Turkey is seen as the victor after the fall of Assad. Nonetheless, Ankara cannot ignore a Kurdish role in the post-war settlement. Once upon a time, Turkey’s then-prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, hosted Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, for a family holiday in Turkey and planned a Middle East …
Read More »Syria’s Uncertain Future
The world watched Sunday as Bashar al-Assad, the brutal leader who ruled over Syria for 24 years, was driven out by rebel forces. The Syrian people, who persevered through a civil war lasting longer than a decade, celebrated in the streets at the news of al-Assad’s fall. This …
Read More »Israel And Donald Trump 2.0: Rerunning Trump 1.0?
So much has changed in the Middle East that the new administration will find it difficult to simply repeat its previous policies. It wasn’t at all surprising that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was one of the first foreign leaders to congratulate Donald Trump on his election win, …
Read More »Syria: The Middle East’s hidden giant and the target of geopolitical chess
By Shehab Al Makahleh A few years ago, I had the privilege of sitting down with Professor Jeffrey Sachs, one of the world’s leading economists and a sharp observer of global geopolitics. Sachs shed light on a revelation as stark as it is alarming: Syria was part of …
Read More »Trump’s Return: America’s Middle East Reset Begins
With President-elect Donald Trump’s impending return to the White House, a new chapter in Middle East diplomacy is on the horizon. His administration promises to bring a decisive shift in strategy aimed at resolving the Gaza crisis, liberating hostages, and addressing the challenges of reconstruction. “If the hostages …
Read More »The Last Supper: What Really Led to Syria’s Sudden Collapse?
Dr. Shehab Al Makahleh In the shadow of Syria’s swift and shocking collapse, questions abound. Both supporters and opponents of the regime are grappling with the same enigma: what truly transpired? According to credible reports, the seeds of this seismic shift were sown during a clandestine dinner held …
Read More »Kazakhstan’s Visionary Judicial Reforms Set a Global Benchmark
Dr. Shehab Al-Makahleh In a world where justice systems are evolving to meet the demands of increasingly interconnected societies, Kazakhstan emerges as a model of progress. Nestled at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, the nation is undertaking bold and comprehensive reforms to ensure its judiciary is independent, …
Read More »Trump 2.0: The Uncertain Future of Middle East’s Wars
President J. Donald Trump will serve as the 47th president of the United States of America, four years after reluctantly leaving office as the 45th, the first politician since Grover Cleveland in the late 1800s to lose re-election to the White House and later mount a successful run. …
Read More »Syrian army command tells officers that Assad’s rule has ended
The Syrian army command has notified officers that President Bashar al-Assad’s rule has ended as militants enter the capital Damascus, an officer says. The unnamed officer made the remarks to Reuters on Sunday after reports said President Assad had flown out of Damascus for an unknown destination. Meanwhile, …
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