Geopolitics

The Pentagon and US intelligence community are weighing what is referred to as an “Al-Sisi Option” for Libya, as the June 17 deadline for a United Nations-brokered cease-fire and unity government deal nears, with no sign of a diplomatic breakthrough.  The United Nations Support Mission in Libya, headed …

The fall of Palmyra just after Ramadi emphasized the impression that ISIL regained the momentum, hence will help the organization recruit more fighters. Yet, the story of the fall of Ramadi is totally different than that of the fall of Palmyra. The current ISIL offensives extends from Ramadi …

Both Iran and Turkey are racing to increase their gains in Iraq while the Arab Sunni states are trying to strengthen their ties to Iraqi Sunni tribes. In the case of Tehran, it is busy now trying to establish a larger presence in Kurdistan. For its part, Turkey’s …

If anyone speaks, however cautiously, about Syria’s existence as a sovereign state, one must admit that the line between the opposing sides—ISIL and the foreign Jihadists fighting with it on the one hand and Hezbollah, Iraqi, Pakistani and Iranian militias on the other—disappears.   ISIL, by definition, does not …

By Stephen Richter Russia is rattling its saber. China roams around the South China Sea. Here we go again. According to some, we are said to be “at war.” Thankfully, for now it is just a “war of ideas.” That is intended to offer some comfort. But even …

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan held bilateral talks behind closed doors on the sidelines of the first European Games on Saturday. BAKU (Sputnik) —  Presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Energy Minister Alexander Novak, head of Russia’s state-run nuclear corporation Rosatom Sergei …

Richard Phillips For conservative hawks in the United States, a chief outcome of the First Gulf War was that it removed, once and for all, the Vietnam “syndrome” from the American psyche. Vietnam Lessons for the United States in Iraq 1. Be careful which side you choose. 2. …

By Sungur Savran So at long last, despite all the meanders and sideways and detours of history, the logic of social struggles has finally put its stamp on the politics of Turkey. The resounding defeat of Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his AKP at the polls in the 7th June general elections in …

Even though peace talks are slated to begin on June 14 in Geneva, Switzerland between the major parties involved in the current phase of the conflict over the control of Yemen the fighting rages on inside this underdeveloped Middle Eastern state. Prior to the announcement of the U.N.-sponsored …