Nobody likes a bully; and USA is a loud-mouthed bully. Iranians resent 125+ years of foreign interference in their affairs. Tehran has responded to USA’s ‘maximum pressure’ and ‘bomb Iran’ threats by enhancing Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) capacities. IRGC can ‘kill’ US aircraft carriers outside Persian Gulf. Iran is prepared for an ‘inevitable war.’ Washington underestimates Iranian tenacity and military technologies
Month: February 2024
A Note on Pathans (Pashtuns or Afghans)
Note on the term ‘Afghan’ as an ethnonym and ‘Afghanistan’ as a toponym based on pre-modern histories and geographies.
Fortifications of the Pre-Modern Islamic World: Shadiyakh, Nishapur (Khurasan, Iran)
Nishapur has the dubious distinction of being ruined frequently by earthquakes and invaders. It was home to Omar Khayyam and Farid al-Din Attar, and devastated in AH 618/AD 1221 by the Mongol army commanded by Tolui, Chingiz Khan’s son. An overview of the fortifications of Nishapur; and excavation at Shadiyakh palace, HQ of Abdallah b. Tahir, Khurasan’s Abbasid governor
Fortifications of the Pre-Modern Islamic World: Introduction
Introduction to a series on fortifications of the Islamic east, and the changing character of war. In this first post, a brief look at the layout of Fort Juwayn, Khurasan (a province split between Iran and Afghanistan), as it stood in 1884
War of the Flea in the Red Sea
Robert Taber’s classic study offers insights into Ansarallah’s (Houthi’s) Red Sea campaign. Five characteristics of ‘protracted war’ apply to Yemen. ‘Popular support’ in is with Ansarallah. This is demonstrated every Friday by the millions of Yemenis that assemble after prayers to support Palestine and oppose U.S./UK airstrikes. Even Ansarallah’s civil war enemies have drifted to their camp.
Perspectives 
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