News & comment 27 Nov 15

Germany sends assets to ISIL war

Breaking a longstanding reluctance to use its military, Germany is sending aircraft to perform reconnaissance and refueling missions. This comes as part of a European reaction to the Paris attacks two weeks ago. Deutschland uber ISIS!

Russian will production not as central to GDP as thought

A Bloomberg report shows that oil production is 15% of Russian GDP. That is quite important but not nearly as important as many oil-producing countries. Russia opted not to counter the falling ruble by using its currency holdings to counter the decline. This hirt Russian consumers hard.

Low-level Intifada continues

A Palestinian man drove his car into a group of Israeli soldiers, injuring six of them before he was shot dead. Car ramming and attacks with knives are the weapons of the Palestinians. The Israeli government is not going to stop expanding settlements on the West Bank. Look for Palestinians to seek weapons and training from ISIL and al Qaeda. This groups have heretofore shown little interest in the Palestinian cause as it wants to build a Palestinian state. Militant Islam wants to break down states and build the caliphate.