ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Photo: AFP Written by  Zainab Calcuttawala ; Originally appeared at  OilPrice.com It’s  “Infrastructure Week”  in Washington, and foreign powers are taking note. Ahead of President Donald Trump’s upcoming visit to the Middle East, Saudi Arabia has promised to make  $40 billion  of its sovereign wealth fund available to the United States to bankroll part of the roughly $1 trillion in infrastructure improvements that Trump promised on the campaign trail. The move is reminiscent of the KSA’s strategy amongst its allies in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), as well as Morocco and Jordan. This GCC + 2 group of kingdoms is regularly showered with billions of dollars in gifts from its wealthiest members, earmarked for similar construction projects, allowing the most stable Arab countries to remain intimately connected through financial obligations. The monarchial structure of these countries allows the lead executive to accept the sizeable donations without much fuss from the pub

FILE IMAGE: US troops in Syria Yesterday, Operation Inherent Resolve, the US-led campaign against ISIS,  said in a statement  that “the coalition struck pro-regime forces [Syrian government forces] that  were advancing well inside an established de-confliction zone ” and “posed a threat to U.S. and partner forces” at al-Tanf.  Follow Inherent Resolve   ✔ @CJTFOIR May 18  # Coalition  struck  # Syrian  pro-regime forces advancing in a de-confliction zone near At Tanf posing a threat to  # US  partner forces1/3 7:53 PM - 18 May 2017     270 270 Retweets     147 147 likes Twitter Ads info & Privacy However, there is no a de-confliction [de-escalation] zone near al-Tanaf in southwestern Syria. Let’s check “ Memorandum on the creation of de-escalation areas in the Syrian Arab Republic “: 1. the following de-escalation areas shall be created with the aim to put a prompt end to violence, improve the humanitarian situation and c

Gulf states have offered normalised relations in exchange for renewed push for peace with Palestinians, report says By MEE Numerous Gulf states have offered a deal to normalise relations with Israel if Tel Aviv takes steps to restart peace talks with the Palestinians, according to reports.  The offer to normalise relations come a week before Donald Trump visits Saudi Arabia and Israel in his first foreign trip as US president.  The Wall Street Journal said numerous Gulf states were prepared to set up telecommunication lines between the countries, open trade negotiations and allow planes to fly over their airspace. In exchange, Israel would have to freeze settlement construction in the West Bank and relax trade restrictions with the Gaza Strip. The proposals to normalise relations with Israel were outlined in an unreleased discussion paper shared among several Arab states, obtained by the Wall Street Journal.  The paper, according to WSJ,  was intended to demonstrate the Gulf st

Former FBI director Robert Mueller will be appointed as special counsel to take over the Russia investigation. The appointment was made by Rod Rosenstein, deputy attorney general. The move comes amid concerns about the independence of the investigation. Pete Williams and Ken Dilanian Bowing to public and Congressional pressure, Deputy U.S. Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed former  FBI  Director Bob Mueller on Wednesday to be a special counsel overseeing the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 campaign,  Justice Department  officials said. Mueller will take command of the prosecutors and FBI agents who are working on the far reaching Russia investigation, which spans multiple FBI field offices on both coasts. Mueller led the FBI for 12 years under Presidents  George W. Bush  and  Barack Obama .

Click to see the full-size map ISIS defenses are rapidly collapsing under a pressure of the Syrian military in the province of Aleppo. Government forces, led by the Syrian Army’s Tiger Forces, have liberated Jarah Kabir, Durubiyah al-Kabirah, Nafiiyah, Atira, Atira Cattle Farm, Mazyounat al-Humur, Tall Hassan and Jubb al-Ali from ISIS terrorists. Multiple airstrikes against ISIS targets were reported in the Maskanah countryside and areas north of it. The Russian Aerospace Forces and the Syrian Air Force are actively supporting the government advance towards the strategic ISIS-held town of Maskanah. Click to see the full-size map. Source: @v4st0/Twitter

Today, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) has advanced in the area surrounding Arak gas field east of Palmyra. Yesterday the SAA managed to capture the eastern and north-western Tafaha hills located 20 km northwest of the T4 Station in the eastern Homs countryside. From its side, ISIS militants have hit two SAA tanks with ATGMs north of the silos area located east of Palmyra. Click to see the full-size image Click to see the full-size image Click to see the full-size image Click to see the full-size image Warplanes and attack helicopters of the Russian Air Force bmbed ISIS positions and gatherings in the vicinity of the Palmyra silos area, in the town of Sokhna, and across the eastern Homs and Hama countrysides. Click to see the full-size image Click to see the full-size image ISIS reinforced its positions in the Taliya Reserve, the vicinity of the silos area and Arak gas field in the eastern countryside of Palmyra according to opposition sources. ISIS is try

Written by  Daniel Edgar  exclusively for  SouthFront What is the point of a sovereign State without a sovereign Economy… The prospect of a national constituent assembly offers a valuable opportunity to evaluate and protect the progress made in terms of reclaiming the country’s sovereignty and consolidate the constitutional provisions related to this objective. One aspect of particular importance is the economy: as has become increasingly clear since the election of December 2015 (in which the opposition obtained a substantial majority in the National Assembly), in the absence of constitutional protection the achievements gained in terms of the recuperation and consolidation of strategic sectors of the economy and the development of social projects and programs are extremely vulnerable to the adoption of neoliberal policies by the government of the day. The analyses by James Petras (2016) and Michel Chossudovsky (2016) provide a clear perspective of what awaits Venezuela if the