Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler Presidents, Prime Ministers, Potentates and Kings will converge in New York for the 76th session of the UN General assembly. The annual meeting and debate among the UN’s 193 member states is nonetheless still shadowed by the clouds of the COVID pandemic as well as the deteriorating global […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler We all remember where we were on September 11, 2001. We all remember with sheer disbelief watching the unfolding horror and the realization that “it could happen here.” We all remember and vowed to never forget the Al Qaida terrorist attacks on America, and as importantly, ensure that […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler The dust is now settling on an unmitigated military disaster and a stinging political humiliation for the United States’ standing in the world. The unfolding Afghan fiasco confronts Washington policymakers with complicated Rubik’s cube choices in the wake of Kabul’s collapse. The Biden Administration’s next moves will affect […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler The warning flags were clearly there but Team Biden chose not to heed them. A top secret State Department Memo in mid-July, cited by the Wall Street Journal, signaled swift advances of the Taliban and the impending collapse of the Afghan military. Nobody seemed to notice? Let’s offer […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler PARIS — Sadly, we have seen this movie before. In the Spring of 1975, the collapse of South Vietnam coming to crescendo with the fall of Saigon indelibly marking a generation. Cities like Pleiku, Danang and Hue in this contemporary saga are Kunduz, Kandahar and Herat. Now with […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler PARIS — People are upset. Many are frightened, and not surprisingly France is frustrated with the ever-changing Covid news and government rules which much like the weather reports keep changing personal, business and day-to-day plans. Now for the fourth weekend in a row, anti-vaccine pass demonstrations rocked France […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler Cuba’s ongoing political and social upheaval has shocked many observers as a sudden and intense summer storm. Across the island in small towns and provincial centers protests erupted like a squall line until reaching the capital Havana. Tropical storm “Liberdad” was lashing the Island of Cuba while its […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler It’s summertime and the living is easy, as the old song goes. And vacations both domestic and international should be surging despite dark pandemic clouds still shrouding parts of the world. But last year’s collapse in international tourism, seeing a decline by 74 percent in 2020, has still […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler Amid pomp, pageantry and proletarian parades, China’s President Xi Jinping kicked off festivities celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Communist Party of China (CCP). The mass performances and political choreography, one of the things dictatorships seem to do so well, was held in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. Dressed in […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler Dark clouds are shadowing Afghanistan as the final pullout of American forces from the beleaguered war-torn country continues, and the future darkens with the likely approach of a militant Taliban regime. Time is running out to “prevent a worst case scenario” as Deborah Lyons, the UN’s Special Representative […]
