AboutArticles by Michael Jansen

The two realities

24 Mar 2022

“We are living two realities,” my Russian friend Alex stated: meaning, Ukraine with its supporters and Russia. He observed, “Since 2014 we have lost 14,000” in the war of attrition...

America no longer seen as a power for good

21 Mar 2022

The only way to end Russia’s war on Ukraine is to adopt the Lebanese slogan, “No victor, no vanquished.” This means neither side should celebrate victory and both should accept...

Cultural destruction

17 Mar 2022

Many of Ukraine’s museums and churches have been emptied of their treasures, small statues of mythic and historic figures have been bundled up and taken away from city squares, and...

America has taken its Arab allies for granted

13 Mar 2022

If confirmed, the Reuters’ report of the appointment of Juma Awad Al Badri, the founder’s brother, to lead Daesh could provide continuity in the core leadership of the decentralised movement...

Rebuilding culture

10 Mar 2022

On May 18 last year, during its 11-day bombing campaign on Gaza, Israel demolished the five-storey building housing Samir Mansour’s bookstore, the largest in the strip, reducing 100,000 books to...

Russia-Nato faceoff spells disaster for the world

06 Mar 2022

Russia’s bungled invasion of Ukraine was not “unprovoked,” as Western governments, media outlets, and public opinion loudly proclaim, but was provoked long-term by unheeding eastwards expansion of Nato after the...

Double standards

03 Mar 2022

Under US leadership Nato and the European Union (EU) have mobilised compelling military and financial resources to counter and halt Russia’s invasion and occupation of Ukraine. They have provided Ukrainian...

Russian invasion sees no political gains for Biden

27 Feb 2022

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has morphed into a war of miscalculation and misinformation. Russian President Vladimir Putin miscalculated when he thought a massive deployment of troops on Ukraine’s frontiers...

Caught in the middle

24 Feb 2022

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is a man caught in the middle of an East-West Cold War-style tussle and is trying to do the best for his vulnerable, conflicted country. While...

The human cost of US freezing Afghan funds

20 Feb 2022

Last week International Rescue Committee chief David Miliband told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour that the US and its European allies have adopted a “catastrophe of choice” policy for Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. The...

Michael Jansen

The author, a well-respected observer of Middle East affairs, has three books on the Arab-Israeli conflict.