The snapshot, on the sixtieth day of the USA-Iran war, clearly shows where the focus is and where the priorities lie that will shape the ceasefire, which is already fragile and at the cusp of triggering another phase of hostilities. What has been happening in Washington and in Islamabad has drawn international attention over the […]
Gish Galloping The War
In his 2023 book titled “Win Every Argument”, British journalist Mehdi Hasan devotes an entire chapter to a debate tactic he considers as the most dishonest, in the rhetorical arsenal, he refers as “Gish Gallop”. Named after anti evolution, creationist and biochemist, Duane Tolbert Gish. The technique works by overwhelming an opponent with a rapid […]
A Lesson In History
In a 2025 interview with Time magazine, President Donald Trump asserted that Iraq and Iran were essentially the “same power” that had fought each other “for a thousand years under different names,” a claim that reflects an absolutely superficial understanding of the region’s history for a leader contemplating confrontation with one of its major states. […]
Seize The Peace
A ceasefire, as reflected in the operational frameworks of the United Nations is a “temporary suspension of hostilities agreed upon by the parties to a conflict,”. It is neither a settlement of conflict for good, nor semantic in effect, but a controlled structural interruption in violence, bounded in time, space, and intent. Across centuries, ceasefires […]
New Pentagonal World Order
Wars are not won through self-proclaimed victories; it is for the world to assess the outcomes on the basis of the objectives of war, either remaining unifocal, imperative for victory, or shifting objectives, evolving situation, and reinforcing failures. For the USA, its strategic objective or operational mission has clearly crept from regime change to opening […]
Implausible Pause
Let me state upfront that the five days pause in war announced by USA, is not a negotiating window, it is a design by choice. I say so on the basis of reasons which I proffer in succeeding text. When a major power issues a compressed ultimatum like this, while brandishing its military capability without […]
Game Theory Analysis of War
Game theory, is the structured analysis of strategic interaction under conditions of interdependence, where each actor’s optimal decision depends not only on its own preferences and capabilities but also on its expectations of others’ expected reactions and responses. Its rational assumption means that actors seek to maximize outcomes under uncertainty, while anticipating reactions from adversaries […]
Iran’s Economic Counterpunch (Part II)
Reportedly, an unnamed Iranian official is being quoted as saying that Iran is considering making an offer regarding the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow maritime corridor through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passes every day. Startling as the news, but the condition attached to this proposal is equally dramatic: […]
Iran’s Economic Counterpunch
The recent attacks on critical oil and port infrastructure across the Middle East mark a strategic turning point in the unfolding United States-Israel-Iran confrontation. Offshore platforms operated by American companies and key facilities tied to global energy flows came under coordinated Iranian assault. These actions were not random provocations or symbolic gestures. They carried a […]
Political Afterlife of Mass Disclosures
If one traces the genealogy of high-profile socio-political scandals starting from the last three decades of the last century to the first three decades of the ongoing century, two clear terminologies were coined to refer back to them. The ones with the popular suffix of “gate” from the 20th century, borrowing it from the Watergate […]