Category: Blogs

Iraqi Shia Fighters in Syria

By Ali Alfoneh

While the Shia led government in Baghdad is engaged in a determined effort to wipe out the Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL, Daesh) from Iraqi territory, the very Shia militias, which constitute the backbone of the government forces, are simultaneously engaged in combat operations in neighboring Syria.

To Secure the United States’ Southern Border, Look to Central America

By Ashish Kumar Sen

US Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly says improvement in conditions will reduce unauthorized migration US Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly has some advice for people thinking of crossing over illegally into the United States: don’t bother coming. “The message is, ‘If you get here—if you pay the traffickers you will probably get here—you […]

TRADE in ACTION – May 4, 2017

By Global Business & Economics Program

This week in TradeinAction: Happy World Trade Month! On the US side, the new US government has passed its first 100 days in office and the Senate has passed a $1 trillion spending bill that would keep the government running until September. 

Making the Three Seas Initiative a Priority for Trump

In light of Russia’s use of energy as a weapon in Europe, the Three Seas Initiative—a project designed to unite the region of Europe between the Baltic, Adriatic, and Black Seas through energy infrastructure—should be a strategic priority for the new US administration, retired Marine Corps Gen. James L. Jones, chairman of the Atlantic Council’s […]

NATO’s Military Commander Concerned About Russia’s Tactical Nuclear Weapons in Europe

By Curtis M. Scaparrotti, Senate Appropriations Committee

[T]oday we face the most dynamic European security environment in history.

Conflict Flares Between Sinai Tribes and the Islamic State

By Ahmed Zaghloul Shallata

Recent clashes occurred in the south of Rafah between fighters loyal to Wilayat Sinai––previously known as Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, which joined the Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL, Daesh) in 2014––and the Tarabin tribe. This follows a militant attack on April 17 against a truck belonging to a Tarabin tribesman as it carried cigarettes towards Gaza. After […]

Will He, Won’t He? Awaiting Trump’s Decision on Paris Deal

By Ellen Scholl

The world continues to wait nervously for US President Donald J. Trump’s promised decision, one that could have global implications for decades to come—will the United States pull out of the Paris climate agreement? Agreed to by 197 parties in 2015 and entered into force one year later, the Paris agreement set forth the first […]

Cyber War’s Terror Trinity: Means, Motive, and Opportunity

By Ian Fairchild

In March of 2003, I commanded an EC-130 Compass Call, an aircraft configured to perform tactical command, control, and communications countermeasures, over the skies of Iraq. My crew’s mission was to jam enemy communications and help allied forces preserve Iraq’s oil infrastructure. During these missions, we positioned ourselves some distance from the intended target, while […]

Will Ukrainians Ever Trust the Press?

By Adam Tismaneanu

Journalism has changed since the Euromaidan, but most Ukrainians still don’t trust the media. Oligarchs continue to own a majority of the major outlets. Since 2014, reformers have established a public broadcasting service and are in the process of privatizing several hundred state-owned newspapers. Those steps may not be enough. The media suffers from a […]

The Yemen War, Media, and Propaganda

By Afrah Nasser

Yemeni media is one of the most affected aspects in the raging war in Yemen. In an unprecedented case, a Houthi-controlled court issued a death sentence earlier in April, against journalist Yahya al-Joubayhy, for being a “Saudi spy,” reflecting a glimpse of the risks Yemeni media workers endure.