Portside

U.S. officials are trying to preserve a truce that has reduced violence and created the possibility for a negotiated settlement to the war.

Analysts say developments offer glimmer of hope for country devastated by seven years of war.

In just 20 years, the total cost of the US increasing homeland security and waging wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere since Sept. 11, 2001, have exceeded $8 trillion, according to new estimates by the Costs of War project at Brown University.

World military expenditure in 2020 is estimated to have been $1981 billion, the highest level since 1988 — and world military expenditure in 2020 was 2.6 per cent higher in real terms than in 2019 and 9.3 per cent higher than in 2011.

So much vital work to be done—that must be done—for a more a peaceful world.

The five-year civil war between Houthi rebels and pro-government troops backed by a US-supported Saudi-led military coalition has devastated Yemen. Some 24 million Yemenis rely on humanitarian aid to survive, aid President Trump has now suspended.

Since President Trump’s assassination of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, widespread alarm has centered on whether he is again dragging us into another war like Iraq, to detract from his impeachment. The situation is even more potentially disastrous.

The Middle East that is emerging from the current crisis may be very different than the one that existed before those cruise missiles and drones tipped over the chessboard

The claim that Iran is the main “sponsor of terrorism” is one that has become a cliché from Washington, D.C., to Riyadh. It has become so common that no evidence is needed to prove it.

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