Middle East

Finding Ground Truth in Syria: Bringing Light to a Confused Information Environment

By Eric Wolterstorff

The situation in Syria is far more complex than what people have been describing. Unfortunately, the people who are responsible for understanding Syria strongly disagree with each other about who the prime actors are, who influences the country, the influence of actors relative to each other, and the overall state of the country. The current […]

Factbox: The Case Against Egypt’s Top Auditor

By Elissa Miller

On July 28, former head of Egypt’s Central Auditing Authority (CAA) Hesham Geneina was convicted of spreading false news over a December 2015 report alleging that hundreds of thousands of pounds had been lost to government corruption. He was sentenced to a year in jail, and a fine of 20,000 Egyptian pounds. Paying an additional […]

Tiran and Sanafir Trials Continue to Reverberate in Egypt

By Khaled Dawoud

In mid-July, nine opposition parties, seven human rights organization, and over 100 political figures signed a statement denouncing what they described as a harsh three-year prison sentence, and a fine of 100,000 Egyptian pounds, issued by a Cairo court against ten demonstrators. They were sentenced on charges relating to a protest against the controversial maritime […]

The Truth of the Islamic State’s Governance

By Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently

By building its own state, the Islamic State (ISIS) seeks to make a mark for itself by transforming from a group of gangs roaming the desert to a modern state larger than Great Britain that extends across Iraq and Syria. It has possession of major sources of funding from both its manufacturing and underground resources, […]

Younis Joins NPR to Discuss the Lessons We Have Learned from the Iraq War

By Nussaibah Younis

Will Turkey Accelerate Granting Citizenship to Syrians after the Failed Coup?

By Hosam al-Jablawi

Early this month, a speech by Turkish President Recep Tayyib Erdogan announcing an initiative to grant citizenship to Syrian refugees caused widespread controversy in Syrian and Turkish circles alike. Recent events in Turkey may have accelerated the program, with the government now taking tangible steps towards the initiative, particularly as relates to prominent Syrian artists […]