In an attempt to sum up the major accomplishments in the Middle East throughout 2015, Middle East expert Hussein Ibish has come to the conclusion that it is Russia, who gained the most, while the US has abandoned its role as the guarantor of the Middle Eastern political order, perhaps irrevocably. [...]

Corporate media failed to cover the dangers of business-friendly trade deals in 2015, despite growing grassroots opposition to such pacts—and increasing public awareness about their contents. Will 2016 be the year looming toxic trade policies catapult into the mainstream? Sierra Club trade representative Ilana Solomon hopes so. [...]

RT's Anastasia Churkina sits down with a best-selling author, former Governor of Minnesota, former US Navy Seal and professional wrestler -- Jesse Ventura. His latest book "63 Documents the Government Doesn't Want you to Read" hits the shelves in the US this April. Ventura said his book has the spirit of WikiLeaks, the difference is -- they have been available in the public domain, it's ju [...]

In spite of prevailing clichés about corruption in Russia being out of control, the scale of the scourge is of an incomparably larger scale in the United States, according to independent journalist Einar Schlereth. In the journalist's view, nowhere is this more obvious than in the case of the US military industrial complex. [...]

Wishing others a peaceful New Year would seem to be a straightforward greeting for people of goodwill. Not if you’re a top US government official. Peace? Yeah, well, it’s complicated. This week US Secretary of State John Kerry reportedly phoned Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to firm up the forthcoming peace negotiations supposedly aimed at bringing an end to the Syrian conflict. [...]

There are many disturbing signs that the West is creating conditions in the Middle East and Asia that could produce a wider war, most likely a new Cold War, containing, as well, menacing risks of World War III. The reckless confrontation with Russia along its borders, reinforced by provocative weapons deployments in several NATO countries and the promotion of governing regimes hostile to Russia in [...]

If, as he and other true believers think, George W. Bush really does have to meet his Maker someday, and if He (sic) really is just and good, and if the point of the meeting is to decide whether George will spend eternity in Heaven or Hell, then that man should be thanking the alleged divinity every moment of his waking life for making ignorance bliss. [...]

State Department spokesperson John Kirby is raising eyebrows after he released a recap of 2015 "success stories" in which he credits the United States for bringing "peace" and "security" to Syria and "stepping up" to help the country's people at a difficult time. "The United States and many members of the international community have stepped up to aid the Syrian people during their time of need [...]

As the year draws to a close, it's worth noting a handful of progressive gains that people-power made possible: Feelin' the Bern Despite the lack of coverage in corporate media about the Vermont Independent and his presidential bit, Sen. Bernie Sanders and his call for a political revolution have resonated nationwide. [...]

Alex Jones talks with former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura about Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. Help us spread the word about the liberty movement, we're reaching millions help us reach millions more. we all want liberty. Find the free live feed at http://www.infowars.com /* */ [...]

Despite the US and EU’s efforts, the Ukrainian "project" is in danger. If the Ukrainian government falls it will be a deep embarrassment for Washington, Brussels and the IMF which sacrificed relations with Russia to support it. The political feuding in Ukraine poses a risk not only to the country’s future but also to US President Barack Obama’s reputation, journalists Alessandra Prentice [...]

A lawsuit has reportedly been filed against the US Treasury Department, alleging that some 150 NGOs sent as much as $280 billion worth of tax-deductible donations to Israel in the past 20 years. According to a report by Al Jazeera, the donations were "pass-throughs" to support the Israeli army and settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories which had been ruled illegal by the UN. [...]

Who is the arch racist, Hillary or Trump? To answer that, let us ask another question, a simple one. Which is worse: to denigrate some members of a group or religion or race – or to kill them by the millions? And maim more millions and displace even more millions? Which is more “racist”? With that in mind, who is the arch racist, Hillary or The Donald? [...]

On December 17, 2010, Tunisian fruit vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire after the authorities confiscated his products and beat him. This gave the beginning to what later became the "Arab Spring" and all its subsequent turmoil. From the US vantage point, the event gave birth to the current set of conflicts in Syria that as a result produced a myriad of Al-Qaeda affiliated organizations [...]

America’s consciousness of being an “exceptional” nation interferes with its ability to fight terrorism in every direction and by all means, Russia’s foreign minister has said, noting that Turkey is copying the behavior of its NATO mentor in Iraq. "The factor that does no good to our cause is American exceptionalism. [...]

Saying he had “helped create ISIS,” an Iraq War veteran and US Marine is speaking out about the atrocities and criminal activities he and his fellow soldiers engaged in during the Iraq War, claiming he knew it would lead to “blow-back” in the Middle East.   [...]

François Hollande and Recep Tayyip Erdogan have recently recognized that betting on Obama's administration is like betting on Don Quixote's giants. Hollande, who recently visited the White House seeking Obama's support in fighting ISIL after Paris attacks, has returned empty-handed. [...]

On Christmas Eve thirty-six years ago, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. This was the first direct use of Soviet troops outside the Eastern Bloc since World War II, “a watershed event of the Cold War.” The Carter administration was already reeling from a series of foreign policy failures. As historian John Lewis Gaddis wrote, the invasion was “only the most dramatic of a series of hum [...]

America will need to signal some organizing principles, some clearer set of objectives, around which to rally the viviparous stakeholders. It is easy, as the many commentaries demonstrate, to bemoan the political, social, cultural and humanitarian tragedy in Syria and point to the inconsistency and fecklessness of U.S. policy in Syria as a cause. [...]

Democracy, as a noble principle of self-governance, is fading away in big ways and small, with special interests seizing control of both media and politicians and with the people increasingly manipulated and misinformed. In this impassioned appeal, Bill Moyers calls it “the fight of our lives.” In the fall of 2001, in the aftermath of 9/11, as families grieved and the nation mourned, Washin [...]

Official Washington says it welcomes freedom of thought, but there is a startling absence of diverse opinions especially on key foreign-policy topics, such as Russia’s President Putin. In those cases, shallow “group think” prevails and belligerent “information warfare” rules, as Gilbert Doctorow observes. [...]

US President Barack Obama came to power with a promise that his primary objective will be achieving peace in the Middle East. Now as his seventh year in office is coming to an end he declares that peace is remote. Of course, what he couldn't achieve during seven years, is impossible to expect in the next year – the last year of his presidency. [...]