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News Review 12/09/2026
US Commemorates the 25th Anniversary of the Destruction of the Twin Towers
The United States today marked the 9/11 anniversary of the attack on New York’s iconic Twin Towers which killed 2,977 people with moving speeches and emotive displays. By way of comparison, however, in the quarter of century that followed, how many innocent Muslims were killed in attacks by the US and its allies and proxies? The Second Gulf War that began in 2003 as a response to 9/11 killed hundreds of thousands of Iraqis even though Iraq nether had weapons of mass destruction as claimed nor had it any involvement in the 9/11 attack. The US proxy occupying the land of Palestine has killed over 70,000 innocents in Gaza and the killing continues. These are just a couple of examples. If Muslims should pick a day to remember the death and destruction wrought on them by the US, which day would it be? It could only be every day.
From Greenland in the North to the Southern Tip of Argentina: the US Wants it all
On 7 September 2026, Donald Trump posted a map on Truth Social depicting Canada, Greenland and Iceland, along with Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, covered by the US flag and labelled collectively as the “United States of America.” The image offered no explanation, but it revived Trump's repeated territorial ambitions towards Greenland and Canada. Iceland's government reacted particularly sharply: on 8 September it summoned US Ambassador Billy Long, calling the depiction “completely inappropriate.” The same expansionist logic has increasingly shaped Trump's policy towards Latin America. In January 2026, the United States intervened militarily in Venezuela and captured President Nicolás Maduro, while Trump subsequently asserted Washington's intention to “run” Venezuela, and to that end has captured control of huge oil reserves in the country. Argentina has meanwhile received unusually direct political and economic backing in its territorial dispute with the UK over the Falkland Islands from Trump, who has tied US support to President Javier Milei's political fortunes.
Houthi Red Sea Gains Strain US Resources, Divert Aid from Ukraine
‘Ansar Allah’ forces this week seized the strategic Red Sea port city of Mokha and Zuqar Island, completing an 18-hour offensive that gave them control of Yemen’s entire Red Sea coastline. The advance places the Iran-backed group within closer striking distance of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a chokepoint for 12 percent of global trade. The military success has immediate consequences for the US. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman twice called President Trump on September 10 to request US strikes against the Houthis; Trump refused, and officials said no direct intervention is planned. The US instead will provide intelligence and data to Saudi forces while avoiding a new front. For Ukraine, the escalation compounds an existing shortage of Patriot interceptor missiles. As Iran expands its escalation through the Houthis, the US must prioritize its own strategic reserves, NATO defense, and Middle East allies before allocating remaining interceptors to Kyiv. The Red Sea crisis thus deepens Ukraine’s air-defense deficit, as Russia benefits from the diversion of American military resources.
The BRICS Problem for China’s Leadership of the Global South
As BRICS leaders gather in New Delhi, Narendra Modi met Vladimir Putin on the 11th of September and reaffirmed India’s strategic partnership with Russia, including cooperation in energy, defence and trade. China’s President Xi Jinping is arriving for his first visit to India in seven years and is expected to meet Modi. Beijing has promoted BRICS expansion as a means of reducing US influence. But India wants something different: a genuinely multipolar organisation in which countries can cooperate without becoming Chinese, or American, satellites. The result is a grouping whose growing size may make Chinese dominance harder. India's relationship with Russia is particularly awkward for Beijing. Despite the war in Ukraine and Western sanctions, Modi and Putin are deepening their partnership, with bilateral trade targeted at $100 billion by 2030. India therefore offers Moscow an alternative to excessive economic dependence on China. BRICS expansion creates another problem. Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are now members despite sharply conflicting interests, while India maintains relationships with all three. The current Iran war could therefore expose rather than conceal the bloc's divisions. Foreign ministers already failed to agree a joint statement in May. As BRICS becomes larger, the harder it may be for China to control it. And as India emerges as the power capable of talking simultaneously to Washington, Moscow, Beijing, Tehran and Riyadh, the real contest inside BRICS may become as impotent against American interests as the European Union.