Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Are the two sides of the Atlantic drifting apart? Do the political and security ties forged during the dark years of the Cold War still hold firm? Is the Atlantic Alliance which preserved Europe’s freedom and allowed for its prosperity, now simply a historical footnote? […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — The so-called Islamic State, the Caliphate which at its height controlled large parts of Syria and Iraq has been destroyed by focused and lethal military strikes by the United States and its allies. Yet in effect, the shattered group has now splintered and spread to […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler NEW YORK — In a stunningly positive speech before Congress, President Donald Trump delivered the annual State of the Union address to a deeply divided nation. While the president outlined a long upbeat list of economic achievements and trade deals, amounting to what was called a “Blue Collar […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Amid deepening political and economic ties between Burma and China, the Southeast Asian state is being fully integrated into Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, emerging as a transportation hub and military asset. Yet at the same time, while Beijing’s leader Xi Jinping made a high […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — East Asian countries continue to be global leaders in economic growth despite ongoing trade tensions between the USA and China. Nonetheless, even among those dynamic Asian states, growth has tempered from 5.7 percent in 2018 to 5.2 percent in 2019 amid an international downshift. The […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — An eagerly anticipated UN Security Council meeting came in the nervous aftermath of America’s targeted killing of Iranian terrorist kingpin Qasem Soleimani by an armed U.S. drone. The rhetorical crescendo was building all week following Soleimani’s funeral cortege which wove its way across Iraq and […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — A lethal lightning bolt pierced the Baghdad sky, as an American drone strike killed the terrorist Qasem Soleimani in an instant. The feared general of Iran’s infamous Revolutionary Guards external operations Quds force, was vaporized by the U.S. in retaliation for the unsuccessful attack on […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler NEW YORK — Peering into the crystal snow globe, it’s time to predict, prognosticate and presage into the year ahead. Without a pun we need the proverbial 2020 vision to decipher the political and security landscape that awaits us in the new year with both long running static […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — While dictator Kim Jung-Un is huffing and puffing about arbitrary deadlines to diplomatic negotiations between the United States and North Korea concerning Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile proliferation, the UN Security Council met to deliver a unified call for peace and disarmament on the divided […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — President Donald Trump put Afghanistan back in the news again after his surprise Thanksgiving visit to U.S. troops stationed in the embattled South Asian country. Besides bringing holiday cheer for American forces serving in the eighteen-year long conflict, the President again offered a conditional olive […]
