ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

FILE IMAGE: AFP On November 28, SouthFront released a video analysis entitled “ Would Anyone Profit From a New War in the Middle East? ”. The video sated that the possibility of a new war in the region in the near future was relatively low because no regional player was interested in it. The only side, which could be interested in a new conflict, was the United States because such a war will contribute to interests of the American military industrial complex and lead to the growth of oil prices. High oil prices will impact positively the US shale oil production. However, it was hard to expect developments, which took place this week. On December 6, US President Donald Trump officially recognized the city of Jerusalem as Israel’s true capital and declared an official intent to move the US embassy there. The decision faced a condemnation from the regional powers, including Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Algeria, Turkey, Qatar and Iran, and the international community. The observed reduc

On December 8, Yasser Dahla, a commander of the Arab al-Bagharah tribe forces in the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), defected with its fighters and joined the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), according to opposition and pro-government sources. A field commander of al-Bagharah tribe forces named Abu al-Majad al-Rifi was also among those who had defected from the SDF, according to reports. The Al-Bagarah tribe is the biggest tribe in eastern Syrian and was one of the key Arab allies of the SDF. However, tensions between the tribe and the SDF erupted when SDF fighters looted the tribe’s villages on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River. Later, opposition sources reported that the tension between al-Bagharah tribe and the SDF reached a dangerous level when the SDF leadership ignored the the tribe’s leaders demand to put an end to the looting during a meeting on November 27. Dahla himself was reportedly arrested with four of his fighters on October 1 after refusing to obey the

Written by  James Petras ; Originally appeared at  The Unz Review Introduction Major changes are roiling the states, societies and ruling classes of the biggest industrial economies, oil regimes and military complexes. China is re-allocating its economic wealth toward building the most extensive modern infrastructure system in history, linking four continents. Saudi Arabia is transferring a trillion dollars of pillage from princes to princes, from old business parasites to up-to-date versions, from austere desert mirages to fantasies of new mega-cities. The United States is emptying the swamp of the Capital’s corruption and immediately replenishing it with the scandal of the day. One Cabinet Secretary is fired; another Secretary is hired; one enemy is embraced; an ally denounced; the stock market flourishes and trade agreements are abandoned. One tax is sliced and pleases the powerful; another is spliced and chokes the consumers. Turmoil, some would say; chaos, others