World News Insights: Opinion Articles

Twenty years ago, when the United States was sucked into the Afghan cesspool, pundits were divided about the ultimate aim of intervention. President George W. Bush talked of GWOT, remember the acronym? or Global War on Terror. His critics argued that, unless it led to nation-building in Afghanistan…

The Afghan arena and its surrounding area could become an open field of war between the Taliban and ISIS in Khorasan Province, better known as ISIS-K. ISIS’s incorporation of the names of countries and regions, especially those that can be traced back to the Islamic era, into its names has a long…

Now that the US airlift is being shut down — by bombings and deadlines — some 100,000 to 300,000 Afghans are being left behind. These range from people who worked directly with the US and NATO partner nations to members of the former Afghan government, teachers of girls, and outspoken anti-Taliban…

When a powerful technology company wants everyone to know it has made large concessions in its business practices, it pays to look at the fine print. Sometimes the details don’t match up with the rhetoric. That seems to be the case regarding Apple Inc.’s class-action settlement with app developers…

Cryptocurrencies have been on an upswing after months of declines, giving some credence to those who say digital currencies are resilient and on the cusp of becoming more widely accepted. While it's too difficult to predict anything when it comes to Bitcoin and other coins, more people are…

The Afghanistan policy story over the last month has primarily been about the US presidency. It should not remain that way. It’s not hard to tell the story of US involvement in Afghanistan as a tale of failures by at least five presidents. Bill Clinton left a dangerous situation that he did too…

During the civil war, demarcation lines separated the regions of Lebanon, leaving every faction or sectarian community able to barricade itself behind them and build its statelet or autonomous administration in the areas under their control. Since the return of barricades seems impossible,…

US President Joe Biden, 78, has said that he doesn’t regret his decision in withdrawing the American forces out of Afghanistan. Addressing the American people, he said that he will judge Taliban based on their actions, not words. Let me tell you what he actually means: We don’t care what goes on in…

In an industry facing its biggest crisis since the dawn of jet aviation, Qantas Airways Ltd. has been having rather a good pandemic. It’s the return to normalcy it needs to worry about. Shares rose 3.5% Thursday, the biggest increase in a year, in spite of the announcement of a A$1.83 billion (…

Taiwan’s world-beating semiconductor company, TSMC, is chartering a container ship to move pieces of equipment to its new factory in Arizona. The move may herald a new era of foreign investment in the US— but only if America plays its cards right. The key will be to see global supply chains as an…

Over the past six months, a handful of the world’s largest electric-vehicle makers have announced some of the most expensive recalls in the history of the auto industry. Investors are focused on the billions of dollars this will cost and who will foot the bill. Instead, they should be asking about…

The US is getting out of Afghanistan, but it is unlikely to get out — and stay out — of the Middle East. For the past decade, three presidents have tried to downsize the American presence in the region; for generations, the Middle East has been a strategic morass. But the US seems stuck there,…