countries, and more, will funnel cash and arms to different factions, much as they did during Afghanistan’s civil war in the 1990s. That may even present opportunities for savvy diplomacy: one former official suggests that America, free from logistical dependence on Pakistan, should back India and “play off the Russians against the Chinese”—for they too may have conflicting interests in the country. American soldiers may soon have seen the last of Afghanistan. American diplomats and intelligence officers will be busy for a while yet.



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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (R) meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Moscow on Dec. 30, 2019. The two met again in Tehran, Iran, on April 13, 2021.
 
 
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While Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed ways to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal in his visit to Tehran this week, the topics of Syria and Afghanistan also featured prominently on the agenda. 

 
 
 
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It is now clear that Israel has been left on its own as the Americans strive for a diplomatic resolution of the conflict with Iran.

 
 
 
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The announcement further violates the Iran nuclear deal that is currently being discussed with the United States in Vienna.

 
 
 
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Condemnation comes as Washington rallies European and Gulf support for implementing the cease-fire and 2019 Riyadh agreement.

 
 
 
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While some Egyptians see the suspension of work on the series "El-Malek" as controlling creative expression, others feel that the move is necessary to protect Egypt's identity from historical inaccuracies.

 
 
 
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The legislation from a progressive representative reflects a trend in the Democratic party toward pro-Palestinian positions and criticism of Israel.

 
 
 
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Authorities this month have confirmed 46 coronavirus cases across three camps hosting displaced people in northeast Syria.

 
 
 
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The talks in Vienna come less than a week after a suspected Israeli attack on an Iranian nuclear facility.

 
 
 
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Members of the subcommittee also pressed witnesses on whether regime change in Syria is an option.

 
 
 
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Egypt's participation in the task force comes as Russia seeks closer defense ties with Cairo and Sudan.

 
 
 
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The Turkish Central Bank said cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are too risky and forbade their use in the country.

 
 
 
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The Israeli military said its warplanes struck a Hamas weapons manufacturing site, a tunnel and a military post.

 







Episode 10
When a Week Seems Like a Year:
Parsing the Middle East’s Very Busy Week with John Hannah
JINSA’s newest Senior Fellow John Hannah joins host Erielle Davidson to break down an eventful week in the Middle East, from a potential coup to oust the Jordanian king to the latest Iran deal negotiations in Vienna. Mr. Hannah discusses why recent events in Jordan should remain on the U.S. radar and what internal dynamics within Jordan might have contributed to the alleged coup. He then unpacks some of the concerns facing the United States as it begins talks to re-enter the Iran nuclear deal. John and Erielle also review Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s timely visit to Israel, as well as the conclusion of the Iraq Strategic Dialogue.
 
 
Click above to listen on Spotify
Featured Speakers:
John Hannah
JINSA Senior Fellow
John Hannah is a Senior Fellow at JINSA’s Gemunder Center for Defense and Strategy. Hannah served in senior foreign policy positions for both Democratic and Republican administrations over the last 20 years, including as National Security Advisor to U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney.

Erielle Davidson
JINSA Senior Policy Analyst
Erielle is a graduate of Middlebury College, where she focused her research on the rise of fundamentalist Islam in Eastern Europe. She is an alumna of the Hoover Institution and former research assistant at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Following her time at Stanford, she worked as a staff writer at The Federalist with a special focus on Israel and Iran.