Terrorism & Extremism

The Levant has long been a stage upon which the drama of history has unfolded- a region where empires collided, faiths converged, and civilizations either flourished or crumbled. Far from being a mere relic of the past, this ancient nexus remains a cornerstone of global security and economic …

Is Donald Trump a great president? That’s the question posed by John F. Harris in Politico, less in the spirit of endorsing Trump than suggesting that he is nothing less than “the greatest figure of his age.” Trump has now dominated American politics for over a decade. The Biden administration increasingly …

Space is becoming increasingly militarized. Nations are racing to develop satellite warfare capabilities and advanced space-based surveillance systems. The rapid evolution of these technologies is transforming the nature of modern conflicts. From anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons to artificial intelligence-enhanced reconnaissance, space is becoming the ultimate battlefield dictating strategic advantage …

Asif Haseen and Monalisa Dash The recent takeover of the Assad regime by an Islamist rebel group—Hay’at-Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)—has unleashed a power vacuum in post-Assad Syria wherein competing groups backed by different regional and foreign players are vying for control. Surprisingly, on Friday, comments by Recep Tayyip Erdogan …

Two main obstacles stand in the way of a territorially coherent Syria. As Syrians celebrate the end of the tyrannical regime of Bashar al-Assad, the war-weary Syrian state faces a combustible set of challenges to its political, security, and territorial governance. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), tasked with proving …

Besides Israel, two powerful players are dominating the Middle East, Iran and Saudi Arabia, orbiting in contrasting domestic and regional goals, although being authoritarian and conservative regimes at the same time. The Middle East, a region that once was referred to as the cradle of Civilization, plunged into …

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 …

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 …

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 …