AboutArticles by Michael Jansen

Up in arms

14 Jan 2022

An online petition signed by more than a million people has urged the current British prime minister to call on the Queen to revoke the knighthood awarded to Tony Blair,...

No room for defeat in Trump’s ego

09 Jan 2022

Writing in the Washington Post, self-identified conservative columnist Max Boot cited President Joe Biden’s comment in his January 6th address in the Capitol that Donald Trump “has created and spread...

Patriotic portrayals

06 Jan 2022

Iraq’s new parliament is set to meet on Sunday for its first session since a plurality of seats was won in the October 10th election by nationalist Shia cleric Muqtada...

Conditions are no better now than last year

02 Jan 2022

The death of South African churchman and peacemaker Desmond Tutu has deprived humanity of the sole surviving global politician with a moral compass while the retirement of German Chancellor Angela...

Tutu’s stance

30 Dec 2021

South Africa’s statesman Desmond Tutu was one of the greatest global leaders of the last half of the 20th century and the first 20 years of the 21st. His death...

US-Russia Diversionary tactics over prickly issues is key

26 Dec 2021

During Thursday’s four-hour annual question-and-answer session with the world press, Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed the West for the protracted stand-off over Ukraine and said his deployment of 100,000 troops...

Omicron Christmas chaos

23 Dec 2021

Bethlehem expects people to attend tonight’s mass at the 19th century Catholic church of St. Catherine to celebrate Jesus’ birthday. In Manger Square the tallest pine tree has been adorned...

How the US ruined Iraq devastatingly

19 Dec 2021

On December 16th the Washington Post carried an article by Louise Loveluck and Mustafa Slim about the Basra Children’s Hospital which was meant to be among the best in the...

An ironic occurrence

16 Dec 2021

It is bitterly ironic that the British appeals court granted the US the right to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to face trial for breaching US wartime security. This capitulation...

Did Biden’s Democracy Summit fail to create magic?

12 Dec 2021

US President Joe Biden’s Summit for Democracy was a public relations ploy rather than a means to commit participants to improve their democratic credentials. He convened this virtual talk fest...

Michael Jansen

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