Category: Blogs

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20191120_Libya

MENASource

Nov 21, 2019

Another conference, another incomplete solution for Libya

By Karim Mezran and Federica Saini Fasanotti

Libya should be created by and for Libyans. There is no place for external interventions or conferences without full participation of all Libyans.

Corruption Libya

UkraineAlert

Nov 20, 2019

Three months left to kill Nord Stream 2

By Diane Francis

Putin’s Nord Stream 2 is not an ordinary natural gas pipeline. It’s an underwater pipeline that will give Putin the power to plunge the Soviet Union’s former satellites and republics in Europe into darkness.

Energy Markets & Governance Geopolitics & Energy Security

UkraineAlert

Nov 20, 2019

Ukraine got its ships back but at what cost?

By Doug Klain

The press forgot something significant in its coverage. Yes, Ukraine has been calling for the return of these ships for months, and yes their status would have been a serious obstacle to peace talks, but the ships were illegally fired upon and seized while legally traveling in what should have been safe waters.

Conflict Crisis Management

UkraineAlert

Nov 19, 2019

It’s counterintuitive but Trump impeachment inquiry may help Ukraine

By Peter Dickinson

The press frenzy surrounding the Trump impeachment inquiry presents Ukraine with an unparalleled international stage upon which to share its side of the story.

Civil Society Political Reform

MENASource

Nov 19, 2019

Leaked Iranian intelligence about Iraq only tells part of the story

By C. Anthony Pfaff

The recent story in the New York Times on leaked Iranian intelligence reports about Iranian influence operations in Iraq elicits a couple of possible reactions. If one works for the United States government, particularly in any department or bureau that deals with Iraq, one would be reasonable to feel some gratitude not only that the […]

Intelligence Iran

IranSource

Nov 19, 2019

Iran protests: Something has to give

By Kevjn Lim

At midnight on November 15, the Iranian government announced it was hiking petrol prices by at least 50 percent. Although the government justified the measure—itself part of badly-needed structural reforms—as a means of generating cash handouts for 60 million of the country’s poorest citizens (or 75 percent of the population), it triggered large-scale protests across […]

Iran Middle East

New Atlanticist

Nov 18, 2019

Pompeo’s Israeli settlements announcement could imperil Middle East peace chances

By David A. Wemer

"The realignment of long-standing US government policy foreshadows the promised, if long delayed, release of President Trump's vision for regional peace, intimating that the blueprint may countenance the extension of Israeli sovereignty to communities whose existence has, until now, been considered illegal per US interpretation of international law," Shalom Lipner says.

Conflict Israel

IranSource

Nov 18, 2019

Iran protests: A quest for reform turns into widespread discontent

By Giorgia Perletta

Popular protests are flaring up in the Middle East. From Lebanon to Iraq and now Iran, they show the weakening of the social contract between the population and their government. In the Islamic Republic, the post-revolutionary social contract was born on a populist promises of justice, but decades of endemic political and economic inefficiencies wiped […]

Iran Middle East

SyriaSource

Nov 18, 2019

After the Syria withdrawal, it’s time the US rethinks the use of proxy forces

By Mona Alami

Proxy warfare is a 21st century military playbook utilized by great powers, like Russia, and the United States with some using it better than others.

Security & Defense Syria

MENASource

Nov 18, 2019

Explainer: Iraq’s autumn of discontent

By Christiana Haynes

Waves of protests have hit Iraq this past October and November, calling for the resignation of the post-war government and sweeping changes. Last month alone, there have been reports of hundreds of protesters killed and thousands wounded by security forces in clashes across the country, from Tahrir Square in Baghdad to cities like Diwaniyah, Najaf, […]

Corruption Iraq
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