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The US Government’s Latin American Policies are Bringing Iran and Gangs Closer to Home 

The US Government’s Latin American Policies are Bringing Iran and Gangs Closer to Home 

The recent news that Venezuela will be providing Iran with 1 million hectares of arable land for farming draws further concern from the security circles concerned about the Islamic Republic’s growing influence in the Western Hemisphere.  That follows a rapidly growing energy collaboration between Caracas and Tehran following the Biden administration’s decision to lift oil […]

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Ecocide against the environment in the Lachin district

Ecocide against the environment in the Lachin district

Each of us in the twenty-first century recognizes the negative effects of climate change on the future of the earth and strives to mitigate them as much as possible. The global community is attempting to warn international organizations and states about the magnitude of the disasters that await us in the future by organizing various […]

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Why I believe landmines should be banned globally

Why I believe landmines should be banned globally

It was recently reported that Yadigar Shukarov, Boyshan Alizade and Gylman Huseynov were injured by anti-personnel mines while carrying out demining work in Garakhanbeyli village in Azerbaijan.   This came after Azerbaijani serviceman Vugar Isbandiyarov was injured in a landmine blast in the Kalbajar district.   This comes around the same period of time that 204 anti-personnel […]

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Al-Shabab’s Enigmatic Invasion of Ethiopia

Al-Shabab’s Enigmatic Invasion of Ethiopia

Al-Shabab’s Enigmatic Invasion of Ethiopia In countries such as the U.S., there is an unwritten theory in police investigation that assumes whenever a neighborhood robbery occurs it was done by someone who not only had the motive to commit that crime, but the basic intelligence to help time it well and to get away with […]

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How should we deal with a nuclear Iran?

How should we deal with a nuclear Iran?

For the last couple of years, I have been writing a book about Ayoob Kara, who served as Israel’s Communication, Cyber and Satellite Minister under Netanyahu.  Today, I finished writing the book and I am in the process of editing and publishing it.   The book is titled, “Ayoob Kara: The Man Behind the Abraham Accords.” […]

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Labor Exploitation and the 2022 World Cup

Labor Exploitation and the 2022 World Cup

With less than five months until the 2022 World Cup, Qatar is making final preparations to host millions of fans. FIFA permitted Qatar to host the 2022 games back in 2010. Since then, Qatar has spent an estimated $220 billion on new stadiums, roads, hotels, and other necessities to accommodate incoming fans. The burden of […]

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Former Israeli Communication Minister Ayoob Kara condemns destruction of Agdam

Former Israeli Communication Minister Ayoob Kara condemns destruction of Agdam

Last week, I traveled to Azerbaijan together with former Israeli Communication Minister Ayoob Kara, who visited Agdam, a city in the war-torn Karabakh region and Baku, where the Honorable Kara was one of 22 foreign experts who gave a talk at Ada University as part of a panel titled “Development in the post-conflict period in […]

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How Will We Select Our Career Diplomats?

How Will We Select Our Career Diplomats?

On April 27 the Department of State announced a fundamental change to its process for selecting new career Foreign Service Officers.  Where candidates have long had to pass the written Foreign Service Test for consideration, that test would now be one of a number of considerations that would be considered by a panel.  Exact criteria […]

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How has Shusha in the war-torn Karabakh region transformed over the past year?

How has Shusha in the war-torn Karabakh region transformed over the past year?

Recently, I visited Shusha in the war-torn Karabakh region in order to partake in the International Food Festival that was hosted in Azerbaijan’s cultural capital city. After visiting the area last summer together with Ayoob Kara, who served as Israel’s Communication, Cyber and Satellite Minister under Netanyahu, I was pleasantly surprised to discover how much […]

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How Azerbaijan assisted Turkish-Israeli reconciliation

How Azerbaijan assisted Turkish-Israeli reconciliation

In recent days, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a congratulatory letter to Israel’s President Isaac Herzog ahead of Israeli Independence Day.  In the letter, he said: “On the occasion of the National Day of the State of Israel, I extend congratulations to Your Excellency and the people of Israel on behalf of my nation […]

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Azerbaijan marks twenty-ninth anniversary of Bashlibel Massacre

Azerbaijan marks twenty-ninth anniversary of Bashlibel Massacre

This month, Azerbaijanis marked the 29th anniversary of the Bashlibel massacre, which took place in 1993 following the Armenian occupation of Kalbajar.   In early April 1993, 62 residents of Bashlibel sought refuge in the mountains as the Armenian forces advanced in the area.  Ismat Azizov, a resident of Bashlibel, told the Azerbaijani media the following about […]

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Remembering the Agdaban Tragedy

Remembering the Agdaban Tragedy

About thirty years ago, the Armenians seized control of the Kalbajar district of Azerbaijan and attacked the village of Agbadan, burning down 130 homes and torturing 779 civilians in one night, with 67 slaughtered with particular cruelty.  Some of the women were even burned alive.  Meanwhile, the Armenians desecrated cemeteries and destroyed historic manuscripts of […]

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Hate Politics and the Critical Faith Theory

Hate Politics and the Critical Faith Theory

Hate Politics and the Critical Faith Theory As the midterm elections get closer, the debate on whether or not it is appropriate to teach the Critical Race Theory (CRT) in schools is likely to intensify. It is the most contentious and indeed most misconstrued sociopolitical issue facing America since the ‘abortion debate.’ According to the […]

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U.S. Policy Options in Japan Regarding a Rising China

U.S. Policy Options in Japan Regarding a Rising China

        China rapidly grew into the world’s second largest economy after opening its doors in 1978. The emerging power’s economic success allows it to continually improve its conventional and nuclear capabilities. A rising China poses a threat to U.S. allies in East Asia, most notably Japan. Japan falls under the umbrella of […]

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Why Americans must say NEVER AGAIN

Why Americans must say NEVER AGAIN

Americans must never for Khojaly, Rwanda, Bosnia and other genocides and crimes against humanity.     On February 26, Azerbaijanis around the world remember the 613 innocent Azerbaijani men, women and children who were slaughtered in Khojaly for the crime of being Azerbaijani.  Rabbi Israel Barouk wrote in Khojaly: A Crime against Humanity, “Of those who perished, 56 people were […]

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