In Syria, longstanding U.S. interests overshadow Trump

By Robert A. Vella President Trump, a megalomaniac of prodigious proportions, has caused great consternation throughout the world over his Continue reading →

Review of Frontline documentary “Bitter Rivals: Iran and Saudi Arabia” (Part One)

By Robert A. Vella For those interested in learning more about the postwar Middle East, which has destabilized the entire Continue reading →

The Guardian identifies 14 key points from the scathing Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq War

By Robert A. Vella Today, The Guardian identified 14 key points from the Chilcot Inquiry which scrutinized the U.K.’s involvement Continue reading →

Mea culpa: I was wrong about the Arab Spring

By Robert A. Vella Ideas cannot be successfully fought militarily or authoritatively no matter how ill-conceived they might be.  What Continue reading →

Escalating U.S. intervention in the Middle East is problematic, but may be unavoidable

By Robert A. Vella Three years ago, President Obama called on Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to resign amidst the sectarian Continue reading →

False pretenses

Following 9/11, President Bush and seven top officials of his administration waged a carefully orchestrated campaign of misinformation about Saddam Continue reading →

Conflict in Iraq Follows Centuries of Shiite-Sunni Mistrust

The Sunni insurgency raging through Shiite-ruled Iraq has added fresh fuel to a centuries-old feud. This week, as al Qaeda-linked Continue reading →

Why We Did It – the unrated version (of the Iraq War)

MSNBC’s  short documentary titled “Why We Did It”  that aired March 06th, 2014 was somewhat informative but mostly anticlimactic. The Continue reading →