From The Nation:
I Was 10 When the Battle of Fallujah Taught Me the Meaning of War
I barely understood the gravity of what I was watching, but it did strike me that this battle was not taking place on some distant battlefield; it was happening in our own backyard, less than 36 miles due west of Baghdad—almost precisely the distance from Washington, DC, to Baltimore, Maryland. I no longer thought of war as an abstract concept. The fighting in Fallujah was brutal, bloody, and very much real.
Seconds felt like minutes, minutes felt like hours, and hours felt like an eternity. We sat there for the entirety of the day, bearing witness to major developments as the situation became progressively worse. The depravity of war was on full display for the entire world to see. The sight of lifeless bodies lying in rubble, the harrowing sounds of weeping civilians fleeing the city, and images of wounded American and Iraqi service members were vividly shocking. It was a surreal experience that continues to haunt me to this day.
—Ali Nayyef, Master’s in Political Science student
From The Hill:
Democrats Have Urgency, But No Momentum
What would happen if, as seems likely, the Republican Senate votes to acquit President Trump? Democratic voters would likely experience a wave of outrage. The 2020 election would be the Democrats’ one last chance to shut Trump down. Urgency would build and could turn into a surge of momentum for Biden and Bloomberg, the candidates best positioned to build a broad-based anti-Trump coalition.
—Bill Schneider
From The Conversation:
Why a Measured Transition to Electric Vehicles Would Benefit the U.S.
Let’s look at the market and the industry first. The most aggressive expert forecasts by BloombergNEF foresee only 57% of global auto sales being electric by 2040. The auto industry and the associated infrastructure are so enormous that they simply can’t be transformed much more quickly. The world’s largest manufacturing supply chain must be entirely rebuilt, and a charging network put in place that will meet EV drivers’ needs without disrupting the grid. American consumers also have to learn to love EVs, and that will take time.
—David Hart
From The Hill:
Tuesday Elections: Americans Vote Their Values, Not the Economy—and That’s Bad for Trump
The irony is that Republicans are not getting much benefit from what most voters see as a good economy. The Trump presidency may be good for their economic interests — but they’re not voting their economic interests. They’re voting their values. And Donald Trump offends their values.
—Bill Schneider
From United World International:
The Importance of Syrian Oil and Gas Resources During the Post-Crisis Era
At present, the central government is only in control of its gas facilities, and most of the oil facilities are in the possession of Kurdish groups. Now, eight years after the start of the Syrian war, the country’s oil production has fallen sharply, so this year its oil production was 6,000 barrels a day, meeting only a quarter of its domestic demand. During these years, the Islamic Republic of Iran met the need for fuel by opening a line of credit for the Syrian government, but by the end of the year, the Iranian oil supply to Iran had completely ceased with the start of a new round of US sanctions.
—Omid Shokri Kalehsar, Visiting Research Scholar
From The Hill:
Isolationism Creeps Back Over America as the President Looks Out for Himself
For 72 years, the United States has acknowledged international as well as national interests. President Bill Clinton said in 1997, “America stands alone as the world’s indispensable nation.” No more. It ended this month when President Donald Trump withdrew U.S. forces from Syria, saying, “Let someone else fight over this long bloodstained sand.” Since World War II, whenever there has been a serious threat to world order or to humanitarian values, one rule has applied: If the United States doesn’t do anything, nothing will happen.
—Bill Schneider
From TRT World (Turkey):
Changes and Opportunities for Aramco’s IPO
For Saudi Arabia, reducing its dependence on oil revenues is the country's most important economic goal by 2030 - but the implementation of Vision 2030 depends on oil revenues and the country's ability to obtain investment from abroad, which often depends heavily on perception. After the drone attacks in September of this year on the Aramco refinery facility, scepticism arose about the company's production and refining capacity – as well as doubts about Saudi Arabia's ability to secure its facilities with a war raging at its border in Yemen.
—Omid Shokri Kalehsar, Visiting Research Scholar