Tag: geopolitics

America’s infrastructure crisis: Israel, Iran and the growing pressure on Washington

America’s nationwide aviation shutdown has exposed serious weaknesses in its ageing infrastructure. Meanwhile, Israel’s Mossad chief has travelled to Washington as Benjamin Netanyahu presses Donald Trump to resume military action against Iran.

The nationwide grounding of US flights has exposed serious weaknesses in America’s ageing infrastructure, while a high-level visit by Israel’s Mossad chief to Washington has highlighted the growing pressure on Donald Trump to resume military action against Iran.

The United States experienced one of its most significant aviation disruptions in decades on Friday, November 13, when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered a nationwide ground stop following a breakdown in its air traffic communications network.

The shutdown lasted almost five hours and affected more than 20,000 flights. Seventeen of the FAA’s 22 en-route air traffic control centres experienced communications problems, disrupting the systems used to coordinate aircraft movements and radar information.

Although flights subsequently resumed, the incident exposed the vulnerability of critical American infrastructure and raised fresh questions about the country’s ability to maintain and modernise essential technological systems.

An ageing system brought to a standstill

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy attributed the disruption to a technical failure during routine maintenance work carried out by L3Harris, a longstanding contractor responsible for operating the FAA’s telecommunications network.

The work involved replacing ageing copper telecommunications lines with fibre-optic connections. According to Duffy, a router associated with the upgrade began generating an extraordinary number of connection attempts, overwhelming other routers in the network.

Officials reported more than 1,000 connection attempts every four to five seconds.

The resulting instability affected communications between air traffic controllers and aircraft, as well as radar feeds. The FAA consequently decided to ground departing flights nationwide as a precautionary measure.

Duffy said investigators were examining whether the incident resulted from human error, faulty installation or defective equipment. No definitive technical cause had yet been established.

The administration also stated that there was no indication of a cyberattack or deliberate hostile action.

The incident nevertheless highlighted a wider problem: parts of America’s air traffic control infrastructure remain dependent on equipment and telecommunications systems that are decades old.

Congress has already approved substantial funding for modernisation, but the transition has been slow and technically complicated.

The episode raises questions about the resilience of infrastructure that is essential not only to commercial aviation but also to the functioning of the world’s largest economy.

Netanyahu presses Trump over Iran

While Washington was dealing with the aviation crisis, another development was unfolding in the relationship between the United States and Israel.

President Trump and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu

According to a report by Axios on November 13, Mossad director Roman Gofman was in Washington for discussions with senior Trump administration officials concerning the war with Iran.

Gofman was reportedly scheduled to meet CIA director John Ratcliffe and was also expected to travel to Miami for discussions with White House envoy Steve Witkoff.

The visit coincided with renewed pressure from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the United States to resume military operations against Iran.

Trump has so far resisted this pressure, although his position on the conflict has fluctuated. Reports have described disagreements over whether to continue diplomatic efforts or return to a more extensive military campaign.

The Israeli government considers Iran’s military and nuclear capabilities an existential security concern. Washington, meanwhile, must weigh the consequences of renewed hostilities, including the possibility of a wider regional conflict, disruption to energy markets and further American military commitments.

The presence of the Mossad director in Washington therefore illustrates the extent to which intelligence and military cooperation form part of the relationship between the two countries.

It also raises an important question about the degree of influence Israel exercises over American strategic decision-making.

Intelligence cooperation and political pressure

The relationship between American and Israeli intelligence agencies has traditionally been close. Cooperation between the CIA and Mossad covers a range of regional security issues, including Iran, counterterrorism and intelligence gathering.

However, cooperation does not necessarily imply agreement over every strategic decision.

The reported Washington visit comes at a particularly sensitive moment. Israel wants to prevent Iran from consolidating its regional military position, while the Trump administration faces the economic and political consequences of prolonging a costly conflict.

The question is whether American foreign policy is being determined primarily by Washington’s assessment of its own national interests or increasingly by the strategic priorities of a close regional ally.

This is a legitimate subject for public debate, particularly when decisions about war and peace are involved.

There have also been allegations and speculation in political circles about possible intelligence leverage, blackmail and pressure exerted on American political leaders. However, no independently verified evidence has established that Mossad is blackmailing Trump or that Israeli intelligence has been responsible for the recent American infrastructure disruptions.

Such allegations should not be confused with the documented diplomatic and political pressure surrounding the Iran conflict.

Is America becoming more vulnerable?

The FAA incident and the renewed diplomatic activity surrounding Iran are separate developments. There is currently no evidence connecting the aviation shutdown to Israel, Mossad or the conflict in the Middle East.

Nevertheless, both events illustrate different aspects of the challenges confronting the United States.

On the domestic front, an advanced industrial economy remains dependent on ageing infrastructure that can be disrupted by relatively isolated technical failures.

On the international front, Washington faces competing strategic priorities and pressure from allies whose regional objectives do not necessarily coincide with American interests.

The United States possesses enormous military, technological and economic resources. Yet the ability to project power abroad ultimately depends on the reliability of institutions and infrastructure at home.

The question facing Washington is therefore not simply whether it should resume military action against Iran. It is whether American foreign policy can remain independent, coherent and sustainable while the country struggles to modernise the systems upon which its own security and prosperity depend.

For a country that has long presented itself as the guarantor of international stability, these are questions that cannot easily be ignored.

PRAAG — November 15, 2026

Pope pivots to Asia

Pope Francis’ real interest is geopolitics.

In less than two years in office, Francis has nudged the conversation away from sex to such as matters as Cuba-U.S. relations and climate change. In September, he will become the first religious leader who serves as a head of state to address a joint session of Congress.

Pope John Paul II was single-minded in the pursuit of ending Communism in the 1980s, while Pope Benedict XVI was a gaffe-prone bookworm fretting over relativism.

Francis, in contrast, is making his own pivot towards Asia. He already has been twice to the region shunned by his predecessor with a view not only to refilling pews, but also gaining traction with the rising powers.

The challenge for Francis — who is from a religious order that proselytized in China in the 16th century — is how to work with China today. The Vatican and the world’s most populous country have been at odds since 1951 over, among many things, the right to ordain bishops.

Francis, who says he would go to Beijing tomorrow, has a secret corridor with the new leadership for diplomatic messages. There have been small gestures on both sides: Francis didn’t see the Dalai Lama in Rome; doing so would have incensed Chinese authorities. President Xi Jinping allowed Francis to fly in China’s airspace, the first time a pope was granted that right.

China has about 12 million Catholics — three times the number in Ireland — compared with a mere 300,000 in Taiwan.

The gap between the pope’s knowledge and effectiveness may be large. Francis has dived into tough international conflicts including Korea, Cuba and Palestine and not all has gone well.

While he brought attention to the plight of Palestinians by praying in Bethlehem near graffiti that read “Free Palestine,” his visit was followed by violence against the Palestinians.

He was much more successful with Cuba, secretly hosting delegations from there and the U.S. and playing a vital role in the prisoner exchanges that led to renewed relations after half a century.

He has announced plans to shrink the bureaucracy that runs the church, removed executives at the mismanaged Vatican Bank and told cardinals to abandon their limousines and catch the bus.

At the bank, he’s brought a measure of transparency following allegations of illegal behavior and poor oversight. The bank now publishes an annual report, has closed 2,000 accounts and undertaken a review of 18,000 clients.

Source: Bloomberg

China implements significant policy shift

China has understood Washington’s geopolitical game.

The year 2015 might thus be one of the most decisive and interesting in modern history with China implementing a policy decision that will transform the world over the next decade.

On November 29, 2014, a little-noted but highly significant meeting took place in Beijing. Xi Jinping, Chinese President and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, delivered what was called “An Important Address”.

The official Foreign Ministry statement on the meeting confirms it was indeed “important.” The powerful central leadership has announced an official a strategic global shift in Chinese foreign policy.

China has defined Russia, as well as the BRICS economies, including Africa, as the future and has ceased calling itself a developing country.

In his address to the meeting, President Xi highlighted a sub-category of developing countries beyond the Great Powers, namely: “Major Developing Powers (kuoda fazhanzhong de guojia). China will “expand cooperation and closely integrate our country’s development” with the designated Major Developing Powers, Xi declared.

According to Chinese intellectuals, these are countries who “support reform of the international order”.

It includes Russia, Brazil, South Africa, India, Indonesia, and Mexico, that is, China’s BRICS partners, as well as Indonesia and Mexico.

China believes in an Asian “community of shared destiny” too, implying closer economic and diplomatic ties with South Korea, Japan, India, Indonesia, even Vietnam and the Philippines.

China has furthermore declared a freeze in China-UK diplomatic relations following a meeting by the Cameron government with the Dalai Lama.

China recently signed not one, but several gigantic energy deals with Russian state companies Gazprom and Rozneft, allowing Russia to offset the growing threat to her west European energy exports, a life-and-death issue for the Russian economy.

Russia will deliver 40% of China’s natural gas and explore new areas of cooperation between Russian Armed Forces and the Chinese PLA.