Tag "pepe escobar"
By Pepe Escobar cross-posted on PressTV and the Saker blog and posted with the author’s permission Iran’s parliament has just approved the accession of the Islamic Republic to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), previously enshrined at the Samarkand summit last September, marking the culmination of a process that lasted no less than 15 years. Iran has already applied to become a member of the expanding BRICS+, which before 2025 will
by Pepe Escobar, posted with the author’s permission and widely cross-posted Wily Sultan is caught between his electorate, which favors a Syria invasion, and his extremely nuanced relations with Russia There’s another Special Military Operation on the market. No, it’s not Russia “denazifying” and “demilitarizing” Ukraine – and, therefore, it’s no wonder that this other operation is not ruffling feathers across the collective West. Operation Claw-Sword was launched by Turkey’s
by Pepe Escobar, posted with the author’s permission and widely cross-posted Current Russian tactics are the absolute opposite of the military theory of concentrated force developed by Napoleon, Pepe Escobar writes. Footfalls echo in the memory Down the passage which we did not take Towards the door we never opened Into the rose-garden. My words echo Thus, in your mind. But to what purpose Disturbing the dust on a bowl
by Pepe Escobar, first published at The Cradle and posted with the author’s permission The increasingly irrelevant G20 Summit concluded with sure signs that BRICS+ will be the way forward for Global South cooperation. The redeeming quality of a tense G20 held in Bali – otherwise managed by laudable Indonesian graciousness – was to sharply define which way the geopolitical winds are blowing. That was encapsulated in the Summit’s two
by Pepe Escobar for the Asia Times and the Saker blog, posted by permission Balinese culture, a perpetual exercise in sophisticated subtlety, makes no distinction between the secular and the supernatural – sekala and niskala. Sekala is what our senses may discern. As in the ritualized gestures of world leaders – real and minor – at a highly polarized G20. Niskala is what cannot be sensed directly and can only
By Pepe Escobar cross-posted on PressTV and the Saker blog and posted with the author’s permission Southeast Asia is right at the center of international relations for a whole week viz a viz three consecutive summits: Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Phnom Penh, the Group of Twenty (G20) summit in Bali, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Bangkok. Eighteen nations accounting for roughly half
by Pepe Escobar, first published at The Cradle and posted with the author’s permission The meeting this week between two Eurasian security bosses is a further step toward dusting away the west’s oversized Asian footprint. Two guys are hanging out in a cozy room in Tehran with a tantalizing new map of the world in the background. Nothing to see here? On the contrary. These two Eurasian security giants are
by Pepe Escobar, posted with the author’s permission and widely cross-posted Deal or no deal, General Winter is coming to town – ready to entertain his guest of honor Sun Tzu with so many new dishes at their dinner table. The announcement of the Kherson Retreat may have signaled one of the gloomiest days of the Russian Federation since 1991. Leaving the right bank of the Dnieper to set up
by Pepe Escobar, posted with the author’s permission and widely cross-posted Beijing’s ties with countries now in ASEAN tend to bend the bamboo way: soft, clever, persistent and enduring The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is monopolizing the Asian and Global South spotlight for no fewer than 10 days, this week and the next, across a flurry of regional and international summits. First stop is Phnom Penh for the 25th
by Pepe Escobar, posted with the author’s permission and widely cross-posted With his inimitable flair for economic analysis steeped in historical depth, Professor Michael Hudson’s latest essay, originally written for a German audience, presents a stunning parallel between the Crusades and the current “rules-based international order” imposed by the Hegemon. Professor Hudson details how the Papacy in Rome managed to lock up unipolar control over secular realms (rings a bell?)
by Pepe Escobar, first published at The Cradle and posted with the author’s permission After the western military attack on Sevastopol briefly halted Russian grain transports, Moscow is back in business with a stronger hand and more favorable terms. So, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan picks up the phone and calls his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin: let’s talk about the “grain deal.” Putin, cool, calm and collected, explains the facts
by Pepe Escobar, first posted at the Asia Times, and reposted with the author’s permission Lula wins but his room for maneuver will be limited by powerful forces aligned against his Global South agenda Luis Ignacio “Lula” da Silva may be the ultimate 21st century political comeback kid. At 77, fit and sharp, leading an alliance of 10 political parties, he has just been elected as Brazilian president for what
by Pepe Escobar, posted with the author’s permission and widely cross-posted In an all-encompassing address to the plenary session of the 19th annual meeting of the Valdai Club, President Putin delivered no less than a devastating, multi-layered critique of unipolarity. From Shakespeare to the assassination of Gen Soleimani; from musings on spirituality to the structure of the UN; from Eurasia as the cradle of human civilization to the interconnection of
by Pepe Escobar, first published at The Cradle and posted with the author’s permission Eurasia is about to get a whole lot larger as countries line up to join the Chinese and Russian-led BRICS and SCO, to the detriment of the west Let’s start with what is in fact a tale of Global South trade between two members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). At its heart is the already
by Pepe Escobar, posted with the author’s permission and widely cross-posted Never underestimate a wounded and decaying Empire collapsing in real time. Imperial functionaries, even in a “diplomatic” capacity, continue to brazenly declare that their exceptionalist control over the world is mandatory. If that’s not the case, competitors may emerge and steal the limelight – monopolized by US oligarchies. That, of course, is absolute anathema. The imperial modus operandi against
by Pepe Escobar, first published at The Cradle and posted with the author’s permission Xi Jinping just offered the Global South a stark alternative to decades of western diktats, war, and economic duress. ‘Peaceful modernization’ will establish sovereignty, economy, and independence for the world’s struggling state President Xi Jinping’s work report at the start of the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) this past Sunday in Beijing
by Pepe Escobar, posted with the author’s permission and widely cross-posted President Xi Jinping’s 1h45min speech at the opening of the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing was an absorbing exercise of recent past informing near future. All of Asia and all of the Global South should carefully examine it. The Great Hall was lavishly adorned with bright
by Pepe Escobar, posted with the author’s permission and widely cross-posted Everything that matters in the complex process of Eurasia integration was once again at play in Astana, as the – renamed – Kazakh capital hosted the 6th Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA). The roll call was a Eurasian thing of beauty – featuring the leaders of Russia and Belarus (EAEU), West Asia (Azerbaijan, Turkey, Iraq,
by Pepe Escobar, posted with the author’s permission and widely cross-posted Let’s start with Pipelineistan. Nearly seven years ago, I showed how Syria was the ultimate Pipelineistan war. Damascus had rejected the – American – plan for a Qatar-Turkey gas pipeline, to the benefit of Iran-Iraq-Syria (for which a memorandum of understanding was signed). What followed was a vicious, concerted “Assad must go” campaign: proxy war as the road to
The western narrative of a ‘losing Russia’ has just been decimated by Moscow’s blitzkrieg against Ukraine and its foreign-backed terror operations by Pepe Escobar, first published at The Cradle and posted with the author’s permission The terror attack on Krymskiy Most – the Crimea Bridge – was the proverbial straw that broke the Eurasian camel’s back. Russian President Vladimir Putin neatly summarized it: “This is a terrorist attack aimed at
