Back in June I asked if the United States had an anti-ISIS strategy. The conclusion was straightforward: Yes, the Obama administration has a clear and defined strategy, but it’s not working. Specifically, America’s focus on military operations without fully backing or resourcing a governance plan will ultimately end …
Read More »Yearly Archives: 2015
ISIS Is Here: Return of the Jihadi
Bruce Hoffman “This is sort of the new normal,” FBI Director James Comey observed after the most recent Fourth of July. Comey was talking about the ten persons who were arrested in connection with a variety of plots linked to ISIS in the weeks leading up to that …
Read More »Gas Wars: Turkey Tries to Push Russia Aside
Nikolay Pakhomov The current outbreak of animosity between Russia and Turkey has had many consequences. One consequence, in the economic sphere, has repercussions far exceeding bilateral ties: a project to deliver Russian natural gas—first to Turkey and then to Europe—has been put on hold. This project, known as …
Read More »Turkish-Russian Tension Set To Spill Onto European Pitches – Analysis
JAMES M. DORSEY The escalating Turkish-Russian crisis following Turkey’s downing in November of a Russian war plane promises to spill onto European soccer pitches with FC Lokomotiv Moscow set to play Fenerbahce SK, notorious for its fiery fan base, in a Europa League match. With Russia seeking to …
Read More »Italy Eyes Growing Economic And Security Cooperation With Post-Sanctions Iran – Interview
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which the P5+1 (the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany) and Iran signed earlier this year, marked a watershed moment in international diplomacy. For 20 months, the P5+1 and Iran negotiated an accord to freeze Tehran’s nuclear program in …
Read More »Russian President Vladimir Putin has set the agenda for New York Conference
By Shehab Al Makahleh At his three hour annual press conference which was attended by more than 1,500 journalists, Russian President Vladimir Putin has set the agenda for New York conference , which will begin its work today (Friday) with attendance of foreign ministers of 17 countries to …
Read More »Libyan rivals sign UN-brokered unity deal
Delegates from Libya’s rival parliaments have signed a United Nations-brokered agreement to form a national government, in what the UN described as a “first step” towards ending the country’s crisis. Politicians from the the Tobruk and Tripoli parliaments, as well as other political figures, signed the accord in …
Read More »It’s still about oil and gas in the Middle East
Merve Sebnem Oruc On 2 August, 1990, Iraqi forces blew into Kuwait. The main reason for the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait was economic; Iraq couldn’t pay its huge debts after eight years of war with Iran. Saddam Hussein accused Kuwait of overproduction of oil from the two countries’ …
Read More »Saudi Arabia’s war of independence
Their disappointment with Obama has led the Saudis to adopt a sophisticated and aggressive strategy. No longer the world’s oil barrel, Riyadh is now using oil prices to remove American companies from the market, punish the Russians for their support of Assad and shatter Iran’s hopes of exporting …
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