The US Occupation of Iraq (2003-2026)

After twenty-three years, the final US troops are being removed from Iraq - a full thirty-five years after The Gulf War, a decade of genocidal sanctions and bombing, the full invasion of 2003, years of civil war and spin-off wars (including the ISIS period) and now the US-Israel war with neighbouring Iran.

Western Evangelicals Provide Putin Justification for Persecution in Russia

https://www.christiandaily.com/news/evangelical-leaders-join-kyiv-prayer-breakfast-call-on-world-not-to-grow-weary-of-ukraine-s-war

Putin is afraid of a fifth column at work within his country. He knows the West has been scheming to remove him from power. He also is attempting to forge a Russian unity or monolith - or what I would call a sacral state. But even this is nuanced as Russia has no issues with its Tatar population or those of Central Asian heritage who are Muslim. They may live as something akin to second-class citizens (in some cases) but they are not persecuted on the basis of religion. There are even indigenous Buddhists in Russia - such as the Kalmyks who have their own autonomous republic. This too is not a problem for the Kremlin.

Ukraine, Iran, and the State of the World

The instability of the world order is starting to snowball. It's overwhelming and frankly it's hard to keep up. I cannot remember a time like this where a combination of factors are coming together to create a situation in which the world seems precarious, and precedent provides little guidance.

Al-Sharaa, Petraeus, and the End of the War on Terror: A Most Revealing Episode at the UN General Assembly

Recently Ahmed al-Sharaa (formerly al-Julani) met with David Petraeus at the UN General Assembly. It was a unique moment that quite a few news outlets found worthy of note. And while some saw it has symbolic, few reflected on its actual meaning.
They tended to focus on how far al-Sharaa had come, how he had once been a prisoner of the US, and a member of al Qaeda. And yet (supposedly) he has renounced his previous Salafism and is now being put forward as a leader that will turn Syria toward Western Liberalism, democracy, and the rule of law - or so they hope.

American Idealism and Chomsky's Swan Song

The Myth of American Idealism (published in October 2024) will undoubtedly be Noam Chomsky's final work - and it was accomplished with a collaborator, Nathan Robinson. Chomsky will be 97 in December 2025 and after a massive stroke, his public life has come to an end.

The Dalai Lama and Mongolian Intrigues

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y772jlpgzo

In early July 2025, the Dalai Lama finally announced that he would have a successor, that there would be a reincarnation and a continuation of the office, which in Tibetan Buddhism is a manifestation (or emanation) of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. The Bodhisattvas are beings in the Mahayana tradition that have delayed their entrance to the state of Nirvana in order to help mankind. They are functionally a type of divine entity that some would compare to angels or gods, but such terms and concepts don't exactly fit. Nevertheless they are venerated and appealed to - and so from a Christian standpoint they are akin to gods are at least demi-gods.

Erdogan, the Kurds, and the Caucasus

https://www.politico.eu/article/abdullah-ocalan-pkk-recep-tayyip-erdogan-turkey-kurdistan/

https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Turkey-celebrates-peace-with-the-PKK-but-tightens-its-grip-on-the-CHP-with-hundreds-of-arrests-63483.html

https://www.turkishminute.com/2025/07/17/syrian-kurdish-official-rejects-turkish-calls-to-lay-down-arms-says-sdf-seeks-integration-instead/

Erdogan has been in power for over twenty years and his tenure has been transformative - breaking with decades of Kemalism and Ataturk's secular vision for a modern Western-leaning state. Erdogan has shifted Türkiye to a presidential system, securing his power and while he is certainly a strong-man and authoritarian, his rule and word are not absolute.

Ashurbanipal, Nebuchadnezzar, and the Leaders of Other Evil Empires

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/reagan-evil-empire/

During the Cold War there were three years that stand out - periods in which tension was high and the world stood on the brink of nuclear conflagration. 1962 easily ranks first with the Cuban Missile Crisis. 1973 usually ranks second in connection to the Yom Kippur War and the US raising of the DefCon alert to an elevated '3' - signalling preparations for potential war. The DefCon was not raised by the Americans in 1983, but Moscow was on high alert and many consider it to be one of the most tense periods of the Cold War.

A Chronicle of Lies

https://www.jonathan-cook.net/blog/2025-01-30/gaza-middle-east-lies/

This is a helpful summary and reminder of the scope and magnitude of deceit when it comes to mainstream Western narratives regarding the Middle East, its wars, and America's part in them. And this is true when it comes to the Establishment (or Legacy as some would have it) media outlets - with everything turned up a notch or two when it comes to the growing array of Right-wing platforms.

The Shattering of Syria

The fall of the Assad regime is by all accounts a monumental development in the history of the modern Middle East, and it came rapidly and unexpectedly. Though in some respects the war which began in 2011 has never fully ended, it was assumed that Assad had effectively won and as recently as last year there was talk of trying to bring Syria back into the international community. The war was by all accounts over. The resistance was reduced to a small and contained area. The country was far from healed or duly re-constituted, but the notion that the regime would fall seemed distant at best.

October 2024: The Multi-Faceted Crisis and the Spectre of Global War

The world is in turmoil and at such a degree and tempo that it's almost impossible to keep up with events. I could post multiple articles a day and it would not suffice. We are in a rather intense news cycle at present. Many of these issues qualify as mere 'news' and as such are somewhat beyond the purview of this project which among other things seeks to contextualize the Church in the world we live in today and explain how history, events, and ideas are impacting the Church for good and evil. Given the failures of Church leaders and in many cases their capitulation to the world, or in other cases their heresy and their corruption, I believe this task is important even if few will hear it.

Comenius and the Swedish Occupation of Lissa

As reported in a previous piece the Bohemian Brethren who would later become the Moravians were involved in the 1618 Protestant plot to install Frederick V of the Palatinate on the throne of Bohemia. The Habsburgs responded, defeated the Utraquist-led Protestant forces and launched a vicious Counter-Reformation that would almost eradicate Protestantism in Bohemia. Though minor players and a minority within Bohemian Protestantism, the Brethren would suffer severe persecution. The war soon expanded and would become the Thirty Years War enveloping much of Central Europe. After the Habsburgs had scored tremendous victories and seemed poised to win the war - and roll back Magisterial Protestant gains from the previous century, the Swedes invaded under Gustavus Adolphus in 1630 - landing in Pomerania. The tide would quickly turn.

Albright's War to Break Yugoslavia

https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/03/08/how-madeleine-albright-got-the-war-the-u-s-wanted/

Elich speaks of the US wanting war in 1999 and setting up negotiations with the Serbs to fail. This is true but is no less so when it comes to the first phase of the Yugoslav break-up in 1991. The US played a role in facilitating the split that would lead to independent nations like Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia - and a bombing campaign in 1995.

Atlanticism's Attempt to Curtail the Rise of Europe and a Multi-Polar World

Atlanticism represents a historical anomaly – Europe under subjugation from an outside power. For many decades this was limited to Western Europe but with the collapse of the USSR, the United States extended its reach through NATO and other mechanisms to include all the former Warsaw Pact nations and portions of the former Soviet Union itself.

John MacArthur Continues to Disappoint

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-ofKxfYqGw

In recent weeks, as the media focused on the seventy-fifth anniversary of Israel's founding, I have been musing on Dispensationalism and its geopolitical influence. I happened to come across a video of John MacArthur appearing on the Ben Shapiro show back in 2018.

The Wider Implications of The Ukraine War (II)

The hypocritical and frankly spurious ICC indictment of Putin for war crimes was timed perfectly to coincide with Xi's recent trip to Moscow, and meant to embarrass the Asian leader who got to claim the credit for the Riyadh-Tehran agreement. Washington's posture regarding the ICC is hypocritical, self-serving, and even ridiculous as the American government consistently claims the court (which it helped to create) has no jurisdiction over either the United States or Israel because they are not signatories to the treaty. However, when it comes to non-signatories such as Russia (who also refuses to acknowledge the court), the ICC has full jurisdiction – or so it is argued.

The Wider Implications of The Ukraine War (I)

These are mostly points that have been touched on over the past year and even well before the war erupted in February 2022. However, some of these points demand revisiting as the dynamics continue to change and the implications of this war are becoming more pronounced and profound. The Ukraine War is affecting global politics and economics but it's also starting to look like the opening chapter in what history may reckon a much larger war of consequence – even possibly a world war. There are certainly those clamouring for it. Perhaps some readers are tired of hearing about Ukraine but in reality one can barely discuss anything right now that touches on geopolitics or the economy without discussing the war in Eastern Europe.

Biden's Independence Hall Speech and the Evangelical Response

Did Biden err in making this now infamous speech – in calling out MAGA Republicans and the Trumpite movement, and in identifying them as a threat to the country?

Sundry Thoughts and Reflections on the Queen's Death (II)

It goes without saying that the death of Elizabeth II is a cultural milestone. It's unsettling for many as one of the foundational pillars of British society has been removed. The monarchy continues but because of the length of her reign and the stability it brought during the tumultuous cultural upheaval of the post-war period – the stability is associated less with the monarchy as a whole but is instead associated specifically with her person. And now she's gone.

The War Option, the Calculus of Empire, and the Dreams of Madmen

For years commentators have spoken of the decline of America and what it would look like. Others (including myself) have argued that the American Establishment may opt for war as a means to escape this deterioration and reassert the largely failed project of post Cold War US hegemony.