[link removed]

In this mailing:
* Pierre Rehov: To the Trump Administration: Recognize Somaliland, Solid Ally for the West
* Amir Taheri: Do All Roads Lead to Beijing?


** To the Trump Administration: Recognize Somaliland, Solid Ally for the West ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

by Pierre Rehov • May 24, 2026 at 5:00 am
* While the international community says it champions democracy, stability, and self-determination, Somaliland ticks every box. Yet it stays unrecognized, largely because diplomats cling to the fiction of Somalia's territorial integrity — even though that unity exists only on paper. This is not principle at work. It is bureaucratic inertia. It has become a costly strategic error.
* Denying recognition sends exactly the wrong signal: that building a functioning democracy in hard conditions earns you nothing.
* The only question left is whether Washington and its allies possess the clarity, the courage, and the strategic vision to welcome it.

While the international community says it champions democracy, stability, and self-determination, Somaliland ticks every box. Yet it stays unrecognized, largely because diplomats cling to the fiction of Somalia's territorial integrity — even though that unity exists only on paper. Pictured: People gather to celebrate Israel's recognition of Somaliland's independence in downtown Hargeisa, on December 26, 2025. (Photo by Farhan Aleli/AFP via Getty Images)

Washington should take note. Somaliland has achieved what its neighbor, Somalia, could not: relative order, internal cohesion, and institutional resilience. Official recognition would not just fix a diplomatic anomaly. It would unlock a genuine strategic asset — economic development, infrastructure projects, intelligence sharing, and potentially a forward U.S.-Israeli military presence. Such a base on Somaliland's coast would help monitor shipping lanes, deter piracy, counter jihadists, and contain Iranian influence from Yemen. It would send a powerful message: stability brings rewards.

Continue Reading Article ([link removed])


** Do All Roads Lead to Beijing? ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

by Amir Taheri • May 24, 2026 at 4:00 am
* In the past decade, the UN has lost much of its aura as a source of moral authority, let alone meaningful material relevance. Two of its veto-holding members have been engaged in wars of choice, while a third one has been branded a gross violator of human rights.
* Despite all the talk about a multipolar world system -- a meaningless conceit because if you have more than two poles you won't have a polar system -- Washington has emerged as the favored destination for leaders seeking help or legitimacy.
* Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Beijing almost in the same timeframe. China's President Xi Jinping gave both visitors exactly the same reception while granting neither any of the things they demanded.
* In fact, there was no threat, and Xi's reference to the Thucydides trap was about a change in the status quo rather than depicting China as a rising power to replace the US as a retiring one.
* Trump acted with exemplary discipline and gently reminded Xi that the US remains the indispensable power. He also made it clear that China has more to lose from the blockades in the Strait of Hormuz if only because some 40 percent of its energy needs pass through it, while the US has the power to allow Chinese tankers to pass.
* [F]ew people remember that Iran's nuclear project was started by American money and expertise in 1959, and that the first generation of Iranian nuclear scientists were trained in US universities.
* Each year China trains more engineers than the US and EU combined.
* My guess is that Xi will not invade Taiwan because he knows the Confucian concept of "active waiting."

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Beijing almost in the same timeframe. China's President Xi Jinping gave both visitors exactly the same reception while granting neither any of the things they demanded. Pictured: Putin and Xi tour a photo exhibition in Beijing on May 20, 2026. (Photo by Alexander Kazakov/Pool/ AFP via Getty Images)

Imagine you are a nation's leader facing problems or seeking to underline your legitimacy on the global stage. Where will you go in pursuit of those goals?

In ancient times, all roads led to Rome or Susa, where two great empires set the tune in large chunks of the three continents known at the time. In the age of European imperialism, the obvious destinations were London, Paris and Petrograd. During the Cold War, Washington and Moscow were the obvious destinations. After the USSR collapsed, Washington was seen as the first source of authority, with the United Nations as a distant second.

In the past decade, the UN has lost much of its aura as a source of moral authority, let alone meaningful material relevance. Two of its veto-holding members have been engaged in wars of choice, while a third one has been branded a gross violator of human rights.

Continue Reading Article ([link removed])

============================================================
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Twitter ([link removed])
** RSS ([link removed])
** Donate ([link removed])
Copyright © Gatestone Institute, All rights reserved.

You are subscribed to this list as [email protected]

You can change how you receive these emails:
** Update your subscription preferences ([link removed])
or ** Unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])

** Gatestone Institute ([link removed])

14 East 60 St., Suite 705, New York, NY 10022