December 6, 2024 Syria is the mother of all mysteries. Even the Romans couldn’t figure out all the intrigues, plots, factions, coups and assassinations that were common there. Nor could they understand or deal with its hotbed of religions and weird sects. Two thousand years later, not much has changed. […]

November 30, 2024 Pakistan is the world’s most important Muslim nation. It has 251 million people, nuclear weapons, the world’s sixth largest armed forces, intelligent, capable people, vast lands and major sources of water. Yet Pakistan is a giant mess. Its current politics are a form of tribal warfare. Corruption […]

November 22, 2024 In 54 BC, Marcus Licinius Crassus, a rich, ambitious Roman businessman, got himself named governor of the wealthy province of Syria. Crassus had been sharing power in Rome with Pompey and Julius Caesar. Call him the Donald Trump of his day. Crassus decided to invade neighboring Parthia, […]