James Durso

Latest articles from James

• Biden Met With Central Asian Leaders To Discuss Trade And Development

  Published 22 September 2023 | viewed 1,402 times

  It was a day 32 years in the making, but the American president finally met the assembled leaders of the five Central Asian republics on…

• When Will Washington Make Central Asia A Priority?

  Published 10 September 2023 | viewed 2,332 times

  The American filmmaker Woody Allen said, ““Eighty percent of success is showing up.” If he is correct, America is not succeeding in Central Asia. But the…

• Afghanistan’s Quest For Water Worries Central Asian Neighbors

  Published 03 September 2023 | viewed 6,622 times

  Recently, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported the progress of Afghanistan’s Qosh Tepa Irrigation Canal, $670 million, 285-kilometer canal to irrigate 550,000 hectares of land by…

• Iran-Pakistan Pipeline Suspension Could Backfire For The U.S.

  Published 19 August 2023 | viewed 4,251 times

  America’s economic siege of Iran has been costly for Tehran’s neighbors, and now it is Pakistan’s turn to pick up the tab. On 7 August,…

• Coup In Niger Could Derail This Strategic Pipeline

  Published 09 August 2023 | viewed 4,826 times

  Almost twenty years to the day after Ambassador Joseph Wilson wrote his op-ed “What I Didn’t Find in Africa” about his visit to Niger to confirm if…

• Who Will Solve The Water Conflict Between Iran And Afghanistan

  Published 31 July 2023 | viewed 2,813 times

  In late May, shots were exchanged by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and the Taliban near a border post in Iran’s Southwest Nimroz province. Each side blamed…

• Iran And Uzbekistan Look To Boost Central Asian Cooperation

  Published 26 June 2023 | viewed 979 times

  The Central Asian republics are self-organizing in the wake of the NATO evacuation from Afghanistan in August 2021. The republics are wedged between Russia, China,…

• Who Will Compete With China In Central Asia?

  Published 03 June 2023 | viewed 4,200 times

  Instead of being “Being Fustest with the Mostest” in Central Asia, an area of intense interest to China and Russia, the U.S. and Europe may…

• Is The U.S. Preparing To Punish OPEC?

  Published 17 May 2023 | viewed 10,001 times

  In early May, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary was reportedly considering a bill to pressure the  OPEC oil producers’ group to stop making output…

• Will The U.S. And Turkmenistan Finally Grow Closer?

  Published 10 May 2023 | viewed 1,745 times

  In April 2023, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Rasit Meredow, the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Turkmenistan for a working meeting in Washington, D.C.…

• Kazakhstan Enters New Era Amid Strong Demand For Its Commodities

  Published 27 February 2023 | viewed 1,754 times

  Kazakhstan’s president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev believes “Never let a crisis go to waste.” Tokayev has been on a roll since January 2022, when the government requested…

• Is Washington's Uzbekistan Strategy A Blueprint For Central Asia?

  Published 28 December 2022 | viewed 3,415 times

  The United States and Uzbekistan recently concluded the second meeting of their Strategic Partnership Dialogue. As Uzbekistan is the most populous country in Central Asia…

• Why Washington Needs A Friendlier Approach To This Major Gas Producer

  Published 12 November 2022 | viewed 8,829 times

  In September, a bipartisan group of U.S. Representatives called on the U.S. Secretary of State to impose sanctions on the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria…

• NOPEC Bill Won’t Bring Oil Prices Down

  Published 12 October 2022 | viewed 7,501 times

  “Nobody f*cks with a Biden,” said the U.S. president, and the oil ministers of the member countries of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries…

• What Iran Should Do If JCPOA Fails

  Published 16 September 2022 | viewed 11,891 times

  The negotiations to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Iran and the P5+1 (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States,…

• Can Azerbaijan Help Solve Europe’s Gas Crisis?

  Published 11 June 2022 | viewed 5,463 times

  The Russia-Ukraine war disrupted global supply chains and weakened economies worldwide, but it spells opportunity for Azerbaijan, the hinge of Europe and Asia. The U.S.…

• Is The TAPI Pipeline Finally Ready To Go?

  Published 17 January 2022 | viewed 8,633 times

  The Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India (TAPI) natural gas pipeline has been long aborning, but its prospects recently got a shot in the arm. The 1100-mile, $10 billion project…

• China Makes Move On Riyadh As Washington Considers Sanctions

  Published 03 March 2021 | viewed 31,305 times

  Panda Express isn’t just a fast-food chain in Saudi Arabia. Soon it’ll be the daily Air China flight bringing Chinese businessmen and officials to the…

• Conflict Between Armenia And Azerbaijan Threatens Europe’s Energy Security

  Published 07 September 2020 | viewed 7,821 times

  On 12 July 2020, Armenia’s military shelled the village of Aghdam in Azerbaijan’s Tovuz district in the northwest of the country. The forces of Azerbaijan…

• America’s “Caesar” sanctions On Syria Will Damage The Middle East

  Published 11 July 2020 | viewed 22,358 times

  In 2003, the red-hot source was “Curveball;” in 2020, its “Caesar.” The U.S. might soon discover if the second time is, in fact, farce.  On…