America’s New Approach to the Iran Negotiations
Critics say Iran has out-maneuvered the outside world for almost two years, winning concession after concession in nuclear talks while itself giving away little. If so, the US appears to have turned the tables at a key juncture in the final negotiating round.
A Common Enemy Unites Egypt, Israel and Hamas
The misery of a common enemy can acquaint a country or group with strange bedfellows. Such is the case with Israel, Hamas and Egypt, which will likely put aside many of their differences in the wake of the Islamic State’s recent show of force in Sinai.
Syria’s Last Best Hope: the Southern Front
Beyond Assad and ISIS, a third moderate way can still exist for Syria if the Southern Front is empowered. The Syrian regime is weakening militarily in the face of the rise of the Islamic State (ISIS) as well as the Islamist rebel coalition Jaysh al-Fateh that is sponsored by Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and…
How to Beat ISIS: Divide Syria Into Parts
While the Obama administration’s strategy for Iraq requires substantial upgrading in light of recent Islamic State (or ISIS or ISIL) successes in and around Ramadi in particular, the plan for Syria is in much worse shape. The peace process is dead. So are a quarter million Syrians, with another 12 million displaced.
ISIS Video Shows Execution of 25 Men in Ruins of Syria Amphitheater
A just-released video from ISIS shows militants executing 25 captives in the ruins of a Roman amphitheater in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra. The graphic video begins with images of the Quran, followed by gruesome scenes showing what appears to be the aftermath of fighting, with bodies in the street.
Iraqi Forces Plan Offensive to Retake Ramadi From ISIS
Seven weeks after their frenetic retreat from Ramadi, Iraqi security forces are preparing to mount a counteroffensive in the coming weeks to try to reclaim the pivotal western Iraqi city from the Islamic State, American and Iraqi officials say.
Obama Won’t Play ‘whack-a-mole’ With More U.s. Troops, Wants Iraq to Keep Islamic State Fight Local
President Obama said on a rare visit to the Pentagon Monday that he isn’t planning to send more U.S. troops to Iraq to fight the Islamic State, saying local forces must prevail against the extremist group.
Dark Geopolitics of the Middle East
A third wave of geopolitics has been making its way into Middle East political geography since the end of the Cold War. The first wave began with the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after World War I. The second wave followed World War II, when the European colonial order crumbled.
The Rise of the Islamic State: ISIS and the New Sunni Revolution
Journalist Patrick Cockburn’s first-hand observations and reported conversations with fighters on the ground in Syria and Iraq lend much credibility to his coverage of events in those two countries. In The Rise of Islamic State: ISIS and the New Sunni Revolution, he provides…
Bahrain: the U.S. Makes a Symbolic Gesture of Support for Its Allies
On June 29, State Department spokesman John Kirby announced that the United States had lifted certain holds on security assistance to both the Bahrain Defense Force and Bahrain’s national guard, citing improvement in the area of human rights reform.
