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SyriaSource

Aug 2, 2016

Behind the Nusra Front’s Name Change

By Hossam Abouzahr

On July 28 the Nusra Front changed its name to the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham and its commander, Abu Muhammad al-Julani, showed his face for the first time on television and laid out five priority points for the group: establishing God’s religion and the Sharia, uniting the opposition to liberate Syria and destroy the regime, protecting […]

UkraineAlert

Aug 2, 2016

Sloppy Thinking about War Helps No One

By Alexander J. Motyl

How likely is a war between the United States and Russia? According to Matthew Rojansky, director of the Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute, in a recent World Politics Review article, “a war between Russia and the United States is more likely today than at any time since the worst years of the Cold War.” That’s strong […]

NATO Russia

UkraineAlert

Aug 2, 2016

What Trade Policy Does Ukraine Need Now?

By Anders Åslund

At the informal ministerial meeting of the Eastern Partnership in Kyiv on July 11-12, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin proposed that the six members of the Eastern Partnership (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine) form a single economic space or free trade area. This is implausible. Ukraine does need to open its economy to […]

Ukraine

SyriaSource

Aug 2, 2016

The Evolution of Global Jihadist Ideology

By Mona Alami

On Thursday last week, the Nusra Front seceded from its parent organization al-Qaeda and rebranded under the name Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, a move many experts labeled as merely a name change. However, the change, sparked by the organization facing growing external and internal pressure, indicates the preeminence of local interests over global ideology as the […]

Syria

New Atlanticist

Aug 1, 2016

US Airstrikes in Libya Seen as First Step Along Long Path to Defeat ISIS

By Mitch Hulse

The Libyan government must ensure that it can secure, stabilize, and unify the country, even if ISIS, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, is defeated with the help of US and Europe-backed airstrikes in the North African country, according to the Atlantic Council’s Karim Mezran. “If they succeed in defeating ISIS, but the government […]

International Organizations Libya

MENASource

Aug 1, 2016

An IMF Program for Egypt – Third Time Lucky?

By Mohsin Khan and Elissa Miller

Egyptian and IMF officials are starting negotiations this week in Cairo to finalize a 3-year program worth $12 billion. These negotiations will last about two weeks, after which the IMF will return to Washington with a “Letter-of-Intent” specifying the policies that the government of Egypt will undertake over the course of the program. If the […]

Economy & Business North Africa

MENASource

Aug 1, 2016

Why Did Tunisia’s Parliament Oust Prime Minister Habib Essid?

By Fatim-Zohra El Malki

In what was an anticipated result, Tunisia’s parliament voted overwhelmingly to oust Prime Minister Habib Essid on July 30. The vote came in the midst of intra-party divisions and questions over Essid’s capacity to lead the country successfully just 17 months after his nomination to the post. Although expected, the result and the uncertainty over […]

North Africa
Donald Trump, Jan. 9, 2016 (photo: Evan Guest)

NATOSource

Aug 1, 2016

The Logic Behind Our Alliances

By Charles Lane, Washington Post

Perhaps it would help, given recent events in U.S. politics, to review the rationale for U.S. security commitments to allies in Europe and the Far East.

NATO Russia

UkraineAlert

Aug 1, 2016

Trump Embraces Putin and Alienates Rust Belt Voters with Eastern European Roots

By Diane Francis

Hillary Clinton’s campaign bus rattles over potholes and bumps in the US Rust Belt while Donald Trump flits around on his private jet. Such optics never seem to hurt Trump or, conversely, to help Hillary, but much depends on voters in the Rust Belt, notably in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Trump may be a master of […]

Russia Ukraine

SyriaSource

Aug 1, 2016

How the Microcosm of the Syrian War Was Encircled

By Faysal Itani

Some four years after rebels captured much of Syria’s largest city, the regime and its allies finally encircled their territory in Aleppo. Through the final week of July 2016, these forces severed the last remaining opposition supply line, Castello Road, and likely intend to besiege rebel-held parts of the city and their estimated 300,000 inhabitants. […]

Syria
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