OPINION

By Shehab Al Makahleh Jordan’s King Abdullah II came to power in February 1999 in the aftermath of King Hussein. For the past nineteen years of his rule, he has kept the kingdom stable, despite the hardships and challenges that the whole Middle East region is undergoing, ranging …

A coalition force could fire “air-to-ground or cruise missiles” in the wake of a horrifying chemical attack on innocent civilians in Syria last week. Aviation experts AirLive have reported this evening a “rapid alert notification” warning aircraft in the eastern Mediterranean to be wary of a sudden missile strike. AirLive …

By Abdel Bari Atwan The Russians warned weeks ago that a chemical incident would be staged to justify a US attack on Syria Is an American missile strike on Syria imminent — possibly targeting the capital Damascus this time? That was certainly the impression given by US President …

President Trump’s recently released Nuclear Posture Review reflects an enduring struggle by the U.S. nuclear weapons establishment to fit into the post–Cold War world. For decades following World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union built grossly oversized nuclear arsenals and never envisioned having to stop. …

By Shatha Al Juburi Fifteen years after the US and its allies invaded Iraq on March 20, 2003, the country is still entrenched in a cycle of sectarian violence and rampant corruption. No one knows how many Iraqis have died. Some estimates put the number of deaths at more than …

By Alfred McCoy  Amid the intense coverage of Russian cyber-maneuvering and North Korean missile threats, another kind of great-power rivalry has been playing out quietly in the Indian and Pacific oceans. The U.S. and Chinese navies have been repositioning warships and establishing naval bases as if they were so …

By Andrew England and Heba  Saleh Drastic reduction of state subsidies, inflation, unemployment, repression, galloping population … All the factors of the explosion of 2011 are still there. And are getting worse. “Friends were shot dead next to me, in front of me and behind me,” Soghayer recalls …

By Seth Frantzman The United States is considering reducing or ending its presence in Syria, according to President Donald Trump. In Ohio last week Trump said, “We’ll be coming out of Syria, like very soon.” According to CNN, he told advisers in February that America must achieve victory …

By Sondoss Al Assaad The Lebanese constitution stipulates that the parliamentary electoral process take place every four years; however, the political unrest during the recent years has delayed this election, rankling voters and galvanizing a campaign to change electoral laws. Per Lebanon’s constitution, it is committed that the …