Content

SyriaSource

Aug 22, 2016

The Nusra Front’s Trap for the Syrian Opposition

By Abdullah al-Ghadawi

On July 31, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (formerly known as the Nusra Front) launched the battle to break the siege on Aleppo with two suicide bomb operations, a common tactic for the extremist group that, though costly, has won it many battles and the support of other groups. That same day, Abu Yusif al-Muhajir, Ahrar al-Sham’s […]

Syria

MENASource

Aug 22, 2016

Does Federalism Have a Future in Libya?

By Wolfgang Pusztai

In the wake of Libya’s 2011 revolution, eastern leaders feared that they would once again become second class citizens. The perceived domination by Tripolitanians of the National Transition Council (NTC)—the de facto government established during the revolution; the alleged marginalization of Cyrenaica; and the strong influence of militias from Tripoli, Misrata, and Zintan on the […]

Libya
NATO missile defense facility in Deveselu, Romania

NATOSource

Aug 22, 2016

NATO Takes Command of Missile Defense Facility in Romania

By Allied Air Command, NATO

Today a new milestone in the development of NATO Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) has been reached.

Central Europe Germany

AfricaSource

Aug 22, 2016

King Affirms Africa as “Top Priority” in Moroccan Foreign Policy

By J. Peter Pham

In a nationally-televised speech on August 20, Morocco’s King Mohammed VI characterized Africa as the “top priority” of his country’s foreign policy, emphasizing that “this multi-dimensional relationship puts Morocco in the center of Africa” and “Africa holds a special place in the heart of Moroccans.” Coming just a month after the historic decision by the […]

Morocco

AfricaSource

Aug 19, 2016

#ThisFlag’s Pastor Evan Mawarire Condemns Continued Crackdown in Zimbabwe

By Julian Wyss and Chloë McGrath

“If we cannot cause the politician to change, then we must inspire the citizen to be bold,” said Pastor Evan Mawarire, founder of Zimbabwe’s #ThisFlag movement, at the Atlantic Council on Wednesday, August 17. Mawarire gave his remarks draped in a Zimbabwean flag, the symbol of the movement. “We are rising up to say that […]

South & Central Africa

SyriaSource

Aug 19, 2016

The Islamist Factions’ Judicial System in Idlib

By Tirwada Abd al-Haqq

The judiciary system in Idlib is akin to jungle law, in which the powerful use it to impose their rule on the others. Examining the judicial system shows how the role of the military factions use the judiciary to encroach on civilian affairs. Some traditional Islamic concepts like Sharia and ijtihad (freedom for judges to […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Aug 19, 2016

Syria: Will a Child Lead?

By Frederic C. Hof

As Aleppo writhes in torment under bombs dropped by Russian aircraft launched from an Iranian airbase, one wonders if it occurs to anyone in the White House that something has gone horribly wrong. One wonders if anyone in the executive mansion cares. As a blackened and bleeding five-year-old boy testifies with his befuddled gaze to […]

Syria

New Atlanticist

Aug 19, 2016

#ThisFlag’s Pastor Evan Mawarire Condemns Continued Crackdown in Zimbabwe

By Julian Wyss and Chloë McGrath

“If we cannot cause the politician to change, then we must inspire the citizen to be bold,” said Pastor Evan Mawarire, founder of Zimbabwe’s #ThisFlag movement, at the Atlantic Council on Wednesday, August 17. Mawarire gave his remarks draped in a Zimbabwean flag, the symbol of the movement. “We are rising up to say that […]

South & Central Africa
Labor Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn, August 4, 2014

NATOSource

Aug 19, 2016

UK Party Leader Joins Trump and Others in Questioning Commitment to NATO Allies

By Henry Mance, Financial Times

Jeremy Corbyn has become the latest politician to cast doubt on the future of Nato, in a move that critics say could embolden Russia in its approach to eastern Europe.

NATO Russia

UkraineAlert

Aug 19, 2016

The West Has a Ukraine Challenge, and It’s Not Going Away

By Ariel Cohen

Since the Middle Ages, Kyivan Rus—the loose network of warring principalities whose borders vaguely coincide with today’s Ukraine—has been exposed to waves of invaders from neighboring states. This list of aggressors includes the Normans, Mongols, Poles, Ottomans, Habsburg Austrians, Germans, and Nazis—and not least, Muscovite Russians, the Romanov Russian Empire, and Bolsheviks. Each invasion destroyed […]

Russia Ukraine