The announced Russian military withdrawal from Syria has raised suspicions of a quiet deal between Putin and Obama for the partitiion of country into "spheres of influence."
The High Negotiations Committee of Syrian opposition groups will attend UN-brokered talks with the Damascus regime—but Kurdish leaders will have no seat at the table.
Amid confused fighting in northern Syria, accusations are mounting that the Rojava Kurds are collaborating with Russia—and, by extension, the genocidal Bashar Assad regime.
The take-over of federal lands in eastern Oregon by a right-wing militia builds on a rancher land-grab that began when the Paiute Indians were usurped in the 1878 Bannock War.
Ex-CIA director James Woolsey charged that the Obama administration has no strategy for dealing with "failed states" in Iraq and Syria.
A crisis over the Yemeni island of Socotra was resolved as the United Arab Emirates agreed to withdraw and turn control over to Saudi forces, which will in turn restore full Yemeni rule. The island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its unique flora and fauna, hailed as the "Galapagos of the Indian Ocean." Emirati forces seized Socotra at the start of the month, and raised their flag over the airport and other strategic points—sparking angry protests from residents. Socotra's governor condemned the move as an "occupation" and "a flagrant violation of Yemeni sovereignty." Even after the de-escalation, suspicions remain. Yemen's ambassador to UNESCO, Ahmad al-Sayyad, accused Saudi Arabia and the UAE of "a hidden inclination to divide Yemen." (Map via University of Texas)
