Op-ed

The war in Afghanistan goes on despite the president’s supposed revulsion about the conflict. Like all presidential candidates, Donald Trump made a boatload of promises when he was running for the nation’s top job in 2016. He was the overly blunt, prickly, obnoxious non-politician who was going to …

Giancarlo Elia Valori The current presence of Qassem Alì Soleimani, leader of the Al Quds Force of the “Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps” in Iraq is strategically significant. Certainly, according to the Iranian press, Soleimani was the sole responsible for the destruction of the so-called “Caliphate” of Al Baghdadi, …

Giancarlo Elia Valori In mid-October of last year, President Trump’s order to leave the Syrian territory as quickly as possible led the Russian military to quickly filling the void left by the U.S. forces. Certainly some U.S. special forces are still operational, but the strategic aim is obviously …

In the past, when great powers exited a geopolitically critical region, a strategic vacuum ensued. Trump’s hasty withdrawal of troops in Syria, just like his predecessor’s pullout from Iraq, is no exception. When assessing the implications of President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw some one thousand U.S. servicemen …

Giancarlo Elia Valori After about three months of riots, often particularly violent and destructive, on October 23, 2019 the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, Carrie Lam, alias Chen Yuet-Ngor, withdrew the bill on mandatory extradition to China, which had sparked protests in the former British colony. Never evaluate …

It is likely that more and more Afghans will start either associating themselves with—or relating to—the Taliban insurgency. As a supporter of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, I hoped that we Afghans—in addition to ridding Afghanistan of the Taliban menace—would utilize this opportunity to revive our economy, build …

The escalation ladder with Iran has lost several rungs. The attack attributed to Iran on Saudi Aramco oil facilities is the latest in a series of Iranian escalations—the May 14 and June 13 tanker attacks, the June 20 downing of a U.S. drone, and July 19 seizure of …

Donald Trump is neither a warmonger nor an isolationist. His game plan is to ramp up the pressure and “de-escalate on favorable terms.” And he wants to be prepared for the dangers that may one day exist.\ Forget about getting a backbone. America needs an iron constitution for …

Andrew England Unemployment and lack of reforms underpin protests in Middle East and north Africa Protesters outside the government palace in Beirut with ‘Revolution’ painted on their faces © AP When Lebanon imposed a fee on WhatsApp calls to boost government coffers, it was another example of Arab …