World Politics News   Articles for World Politics Course

The US intends to station 250 troops and heavy military equipment in several NATO countries close to the Russian border in response to Russian activities in the region.  The moves could violate the 1997 NATO-Russian Founding Act of 1997 signed by US President Clinton and Russian President Yeltsin.  This move comes after the European Union voted to extend sanctions against Russia for another 6 months.  The world could be moving into a second Cold War if these moves and countermoves continue to escalate.

The Greek tragedy continues, although it is difficult to know exactly what the current situation is.  Over the weekend, Greek Prime Minister Tsipras presented a plane to the troika which was labeled as “promising” by some of the participants.   In essence, if the news reports are to be believed, Tsipras capitulated on most of the major points, accepting the terms that were available 5 months ago (a lot of drama, little results).  But now the issue is whether Tsipras can get his party to accept the terms, and there is a possibility that the deal will be rejected by Syriza hardliners.   If that happens, then Tsipras will either have to call for a referendum on the deal or to seek new elections to form a new government.  In short, with the deadline of 30 June as the absolute deadline (unless the troika decides to change the rules), we still do not know what will happen.

A UN Commission of Inquiry has found that both Israel and Hamas committed war crimes during the Gaza war of 2014.   The New York Times summarized the finding of the Commission in this way:

• The report says 65 percent of 2,251 Palestinians killed were civilians, down from earlier United Nations estimates.
• Israel says it has documented militant activity by at least 44 percent of the dead.
• The report mainly refers to “Palestinian armed groups,” rather than Hamas, which controls Gaza and led the fight against Israel.
• Israel blocked investigators and declined to answer questions, as did Hamas; the Palestinian government cooperated.
• The report cites the killing of 21 suspected collaborators by Hamas’s armed wing and Israeli operations in residential neighborhoods as possible war crimes.

Both Israel and Hamas rejected the findings of the Commission, but there is no statute of limitations on war crimes.  The matter will likely be pursued at some point in the future.