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UkraineAlert

May 25, 2018

Russian Armed Forces Downed Civilian Airline Four Years Ago, Investigators Conclude

By Michael Bociurkiw

The noose is finally closing on the people and structures behind the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. Almost four years after the Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur-bound flight was shot down by a BUK missile over Ukraine, a clearer picture is emerging on the origin of the missile, its route to the firing zone in […]

Russia Ukraine

New Atlanticist

May 25, 2018

Nicaragua’s Moment of Reckoning

By Juan Felipe Celia and Alberto Matamoros

It has been more than a month since protests erupted in Nicaragua against President Daniel Ortega. At least seventy-six people have been killed and more than 800 injured, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH). Experiencing its largest political awakening since Ortega took office in 2007 and gradually eliminated the democratic system of […]

UkraineAlert

May 24, 2018

Poroshenko’s Game to Avoid Anti-Corruption Court Continues

By Josh Cohen

Anyone who claims Ukraine’s reforms have failed ignores the type of cases the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) has been able to pursue. NABU represents Ukraine’s first government agency truly devoted to ending the impunity of corrupt, high-level officials. NABU continues to investigate and arrest senior officials previously considered untouchable. NABU faces one huge […]

Ukraine

New Atlanticist

May 24, 2018

With Summit Off, United States Needs to Think Through its North Korea Strategy

By Ashish Kumar Sen

US President Donald J. Trump’s administration must use the opportunity presented by the president’s decision to scrap his June 12 summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to think through its strategy on North Korea, according to the Atlantic Council’s Robert A. Manning. “There are technical issues that we ought to explore so we know […]

Korea Nuclear Nonproliferation

UkraineAlert

May 24, 2018

Q&A: Why Are Things Heating Up in Ukraine Again?

By Melinda Haring

Violence is on the rise in eastern Ukraine again. There have been a number of civilian casualties and a massive number of ceasefire violations. Some have said that last week was the worst of all the fighting in 2018. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s army took control over the Donbas operation in April and the talks between US […]

Russia Ukraine

IranSource

May 24, 2018

Lebanon’s Elections: Hezbollah in the Driver’s Seat?

By Mona Alami

Hezbollah’s emergence as the strongest political faction during the Lebanese May elections confirms Iran’s sway over Lebanon, with the party now capable of securing an unchallenged veto at the parliamentary level and an absolute majority if it secures the right alliances. The recent electoral results also underline Hezbollah’s continued grip over its community despite ongoing […]

Iran Middle East

New Atlanticist

May 24, 2018

Trump Calls off Date with Kim Jong-un

By Ashish Kumar Sen

US President Donald J. Trump on May 24 abruptly called off a June 12 summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The highly anticipated summit—one frequently touted by Trump himself—was to be held in Singapore. “I was very much looking forward to being there with you. Sadly, based on the tremendous anger and open hostility […]

Korea Nuclear Nonproliferation

MENASource

May 24, 2018

Is Tunisia’s glass half empty or half full?

By Karim Mezran & Erin A. Neale

The recent round of elections in Tunisia is further proof of what has been demonstrated across the region and world: that holding elections is not an elixir, but rather a first step upon which to build a strongly rooted democracy.

Democratic Transitions Elections

UkraineAlert

May 24, 2018

Remembering Roman Kupchinsky on Memorial Day

By Melinda Haring

Of all the stories that I’ve written about Ukraine, none has provoked and continues to provoke choruses of thank yous than this piece I wrote three years ago about the life and legacy of Roman Kupchinsky. Each time I go to Kyiv, I meet another young journalist who Roman quietly mentored. On Monday, as the […]

Ukraine

IranSource

May 24, 2018

Trump’s Plan B for Iran

By Matthew Kroenig

Several years ago, Henry Kissinger famously stated that Iran must decide if it wants to be a country or a cause. On May 21, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo re-articulated this question, offering Iran a sharp choice: to be welcomed back into the community of nations if it abandons its destabilizing security policies or […]

Iran