Geopolitics

In response to growing concerns about the Islamic State’s growing strength throughout Afghanistan, Russia is now pursuing a military alliance with the Afghan Taliban, under the concept that “my enemy’s enemy is my potential ally.” The Russian courtship of the Taliban began some time prior to Taliban’s dramatic …

Is it time to launch a “decisive military action” in Libya? US analyst on national security and foreign policy Daniel L. Davis notes that US senior officials should think twice before unleashing another war in the North African country. As violence grows in Libya, the question arises if …

By Mnar Muhawesh Prior to its signing in New Zealand in February, the Trans-Pacific Trade Partnership was the subject of years of top-secret negotiations. Of course, it’s hard to keep a big secret, secret for long. In November 2013, WikiLeaks released the draft of the entire chapter on …

The world is teetering on the edge of a wider war in Syria, experts say; the question remains whether Saudi Arabia and Turkey’s saber-rattling on Syria’s borders are just a form of psychological intimidation or part of a NATO strategy aimed at launching a foreign intervention. One by one, …

Syrian Ground and Air Forces have reportedly obliterated Daesh strongholds to the east of the city of Aleppo; scores of militants were killed and wounded. Smoke & Guns: Syrian Army Goes Ahead in Raqqa Province The Syrian Army, supported by the country’s Air Force, has attacked Daesh (ISIL/ISIS) strongholds …

Abbas Parvardeh Although a few rounds of negotiations have been so far held to forge some sort of agreement between the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad and his opposition through mediation of the United Nations and some Western governments, in reality, those people who have attended the …

Nasrullah Brohi The recent rash of the political crisis and the tension between Saudi Arabia and the Iran has far-reaching consequences for the rest of the region, particularly the Middle East. The respective outrage by both Saudi Arabia and Iran with regard to the pursuance of their respective …

Nawaf Obaid Last week, the spokesman for the Saudi military, General Ahmed Asseri, announced that Saudi Arabia is “is ready to participate in any ground operations that the coalition (against Islamic State) may agree to carry out in Syria” and that its decision to move into the war-torn …

We are going through a period that will define future features of the US-GCC ties. To be able to form an idea about how best, from both sides’ perspectives, could these ties be shaped, we have to gloss quickly over some of the past and present problems before …