The Death of Evil Men

In April of 2025, former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage died. Given that his was not a household name his death didn't receive a lot of coverage though most major outlets picked up the story. He had played an important role in the Bush administration serving as Colin Powell's #2. Previously he had held other second tier positions within Republican politics. He was probably best known for his connections to the Vietnam War. Armitage played a prominent role in the 2014 PBS film Last Days in Vietnam, as well as the 2025 Netflix Turning Point series on the war.

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.

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.

Closing the Book on the Assange Era

There are clearly some who are unhappy with Assange's release and believe he should have been either executed or incarcerated for life. The same day as the Notre Dame fire (which dominated the news) - the UK government arrested him in April 2019 at the Ecuadorian embassy where he had already been holed up since 2012. The reasons for his hiding in the embassy are rooted in bogus (and now dropped) charges of rape in Sweden. He suspected that as soon as he ended up in a UK court for an extradition hearing, the US would intervene and unwrap a sealed indictment against him. Its existence was an all but an open secret.

Discerning Trueman's Confusion

https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2023/12/has-hitler-won-on-the-left

Carl Trueman of Grove City College laments the moral decline in society and the kind of confusion that would lead to people celebrating the 7 October Hamas attack on Southern Israel.

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.

Afghanistan and Iraq at the End of the Trump Era

The panicked reaction to Trump's planned troop withdrawal from both Iraq and Afghanistan has been palpable. The media and the US Establishment in general are hostile to the move and trying to sound the alarm. And yet at the same time they struggle with providing solid reasons for remaining in these seemingly endless conflicts – both of which have gone sideways and evolved into something other than what they originally were purported to be.

Trump +1307: Middle Eastern Geopolitics, Switching Alliances and American Absenteeism (II)

As previously mentioned, the explosion in Beirut was quickly capitalised on by France's Macron – the Americans are absent, and thus other Western powers like the French are stepping in. Macron as the former colonial power has inserted itself into the Lebanese situation and is already floating an overhaul of the Civil War settlement which established the sectarian blocs that rule the country. Despite this settlement, in practical terms, oligarchs control the government and  Hezbollah controls large sections of Lebanon's Northeast and South and a political shake-up could mean a challenge to Hezbollah's control – the very thing Macron and others would like to see.

Trump +1307: Middle Eastern Geopolitics, Switching Alliances and American Absenteeism (I)

It is really in the realm of foreign policy that Trump has upset the American Establishment in the strongest of terms – and I'm not referring to the failed Russiagate scandal. As a vehicle to remove him from office that plot failed but in the meantime his presidency has marked some other significant changes and in some settings and theatres his haphazard pursuit of policy has resulted in change – largely in terms of instability and a serious decline in American influence and standing.

A New Phase in the Syria War: The Kurds Betrayed Again and the Turkish Invasion of Rojava

I've been writing about Syria and the Kurds for many years as I was fascinated by these topics long before they became part of the nightly news cycle.

With that perspective I can honestly say that I've been more or less dismissive with regard to the present commentary on the part of the Establishment media and certainly the statements being made by the Right and the Evangelical audience.

The Kurds have been betrayed by the US on multiple occasions and while there was some protest in the wake of the Gulf War, for the most part few have cared... except now the situation is in reference to Syria and the presidency of Donald Trump.

The Horn of Africa, Geopolitics and the Persecution of Christians

Recently some thirty-five Christians were released from prison in Eritrea. Is this a sign of future toleration or a case of symbolic amnesty, a diplomatic bone thrown to Ethiopia's allies in the West? The event is probably best understood by the recent peace declaration between Addis Ababa and Asmara, ending the border conflict which has been ongoing since Eritrean independence in the 1990's. Will these moves signal a change for the persecuted Christians in Eritrea? Let's hope so, but there's good reason to doubt.

Neo-McCarthyism and Cold War II (Part 2)

The US is bent on overthrowing the Assad regime in Syria. Obama supported this action from its very beginning. From the standpoint of US imperialism the removal of Assad dovetails beautifully with the designs of Israel and would represent a significant victory for US policy in defiance of Russia and to the detriment of Iran.

The Jerusalem Embassy, Dispensationalism and American Evangelicalism

Moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem provides a convenient distraction for the embattled Trump administration. Embroiled in layers of investigation and cover-ups to hide cover-ups, the shift in media coverage provides them with some welcome respite.

Imperialist Wars, Conscription and Democracy

If you're listening to the second season of the Serial podcast then you're learning about Bowe Bergdahl and the circumstances of his capture and the swirl of events that surrounded it.

I'm mildly interested in the story but if you're listening there's a lot more that you can glean. There's something to be learned about these modern wars, how they're fought and it leads one to reflect.

Saudi Arabia and Iran: 1979 and the Islamic Narrative

In 1979 a group of Salafis overtook the Grand Mosque at Mecca. This group deliberately associated themselves with the Ikwhan movement from the days before the Saud family formally took over the reins of the new kingdom. As ultra-conservatives they believed the Saud family had been morally and theologically compromised. They had become too friendly with the West and were no longer worthy of being the guardians of the holy sites of Mecca and Medina. The house of Saud was illegitimate.

The Church in a Time of Endless War, Imperialism and the Destruction of Societies

The recent Al Jazeera verdicts in Egypt are an exclamation point on the total collapse of the Arab Spring. They represent a final expression of the perversion and subversion of this vast regional movement which five years later is all but over and must be reckoned a failure.

Visions of Jesus and Charismatic Christianity

Christian media circles are awash with reports of mass conversions throughout the Middle East. Muslims are experiencing dreams and visions of Jesus and converting to Christianity in droves.

What are we to make of such stories?

Is it possible that such a thing is occurring, and if not then what is happening?