ANALYSIS

27

Jun

COVID19, Iran, lock down, PANDEMIC

Asia Times: Why Iran won’t be broken

BY:  PEPE ESCOBAR PEJOURNAL - So what’s going on in Iran? How did the Islamic Republic really respond to Covid-19? How is it coping with Washington’s relentless “maximum pressure”? These questions were the subject of a long phone call I placed to Prof. Mohammad Marandi of the University of Tehran – one of Iran’s premier, globally recognized analysts. As Marandi explains, “Iran after the revolution was all about social justice. It set up a very elaborate health care network, similar to Cuba’s, but with more funding. A large hospital network. When the coronavirus hit, the US was even preventing Iran…

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26

Jun

Brussels, Corona virus, DER SPIEGEL, Europe, Merkel, Von Der Leyen

DER SPIEGEL: Merkel and Von Der Leyen The Two Women Who Could Transform Europe

PEJOURNAL - Generally speaking, home for Ursula von der Leyen is Brussels. This is where she spent the first 13 years of her life. "For me, the journey to Brussels very much represents the feeling of coming home," she says. More narrowly speaking, Von der Leyen's home is a 25-square-meter (270-square-foot) space in the Brussels headquarters of the European Commission, of which she is the president. Von der Leyen sleeps in a small apartment connected to her office via an unremarkable door next to a sideboard. She sometimes spends the weekend in Burgdorf, near Hanover, where her family lives --…

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26

Jun

COVID-19, foreign policy, Joe Biden, President Trump, RAND, the United States

RAND: Why the United States Will Need a New Foreign Policy in 2020

BY: Raphael S. Cohen PEJOURNAL - Voting may still be months away, but already the 2020 election cycle is in full swing, and the traditional presidential tropes—pledging a new and better future—are out in force. And yet, for all the campaign promises to the contrary, a disconcerting truth remains. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the country faced a growing strategic predicament: The United States' challenges are mounting, and its international commitments increasingly outstrip its means to fulfill them. Since the pandemic, these problems have only multiplied. Consequently, no matter who wins in 2020, big changes in America's foreign policy could be…

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26

Jun

Asia, China, India, orf, Pakistan

ORF: What China Wants in South Asia ?

Introduction PEJOURNAL - In his 19th Party Congress speech in October 2017, Chinese President Xi Jinping stated that “China will deepen relations with its neighbors in accordance with the principle of amity, sincerity, mutual benefits, and inclusiveness, and the policy of forging friendship and partnership with its neighbors.”[1] As neighbours of China, South Asian countries—including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka—have increasingly come into contact with Beijing in the diplomatic, economic, and security domains. These interactions demonstrate that China is not simply appealing to the better angels of South Asian neighbours. Rather, Beijing has crafted a geostrategic approach…

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26

Jun

2020-election, China, Iran, pejournal, Political Economy Journal, Pooya Mirzaei, Tension, TRUMP, USA

Political Economy Journal: Escalating tensions with Iran and China; Trump’s final solution

BY: Pooya Mirzaei PEJOURNAL - Growing concerns about re-election of Donald Trump have made republicans and their supporters to find a different pass to re-election. Due to different incidents the long show of economic well-being has been changed recently; the killing of George Floyd also impacted the polls greatly specially in eyes of minorities and people of color. There have been a lengthy discussion about how to impact general public opinion and marginalize effects of these grave incidents. In this article we will point out two main alternatives, our focus will be on foreign policy and important issues that could…

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25

Jun

Conflict, India, Kashmir, Security

The Express Tribune: India’s False Sense of Security and Stability

BY: Durdana Najam PEJOURNAL - From a regional point of view, India is a country with a confused perception of its global position. The assumption of having the power to subdue its neighbouring countries either militarily or economically has left India on its hinges, on many occasions. Whether it was Doklum, Balakot and now Ladakh, the storyline has been the same: aggression, standoff, and submission. India may have crossed over Pakistan’s territory in February 2019, but it left behind a state that respects international law and had the wherewithal to defend its territorial sovereignty. What image does India leave behind…

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24

Jun

Iran, nournews, pejournal, TRUMP, USA, VENEZUELA

NOURNEWS: Trump’s Sudden Turn towards Venezuela

PEJOURNAL - Trump is so concerned about Iran's influence in Latin America that he has abandoned his puppet (Juan Guido) in Venezuela and, despite previous stances and hostilities, he has announced his tacit readiness to negotiate with President Nicolas Maduro, which Trump tried to oust him with a coup. NOURNEWS - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has said he is ready to meet with Trump. Last winter, however, the United States formally opposed the legitimate government in Venezuela following a US-backed coup d'etat by Juan Guido. In an interview with the Axios website on Monday morning, Trump also noted Maduro's readiness…

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21

Jun

American Racism, Black Lives Matter, foreign policy, george floyd

Foreign Policy: The Legacy of American Racism at Home and Abroad

Domestic racism has long impacted U.S. foreign policy. It’s time to open up about it. It used to be that Americans had to wait decades to learn how U.S. national security professionals viewed racism within the United States. Only declassified reports and personal memoirs revealed how senior officials and diplomats condemned segregation, inequality, and racial injustice in their own country. Many of them saw the evils of racism as an affront to U.S. values and an impediment to the country’s foreign-policy goals, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. They delivered their points directly or indirectly—in situation rooms, policy debates, and briefings. These…

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19

Jun

England, European Troika, Ferance, GERMANY, IAEA, Iran, JCPOA, pejournal, Political Economy Journal, UN Resolution 2231, US

Political Economy Journal: Bitter end of JCPOA

PEJOURNAL - Recently, following the unofficial publication of the US resolution draft on the continuation of Iran's arms embargo after the expiration of the legal deadline set in UN Resolution 2231, Admiral Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, warned that if Iran arms embargoes extends by the UN Security Council, and then JCPOA will procced to its "eternal death." the European Troika anti-Iranian resolution proposed in the IAEA Board of Governors, is in fact a new step in increasing the pressure on Iran and will definitely be accompanied by Iran's reaction. The Wall Street Journal…

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18

Jun

Diplomacy, Europe, Iran, JCPOA, nournews

NOURNEWS: Europe Seeks to Repeat the Failed Experience of “Coercive Diplomacy” against Iran / Knee-to-Neck Policy Does Not Respond Here!

PEJOURNAL - According to Western media reports over the past two days, the European Troika is finalizing anti-Iranian resolutions for approval by the International Atomic Energy Agency's Governing Council, which will likely be put to a vote on Friday, despite opposition from China and Russia. Considered in the context of US menus for disrupting JCPOA, the resolution is seen as a new step in increasing pressure on Iran, and it is natural that Iran cannot fail to react seriously to this European behavior. Due to the negative reactions of Iran, China and Russia to the resolution, representatives of the European…

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