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MENASource

Jun 6, 2017

Latest ISIS Attack in Egypt Leaves Christians Feeling Out of Place at Home

By Jihad Abaza

“Girgis and I used to go to the monastery together. It was a getaway, and we enjoyed serving the priests and volunteering our time. We would rent a small truck, or a motorcycle, and we would go once every week, or every ten days,” Eid Ishak says, as he recalled the trips he and his […]

North Africa

MENASource

Jun 6, 2017

Haftar and Salafism: A Dangerous Game

By Ahmed Salah Ali

There is a contradiction in General Khalifa Haftar’s narrative. Although he denounces his opponents as “takfiri terrorists and Kharijites” and accuses Misrata of employing political Islam, turning to takfiri groups for help, embracing the Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL, or Daesh), and supporting Ansar al-Sharia, he also has strong ties to Salafist […]

Libya

UkraineAlert

Jun 6, 2017

Ulana Suprun: Tough, Tenacious, and Transforming Ukraine’s Health Care

By Melinda Haring

For nearly a year, Dr. Ulana Suprun has been pressing for a complete revamp of Ukraine’s health care system, and she is finally close to seeing it replaced by a brand-new set of policies. She’s got a firm deadline: the current parliamentary session ends on July 14. If she can’t get the bill passed in […]

Ukraine

Future of Iraq Taskforce

Jun 6, 2017

The Role of Decentralization in Combatting Extremist Influence in Iraq

By Todd Diamond

Many governance experts see decentralization as a potential model to mitigate political and sectarian challenges in Syria, Libya, and Iraq and improve livelihoods in those countries by restoring basic services to local populations. But in countries with a long history of absolute control, central government officials frequently resist any reforms seen as weakening their influence, […]

Iraq

New Atlanticist

Jun 6, 2017

Pence Affirms US Commitment to NATO, Collective Defense

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Transatlantic Alliance Front and Center at Atlantic Council’s Distinguished Leadership Awards US Vice President Mike Pence affirmed the United States’ support for NATO and its commitment to the collective defense of the Alliance at the Atlantic Council’s Distinguished Leadership Awards reception in Washington on June 5. “Our commitment [to NATO] is unwavering,” Pence said.  The […]

New Atlanticist

Jun 5, 2017

70 Years Later, George C. Marshall’s Values Are Still Relevant

By Stephen R. Grand

It may be an awkward moment for a birthday, but the Marshall Plan turned seventy on June 5. Designed to give Europe a hand up rather than a handout following the devastation of World War II, the Marshall Plan became the cornerstone for the emergence of a US-led, rules-based order that has enhanced Europe’s and […]

European Union International Organizations

MENASource

Jun 5, 2017

How Will the Rift with Qatar Play Out?

By H.A. Hellyer

Early on Monday morning, a coordinated isolation of Qatar took place in the Gulf Cooperation Council region, and beyond. While it began with Bahrain severing ties, the power behind the moves was clearly Saudi Arabia, with strong Emirati backing. The isolation was rather complete: Riyadh, Manama, and Abu Dhabi requesting all Qatari nationals to depart […]

Saudi Arabia The Gulf

IranSource

Jun 5, 2017

Rouhani’s Electoral Victory and Political Challenges

By Farhad Rezaei

By any measure, President Hassan Rouhani reelection with 57 percent of the vote compared to the 37 percent for his opponent, Ebrahim Raisi, was a major triumph. More to the point, the ballot represented a clear choice between two visions of Iran. Rouhani and his moderate followers want Iran to normalize relations with the United […]

New Atlanticist

Jun 2, 2017

May’s Lead Slips in the Polls Days Before UK Election

By John Roberts

With polls showing a narrowing margin between UK Prime Minister Theresa May and Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, the British general election to be held on June 8 is starting to look quite interesting. The idea that May would secure a landslide victory—one so prominent when she unexpectedly called the election five weeks ago—now seems […]

United Kingdom
Fighters of the Syrian Islamist rebel group Jabhat Fateh al-Sham cheer on a pick up truck near the wreckage of a Russian helicopter that had been shot down in the north of Syria's rebel-held Idlib province, Syria August 1, 2016. REUTERS/Ammar Abdullah

SyriaSource

Jun 2, 2017

What Is the Future of the Moderate Opposition?

By Hosam al-Jablawi

Since the Assad regime’s victory in Aleppo, the battlefield has moved to Idlib province, where armed groups opposed to Assad are battling for influence and a say in the future of the area. The first upshot of that struggle was that the extremist group Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (formerly the Nusra Front) ousted several moderate Syrian […]

Syria
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