Middle East

Trump Asking NATO to Join Coalition Fighting Against ISIS

By Matthias Gebauer and Peter Müller, Spiegel

In Donald Trump’s eyes, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg was actually the head of an alliance that history had made superfluous.

At the Astana Table, a Lesson from Cyprus

By Bassam Barabandi and John Arterbury

As representatives from Russia, Turkey, and Iran gather in Astana to pen a solution for Syria, the war’s end that appears within reach is yet further away than ever. Although Astana has enough participation from superpowers immediately involved in the conflict to offer a narrow window for peace, the involvement of only a limited spectrum […]

After ISIS the US Will Still Have a Role in Iraq—But Does It Care Enough to Play It?

By Feras Hanoush

The fight against ISIS in Iraq is in full swing. Despite the costly human errors that caused the death of hundreds of Mosul residents, the offensive forces continue to make progress, having managed during the past months to isolate, besiege, and take control of over 60 percent of the city.

Macron’s Victory is Welcome News for Saudi Arabia and Qatar

By Giorgio Cafiero and Theodore Karasik

Emmanuel Macron’s election as the next president of France is positive news for Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Among the four leading candidates in the presidential election, Riyadh and Doha most favored Macron, whose foreign policy positions are pro-European Union (EU) and who is expected to continue Paris’ overall approach to international affairs. More specifically, Macron’s […]

Russia’s De-Escalation Zone Plan for Syria is Doomed

The proposal for de-escalation zones in Syria, which will enter into force at midnight on May 5, is unlikely to be effective in the long term, according to an Atlantic Council analyst. “Maybe” the agreement will temporarily have a demonstrable effect on lowering the number of civilian deaths in Syria, said Faysal Itani, a senior […]

Infighting Continues in Eastern Ghouta as the Regime Advances

By Ahmad Abazeid

A history of grudges and slow, back and forth battles between opposition groups in Ghouta shows little hope of being resolved, even as the regime and its allies bear down on Ghouta. A new round of fighting erupted between rebel factions on 28 April, 2017. Jaysh al-Islam launched a major offensive on Hayat Tahrir al-Sham […]