Pepe Escobar

Pepe Escobar is a Brazilian journalist. He writes a column – The Roving Eye – for Asia Times Online, and works as an analyst for RT, Sputnik News, and Press TV as well as formerly for Al Jazeera. 

The Trump-Putin Summit and the Syria Tug-of-War

Trump and Putin are likely to discuss the tricky situation in southern Syria when they meet; while the US president says he wants US forces back home, the CIA, Pentagon and Israel may be happier to see them stay so the war-torn state remains unstable

Pepe Escobar
By Pepe Escobar
In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, a Syrian government soldier, right, and a policeman,wld wave their national flag, at a village in the northern countryside of Homs province, Syria, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. Syrian government forces are in full control of the last rebel enclave in Syria's largest province after "overpowering terrorism" following the evacuation of thousands of armed men and civilians, an officer told state-run TV Tuesday. (SANA via AP)

Ahead of the Eagle-meets-Bear Trump-Putin summit on July 16 in Helsinki, Syria-centered spin has gone into overdrive. Unknown sources have leaked what is billed as President Trump’s alleged Syria deal discussed with Jordan’s King Abdullah. Trump would “allow” Damascus, supported by Russian air power, to regain its territory along the borders of

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Trump’s North Korea Play: a Ploy to Secure Vast Deposits of Rare Earth Elements?

It’s not far-fetched to consider ‘The Art of the Deal’ applied to North Korea’s allegedly vast rare earth resources.

Pepe Escobar
By Pepe Escobar
Workers walk and stand at the Lynas rare earth plant in Gebeng, eastern Malaysia, April 19, 2012. The minerals are crucial to high-tech manufacturing. Lai Seng Sin | AP

This may not be about condos on North Korean beaches after all. Arguably, the heart of the matter in the Trump administration’s embrace of Kim Jong-un has everything to do with one of the largest deposits of rare earth elements (REEs) in the world, located only 150 km northwest of Pyongyang and potentially worth billions of US dollars. All the

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While Trump Derailed G7, Russia and China Lay Groundwork for a New World Order

East vs. West: the contrast between the “dueling summits” this weekend was something for the history books.

Pepe Escobar
By Pepe Escobar
world order

All hell broke loose at the G6+1, otherwise known as G7, in La Malbaie, Canada, while all focused on divine Eurasian integration at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in China’s Qingdao in Shandong, the home province of Confucius. US President Donald Trump was the predictable star of the show in Canada. He came late. He left early. He

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New Eurasian Cooperation Spells the End of Western Dominance

Key economic forums in cities across Eurasia point the way to new power structures rising to challenge Western dominance.

Pepe Escobar
By Pepe Escobar
Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, leaves the Great Hall of the People after meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing, Friday, June 8, 2018. Putin is in China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Qingdao. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Ahead of the crucial Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Qingdao this coming weekend, three other recent events have offered clues on how the new world order is coming about. The Astana Economic Forum in Kazakhstan centered on how mega-partnerships are changing world trade. Participants included the president of the Asian

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Iranians Are Bracing Themselves for an All-Out Economic War

While the dogs of war bark, the Ancient – and New – Silk Road goes on forever and a civilization with a long and proud history gets on with life

Pepe Escobar
By Pepe Escobar
An Iranian talks on his cellphone in a carpet shop at the old bazaar in Tehran, Iran. Vahid Salemi | AP

The minute you set foot in the streets of Mashhad, the air smelling of saffron, a fine breeze oozing from the mountains, it hits you; you’re in the heart of the Ancient Silk Road and the New Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). To the east, the Afghan border is only three hours away on an excellent highway. To the north, the Turkmenistan border is

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Beware What You Wish For: Russia IS Ready for War

Predictably all Cold War 2.0 hell broke loose, all over again.

Pepe Escobar
By Pepe Escobar
U.S. President Barack Obama, right, and Russia's President Vladimir Putin pose for members of the media before a bilateral meeting Monday, Sept. 28, 2015, at United Nations headquarters. (Sergey Guneyev/RIA-Novosti, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

So foreign ministers from the 28 NATO member-nations met in Brussels for a two-day summit, while mighty military power Montenegro was inducted as a new member. Global Robocop NATO predictably discussed Afghanistan (a war NATO ignominiously lost); Iraq (a war the Pentagon ignominiously lost); Libya (a nation NATO turned into a failed state

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