Analysis

The Syrian army has reportedly managed to regain control of several strategic regions from militants in the country’s northwestern province of Latakia.  Several strategic regions in Syria’s northwestern province of Latakia have been liberated by the country’s army in the course of its massive advances this week, according to the Iranian news agency FARS.On …

Christopher L. Brennan From Libya and Egypt to Syria and Yemen, the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region is undergoing unprecedented tumult and chaos. To understand the current breakdown of states and society, examining the so-called Arab Spring of 2011 that laid the groundwork for this ongoing regional anarchy is indispensable. …

Dr Ahmed Al-Burai If Deniz Zeyrek, a famous leftist journalist in Turkey, was to say, “The state of Israel and its people are undoubtedly sincere friends of Turkey and our condemnations until now are aimed at some extreme illegitimate actions of the Israeli government,” he would be condemned …

William McCants Editors’ Note: If the Islamic State has now added foreign operations to its government spending, as the recent attacks suggest, the prospects are frightening. It’s al-Qaida with even less of a conscience, more manpower, and way more money, writes Will McCants. How did this happen? This …

Bill Gertz Islamic State terrorists in Syria, assisted by western experts, are trying to develop improvised anti-aircraft missiles following stepped up airstrikes against its forces, according to U.S. officials and reports from the region. The effort was disclosed by an anti-ISIS social media account that revealed the anti-aircraft …

The formation of a national unity government may pave the way toward asking Russia to conduct airstrikes on Daesh positions.  The request to Russia on the launch of airstrikes against Islamic State (IS or Daesh in Arabic) can be submitted only after the formation of a national unity government, which will be in exclusive position to make …

Andrew Bowen On Friday, John Kerry convened a high-level session of UN Security Council member states’ foreign ministers to build on the diplomatic momentum that came from the October and November Syria talks in Vienna. Late afternoon Friday, Kerry, Russia’s Sergei Lavrov, France’s Laurent Fabius and the UK’s …

Michael J. Brenner Americans are in the grip of a particular hysteria – once again. First it arrived in the panic provoked by the atrocity of 9/11. The symptoms of that Post-Traumatic Shock are still with us. Now it returns in the panic in the aftermath of San …

As President Barack Obama struggles to reassure Americans that his administration has a handle on terrorism, specialists in the burgeoning field of countering violent extremism (CVE) say the US government should devote more resources to domestic programs that can prevent susceptible youth from succumbing to the approaches of terrorist …