History, Religion, Politics, Culture, and Travels in the Islamic World
Writing about political and military developments in the Middle East has distracted me from writing about my primary interests: travels, peoples, cultures, religion, and history. A short photo essay about my student days in Damascus in the 2000s when I studied Arabic at Damascus University
44th anniversary of the 24-25 April 1980 failed attempt by US Special Forces to rescue hostages held at the US Embassy in Tehran. Video and photo essay with links to informed analyses.
Congress passed bills on 20 April 2024 that provide a total of $95 billion in military aid to Israel, Taipei, and Ukraine; lead to a U.S. ban on TikTok; add sanctions on Iran; and steal billions of Russian assets held in the U.S. A dark day for investor confidence in U.S. as a “safe have,” U.S. foreign policy, and U.S. Citizens (who lose liberties and dollars); but an excellent day for the Iran-Russia-China “Tripartite Alliance,” which will retaliate against the U.S. in Asia-Pacific and Middle East.
My thesis on IRGC strategy vis-à-vis Israel, ‘How do Iranians ‘Boil a Frog’? Slowly and methodically,’ published at the Cradle was mentioned (with indignation!) by Israel’s ambassador to the U.N. during the 15 April 2024 U.N. Security Council meeting on Iran’s strike on Israel. Video below.
Following the U.S.-backed Israeli regime’s bombing of the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Iranians affiliated with the Islamic Republic have made statements that suggest Tehran’s nuclear weapons policy may have shifted. A 180° shift by Tehran is highly-probable.
The attackers in Moscow and Kirman were from Tajikistan. ISIS-K seeks to topple Tajikistan’s government, yet ISIS-K have not conducted major attacks in Tajikistan. Just one incident in 2022: seven rockets fired by ISIS-K from Afghanistan into Tajikistan that ‘struck Tajik military facilities.’ Major attacks perpetrated by Tajik nationals allegedly with ISIS-K have been against enemies of the U.S. and/or Israel: Russia and Iran.
Pre-modern cities of the Islamic World often had a perimeter wall to protect the city’s suburbs from predators seeking to plunder the city and seize men, women, and children to be used as slaves or sold in slave markets. Herat, Iran (now part of Afghanistan), had such a perimeter wall
The duel on the Ukrainian battlefield, where vaunted American Abrams M1/AI tanks fell to Russian ‘Ghoul’ FPV drones, indicates that U.S. Army land warfare doctrines are due for re-evaluation. The multi-million-dollar tanks were easily felled by $500 drones. Re-thinks by strategists at the U.S. Army War College are overdue.
Essay evaluates the maturing ‘Tripartite Alliance’—Russia, China, Iran—at the two-year anniversary of the Ukraine War, which fused the Alliance. Anger at U.S. and NATO transformed hitherto wary allies into partners. Part 1, background; Part 2, cooperation—with emphasis on Iran-Russia military and intelligence exchanges. How will the Iran-Russia military relationship impact on U.S. and Israel?
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
Perspectives 
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