Category: Blogs

There He Goes Again. Putin Meddles in the South Caucasus

By Stephen Blank

Russia President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump likely agreed to restrict intervention in the affairs of third countries at the G-20 summit. This agreement, however, contradicts Russian foreign policy. In Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, Russia seeks to curtail the ability of these governments to pursue independent foreign policies. A series of recent probes […]

Tension Among Local Yemeni Communities Due to Aid Imbalance

By Ghaidaa Motahar and Mohammed Al-Sabahi

In Yemen, the poorest country in the MENA region, more than two years of an ongoing conflict has resulted in a massive humanitarian catastrophe. Over seventeen million people are not able to adequately feed themselves and are frequently forced to skip meals. Seven million of these are severely food insecure, which means they do not […]

The Syrian Elite Forces and the Battle for Raqqa

By Abdulrahman al-Masri

Alongside the US-backed forces storming into Raqqa is the all-Arab tribal group, the Syrian Elite Forces (SEF), headed by former Syrian political opposition leader, Ahmad al-Jarba. The SEF is composed of primarily two influential Arab tribes in the northeast and eastern towns of Syria: al-Shu’aytat and Shammar. So far the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), led […]

Al Jazeera in the Eye of a Storm

By Giorgio Cafiero

Al Jazeera, the first state-owned pan-Arab news network, means many different things to Middle Eastern governments and citizens. The Doha-headquartered network has provided Arabs with a style of reporting that was unheard of in the region before its launch twenty-two years ago. In 2011, Al Jazeera’s coverage of Arab Spring uprisings shaped history by promoting […]

Emmanuel Macron and the Sense of Reality

By Nicholas Dungan

After the French presidential election completed its two rounds in late April and early May, France, Europe and many around the world breathed a sigh of relief that Emmanuel Macron’s victory had put a stop to the know-nothing populism evident in the Brexit referendum and the ascendancy of Donald J. Trump to the US presidency. […]

The Turkish Military is Likely to Target Idlib Next

By Molham Ekaidi

Turkish media circles, especially those close to the government, are heavily discussing a Turkish military operation against, “terrorist networks.” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan himself spoke of an impending military operation along the lines of “Operation Euphrates Shield, ” an operation that concluded in late March. The Turkish statement was accompanied by news of a […]

Zapad: A Window into Russia’s Military Mind?

Russia’s large-scale military exercise to be conducted in September can provide critical insight for NATO allies seeking to improve their readiness posture against an increasingly revanchist Russia, according to an Estonian defense official. “Russians train exactly as they intend to fight, thus Zapad will give up ample information on their military and political thinking as […]

Atlantic Council Honors Champions of Freedom

The political, security, and humanitarian challenges facing the world today cannot be overcome without international cooperation and a concerted effort to strengthen the “solidarity of values” of the transatlantic community, Daniel Fried, a recipient of the Atlantic Council’s 2017 Freedom Award, said at the awards ceremony in Warsaw, Poland, on July 7. The post-World War […]

A Larger US Role in Libya?

By Karim Mezran and Elissa Miller

As the chaos in Libya continues, recent reports indicate that the United States is considering ramping up its diplomatic and military involvement in Libya.  On July 10, CNN reported that the Trump administration could soon finalize a new policy for Libya to expand US presence in the country. If realized, a new policy for Libya […]