Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Libya is a shattered land. Awash in weapons and explosives, riven by tribal and political rivalries, flooded by illegal migrants, and haven to lethal terrorist groups, Libya remains North Africa’s glaring tragedy, six years after an Anglo/French/American military effort toppled the Gadhafi regime. Now with […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler PARIS — The hateful hand of terrorism struck in Barcelona, as a van driven by a Jihadi militant plowed into scores of strollers on the city’s celebrated Ramblas promenade, killing 14 and injuring 130. The starkly simple but devastating attack method was used in Nice, France a year […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler St. NAZAIRE, France — “Lafayette, we are here,” became the clarion call upon the arrival of the American Expeditionary Force to France in 1917. The USA had just entered the hostilities, three years into the Great War, and now the battle hardened U.S. General John Pershing was in […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler PARIS — A year ago France was on edge. Islamic Jihadi terrorists had killed 86 people with a truck ramming incident at a Bastille Day celebration in Nice. Shortly thereafter a elderly priest was murdered as he said Mass. These attacks following a spate of earlier shootings in […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — After a bitter eight-month fight, the Iraqi military has finally freed Mosul from the brutal grip of Islamic State. This victory in retaking this key northern city has shattered the terror organization’s invincibility and moreover liberated one of the so-called Caliphate’s twin capitals. The fight […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Nearly six hundred years ago, huge Chinese fleets plied the Indian Ocean sailing as far as Arabia and the East African coast. The epic seaborne expeditions carried out between 1405 and 1432 under Adm. Cheng Ho and during the glorious Ming Dynasty were larger and […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler NEW YORK — We have seen this movie before and it never ends well. An arrogant and boastful dictator snubs the world and threatens his neighbors. The international community frets in rightful indignation but does little to respond. As tensions rise, the world appears hostage to a bully. […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned to the USA not quite knowing what to expect from planned summit meetings with President Donald Trump. After all while both leaders are known as brash and outspoken figures, the visitor from New Delhi was particularly nervous over trade […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — In an impassioned appeal to the media, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres decried the rising tide of refugees worldwide, but advised that ultimately political solutions to the crises remain the key to stem the tide creating chaotic human displacements. While more than 65 million people […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Thirty years ago this week in 1987, President Ronald Reagan visiting Berlin, made his famous challenge, “Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall.” Alongside the American President stood German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. A few years earlier I met Helmut Kohl campaigning in his native Rheinland. Kohl, […]
