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Alex Dick-Godfrey In the past five years, the Somali jihadist group al-Shabaab has lost most of its senior leadership, surrendered its control of southern Somalia, and seen its cash flow shrink. The group has certainly seen better times. But as the success of recent attacks in Kenya and Mogadishu indicate, the group is …

By HELENE COOPER The Obama administration is scrambling for reassurances it can present this month at a Camp David summit meeting to persuade Arab allies that the United States has their backs, despite a pending nuclear deal with Iran. Officials at the White House, the Pentagon and the …

By: Daniel L. Byman Prepared testimony before the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence of the House Committee on Homeland Security. Chairman King, Ranking Member Higgins, distinguished members of the subcommittee, and subcommittee staff, thank you for the opportunity to testify today. The Islamic State’s influence and model are …

By Pepe Escobar Whatever happens with the nuclear negotiations this summer, and as much as Tehran wants cooperation and not confrontation, Iran is bound to remain — alongside Russia — a key US geostrategic target. As much as US President Barack Obama tried to dismiss it, the Russian sale of the …

Farzin Nadimi To prevent recent airline and shipping incidents from escalating into a wider military confrontation with Iran, all sides will need to exercise great caution in the Persian Gulf and the skies over Yemen. On April 28, Saudi-led coalition aircraft bombed runways at Yemen’s al-Rahaba Airport to …

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has agreed on a concerted effort against terrorism by blacklisting terrorist organizations and individuals, while hailing Saudi Arabia’s efforts in tackling the menace. The decision was taken at the 16th consultative meeting of GCC interior ministers in Doha on Wednesday. Qatari Prime Minister …

By Daniel Depetris Hundreds of air strikes later, Hadi remains in Riyadh and the Houthis remain near Aden. Riyadh needs a new approach. After nearly four weeks of consistent aerial bombardment against Houthi military positions across Yemen, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia — with full backing from its colleagues …

By Patrick Tucker The new cyber strategy could provide allies with Americans’ information gathered under proposed legislation. As Ashton Carter unveiled the Pentagon’s new Cyber Strategy last week, he underscored its importance by revealing that DOD networks had been infiltrated by actors within Russia. The defense secretary did not emphasize a provision …

Aimal Faizi Afghan President Ashraf Ghani is due to begin his first state visit to New Delhi this Monday. Almost seven months after becoming president, the three-day visit is a chance for Ghani to win hearts and minds in New Delhi. Over the last few months, Kabul has sent confusing …