Gregg Carlstrom

3 weeks ago | unsettledsources.blog | Gregg Carlstrom

I had planned to write about something else today, but that seems a bit pointless when the whole world is talking about Trump’s tariffs. When it comes to trade with the US, the Middle East is a trivial player compared to Europe, Asia and North America. But the region offers a good example of how these tariffs are divorced from any real economic logic. Jordan signed a free-trade agreement (FTA) with America in 2000. It was the first Arab country to do so.

3 weeks ago | unsettledsources.blog | Gregg Carlstrom

"This [is] not about the Houthis." — Pete Hegseth, hours before America bombed the HouthisAn introductory note: This will be a home for periodic writing that is too long for Twitter and too niche or off-topic for my day job. Much of it will focus on the Middle East, but I hope to venture a bit further afield as well. By now we are almost a week into Signalgate, the Trump administration’s “who among us hasn’t accidentally added a journalist to a group chat full of classified attack plans” scandal.

Nov 20, 2024 | economist.com | Gregg Carlstrom

Ali Khamenei, Binyamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump will determine whether the conflict continuesBy Gregg Carlstrom, Middle East correspondent, The Economist When the Gaza war began in late 2023 even some Israeli generals thought it would be finished within two or three months. Few observers thought it would drag on for more than a year. Fewer still predicted the swift decapitation of Hizbullah, the Shia militia based in Lebanon, or the back-and-forth bombardment between Iran and Israel.

Sep 29, 2024 | themonthly.com.au | Daniel James |Gregg Carlstrom

[Theme Music starts]##DANIEL:From Schwartz Media, I’m Daniel James. This is *7am*. The leader of Hezbollah has been killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut. Hassan Nasrallah led the group for more than 30 years, building it into a powerful political force within Lebanon and the most heavily armed non-state militia in the world. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly ordered the killing from his hotel room in New York, before his speech at the United Nations general assembly.

Sep 25, 2024 | economist.com | Gregg Carlstrom

Middle East & Africa | History repeatingBut neither side would gain from a ruinous and pointless war Sep 25th 2024|DUBAI AND JERUSALEMWARLORDS are not known for their remorse, but Hassan Nasrallah offered some in 2006, weeks after a war that killed more than 1,100 Lebanese. The fighting began when Hizbullah, the Shia militia and political party he leads, abducted two Israeli soldiers in a raid. Mr Nasrallah said he was surprised by the ferocity of the response and called the raid a mistake.