Special to WorldTribune.com By Norman Bailey The U.S. and Europe — the traditional pillars of Israeli foreign diplomatic and economic relations — are crumbling. Since Israel’s independence, its most important economic and financial partners have been in Europe and the U.S. In the past few years, however, this situation has changed dramatically. On the plus […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) is likely to attempt “direct attacks on the U.S. homeland” this year, top intelligence officials told Congress on Feb. 9. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, in testimony at the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, said ISIL is hiding jihadists among the wave of refugees […]
Special to WorldTribune.com The entirety of Israel should be surrounded by fences to protect against infiltration from “wild beasts,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Feb. 9. “At the end of the day as I see it, there will be a fence … surrounding Israel in its entirety. We will surround the entire state of […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Any missteps in Iraq’s attempt to retake Mosul from Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISL) could result in a “nightmare scenario” in which the unstable Mosul Dam collapses and unleashes a 40-foot wave of death. “If the dam busts, the center of Mosul goes under water by about a 40-50 foot wave,” an […]
Special to WorldTribune.com After failing to make progress on the Israeli-Palestinian front, the Obama administration turned its attention this week to Israeli Arabs. The White House and State Department hosted Deputy Speaker of the Knesset Ahmed Tibi of Israel’s Joint List party. Tibi met with U.S. President Barak Obama’s chief adviser to the Middle East, […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Republicans in Congress intend to hold Iran accountable on several fronts where lawmakers say the Obama administration has delayed action or failed to act. This week, Republicans held five separate committee meetings aimed at shining a light on Iran’s compliance with the nuclear deal, its recent missile tests, human rights violations and […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Morocco on Feb. 10 signaled it stands with Saudi Arabia against threats in the Gulf region and backs the Saudi-led effort to “defend the legitmacy” of Yemen. “We are in complete solidarity with Saudi confronting any interference in its internal affairs,” Moroccan Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar said during a joint press conference […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty Canada will end air strikes targeting the Islamic State extremist group in Iraq and Syria and pull out six fighter jets within two weeks, Canada’s prime minister announced on February 8. Justin Trudeau said Canada would end its bombing mission by February 22 but military personnel […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty The United States has charged the wife of an Islamic State (IS) leader killed last year with contributing to American hostage Kayla Mueller’s death. Nisreen Assad Ibrahim Bahar, also known as Umm Sayyaf, admitted after her capture in May 2015 that she and her husband kept […]
Special to WorldTribune.com The U.S. president, who many critics say would rather be on the golf course than dealing with his constituents, gave Arab leaders a lecture on Feb. 8 on the importance of being “responsive” to their citizens. “As we’ve seen in the tumult across the Middle East and North Africa, when governments do […]
