Middle East

Gen. Shashi Asthama The asymmetric, irregular, dirty war triggered by the brutal terror attack by Hamas on Israel on October 07, 2023, targeting innocent civilians and children calls for global condemnation. A violent response by Israel using all its military might is on, which was an expected reaction, …

Eng. Saleem Al Batayneh In a world rife with political complexities, it’s essential to dissect prevailing narratives that seek to delegitimize Palestinian identity and question Jordan’s very existence. This reflection endeavors to bring to light the silent, castrated response to Israeli actions, which often includes derisive remarks, mockery, …

Graham Allison What is the significance of the Biden-Xi summit on Wednesday? In one line: two adult leaders engaging in serious, candid, private conversation about the most consequential bilateral relationship in the world. What is the significance of the Biden-Xi summit on Wednesday? In one line: two adult …

North Korea policy in the first Trump administration allowed the U.S. to test the proposition that maximum sanctions pressure on the North Korean economy, combined with the allure of summit-level diplomacy with the U.S., would sufficiently alter Kim Jong Un’s calculus about giving up his nuclear deterrent. That …

Dr. Shehab Al Makahleh The unfolding dynamics in the Middle East, particularly amidst the ongoing Gaza war, signal a complex interplay of global power politics. As historian Paul Kennedy aptly observed in “The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers”, the contemporary maneuverings of dominant nations in the …

Gregg Priddy  The Biden administration must defuse escalation before it’s too late. The sighs of relief in Washington that accompanied Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s speech on November 3, in which he did not signal any immediate escalation against Israel, now seem premature. While it is clear that neither Iran …

Jerry Jaar The rationale and timing of the Biden-Xi meetup should be clear: both leaders are confronting challenges domestically and internationally. The United States announced in August new visa restrictions on current and former Chinese officials for their involvement in what U.S. and U.N. officials say is the …

Antonia Dimou Nowadays, there is a growing awareness of the geopolitical importance of the East Mediterranean in its own right, as an arena with explicit dynamics of cooperation, competition, and conflict. It has all the characteristics of a distinct region, which however interacts and functions in complementarity with …

James Dorsey It took Arab and Muslim leaders 35 days of war to call an ‘emergency’ meeting to discuss Israel’s assault on Gaza. Their limited ability to influence developments was on public display when they finally gathered this weekend in the Saudi capital Riyadh. So were the differences …