Iraqi Kurds

How long until Iranian pressure exhausts the remaining opposition in Iraq?

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched six missiles from Iran’s Nineveh province into Iraq’s Kurdistan region on May 1, setting fire to an oil refinery and striking several other buildings. Iranian attacks are more and more frequent, and neither Iraq nor the United States are stopping them.

Rockets had fallen near the same refinery on April 6, and another attack on March 13 saw 12 missiles slam into the city of Erbil just after midnight. The March 13 strike also targeted a farm owned by wealthy Kurdish businessman Baz Karim Barzinji, whose oil extraction is a lifeline for the region’s economy.

Read more at “Iran Intensifies Strikes on Iraqi Kurds”

Culture War

Radical leftists don’t want a “may-the-best-facts-win” debate. They want power.

The culture war is now an open nationwide conflict. Revolutionaries have captured and consolidated power over news media and social media. They are using that power to smash tradition, religion, history, family, childhood and even biology, rebelling against reality itself. And they are using their power to censor people who oppose them.

Now they are striking against the very existence of free speech.

Read more at “Elon Musk vs. the Ministry of Truth”

Barking at Russia’s Door

Has America more fault in the war than Vladimir Putin?

Pope Francis has refrained from naming the aggressor in the Ukraine war. He has referred to it as an internal conflict between brothers. He has prayed for peace. But he has been unable to condemn Russia for causing the bloodshed. After weeks of contemplation, he has finally identified the problem: the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. In a May 3 interview with Il Corriere della Sera, Francis said, “NATO barking at Russia’s doors” could have alarmed the Kremlin about the alliance’s intentions in Ukraine. He admitted that he “can’t say” if this “provoked” Russia’s anger, but that it might have “facilitated” it.

Read more at “Pope Francis: The Problem May Be NATO Barking at Russia’s Door”