Christof Lehmann
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11.09.2016
The Kurdistan Factor
Kurdish parties, militants and their alliances have developed into major factors in the Syrian, Iraqi as well as Turkish war theaters. Although Kurds have been a significant regional factor since the mid-1980s, their role in the region became more prominent in 2015 and increasingly so after the attempted military coup in Turkey on July 15, […]
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13.12.2015
Gun Control Debate Back on the Right Track
The gun control debate in the United States, and beyond, has been derailed and needs to be put back on the right track. The 2nd Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America prioritizes the citizens’ right to carry firearms second only to the right to the freedom of speech. The Constitution of […]
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26.10.2015
MH17: Lack of Evidence and Political Chess Games
Following the Dutch Safety Board’s publication of the final report on the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, the political positioning and posturing about the tragedy continues. The Dutch Safety Board is not tasked with determining the perpetrator, which is part of a criminal investigation. Russian BUK missile […]
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11.10.2015
Reassessing Reform, Revolt and Revolution
Most preconditions for reform, revolt and revolution have changed significantly since the end of the so-called cold war while other preconditions and factors have remained. Studies show that any movement, including social, reformist or revolutionary and separatist movements are likely to succeed when about 3.5 – 5.0% of a population actively participate in the discourse. […]
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26.09.2015
Sri Lanka: The Long Way to Recovery
On September 16, 2015 the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) finally published its report on the agencies investigation into the 2002 – 2011 civil war in Sri Lanka. The report documents abuses committed by all sides during the protracted conflict. The path to recovery is long, complicated and not […]
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18.08.2015
Dangerous Trends In Palestinian Health Caused by Occupation: UNRWA
A UNRWA report on Palestine’s Gaza Strip concludes that infant mortality has risen for the first time in decades. A significant marker for a dangerous trend says UNRWA Director of Health Dr. Akihiro Seita. Infant mortality is but one of numerous health and mental health indicators, suggesting that the tragic state of health in Palestine […]
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05.08.2015
A New Middle East: An Assessment
Developments in Syria and Iraq are in an dynamic phase where day to day developments can distract from the assessment of probable midi- to long-term developments. Operand factors in this assessment are Russian – Turkish relations, a redirection of Russian Middle East policy, the accord on Iran’s nuclear energy program, the Kurdish discourse, and long-term […]
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15.07.2015
Danish PM Lars Løkke-Rasmussen: Notorious Sponsor of Terrorism
The election of a Danish Venstre (liberal) minority government led by PM Lars Løkke-Rasmussen is setting Denmark on a collision course with Russia; a course that promotes NATO’s expansion, and the continued State / NATO sponsorship of terrorism. Recent parliamentary elections in Denmark resulted in the formation of a minority government led by Prime Minister […]
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23.06.2015
G-4 – An Asian and European Peace with Enemy States?
The UN Charter still designates Italy, Germany and Japan as enemy states to the United Nations. In legal terms this means that any U.N. Member State can launch a “preemptive” military aggression against these nations without a declaration of war. Seldom discussed, this enemy State status is today, arguably, one of the greatest obstacles for […]
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01.06.2015
FIFA, Blatter and Weaponized Sport
Incumbent FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter was re-elected to a fifth term in office by the 65th FIFA Congress in Zürich. Shortly before the Congress, Swiss police units cooperating with the United States’ FBI launched a series of arrests of FIFA officials on charges of corruption. The spectacle prompted international political raws along cold-war-like divides […]
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11.04.2015
The half-baked Farce of International Law
The social constructionist battle that is being waged by Heads of State, top-diplomats, columnists, analysts and media about Ukraine, Crimea, Yemen, among many others, continues raging and results in the at times most awkward self-contradictions. This article argues that international law is a half-baked farce, that media help baking it, and that there is a […]
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24.03.2015
Rumsfeldt’s Missing Trillions, Stavridis and Unconventional War
September 10, 2001. U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeldt stated that 2.3 trillion dollar from the Pentagon’s annual budget could not be accounted for. September 11, 2001, the Pentagon’s accounting office and the Naval Command Center were targeted, allegedly by a plane. Survivors would report about explosions inside the Pentagon prior to the alleged plane […]