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Terrorism & Extremism

Dollar index hits 13-month high on hawkish Fed, shaky Middle East outlook

Euro/dollar falls to lowest level since March 16, sterling also weakens against greenback The dollar index climbed to a 13-month high on Friday, supported by hawkish messages from the US Federal Reserve and renewed uncertainty over efforts to end the conflict in the Middle East. The index rose …

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From War to Containment: Has the Middle East Entered the Post-Escalation Era?

Dr. Shehab Makahleh Amid the conflicting celebrations that followed the ceasefire between the United States and Iran, an unusual political picture has emerged across the Middle East. Israel speaks of a political setback, Iran speaks of a strategic victory, and Washington appears determined to market an agreement that …

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The Politics of Energy Transition: How Gulf States are Preparing for a Post-Hydrocarbon Future

Khizar Hayat “My grandfather rode a camel, my father rode a camel, I ride a Mercedes, my son rides a Land Rover, and my grandson is going to ride a Land Rover…but my great-grandson is going to have to ride a camel again.” Sheikh Rashid, the late ruler …

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A Syrian Incursion into Lebanon Would Be Washington’s Biggest Mistake

At a moment when Hezbollah faces one of the most severe crises in its history, Washington risks handing the group the very lifeline it desperately needs. Recent comments by President Donald Trump suggesting that Syria could play a role in facilitating more precise operations against Hezbollah have revived …

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23rd IISS Shangri-La Dialogue: Can Southeast Asia still be a Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality?

M. Faizal Abdul Rahman Contrast the speeches of the U.S. Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, and the Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Dr Kao Kim Hourn, at the 23rd IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on 30 May 2026. It raises the question of whether …

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Al-Makahleh: Ceasefires Are Not Peace: Why the Middle East Is Stuck in a State of No War, No Peace

Dr. Shehab Al-Makahleh The headlines trumpet ceasefires in Gaza, Lebanon, and along Israel’s northern front with Iran’s proxies. Politicians breathe sighs of relief. News anchors speak of de‑escalation. But let us be brutally honest: this is not the end of war. This is the suspension of war. Across …

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Reverse Engineering Jihad: How Syria Became a Laboratory for the Political Rehabilitation of Ahmed al-Sharaa

Lama Al-Rakad The image was striking. In Washington, the leader of Syria’s transitional government, Ahmed al-Sharaa, was welcomed as a legitimate political actor after years in which he and his organization were synonymous with jihadist militancy. Whether viewed as diplomatic necessity or geopolitical pragmatism, the transformation raises one …

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Why Syria is a strategic option in supply chains

Syria’s geography, through a network of international roads and land and sea crossings with connection distances of no more than 500 kilometers, condenses the equations of cost and time in favor of supply and logistics chains between Asia and Europe. This short land corridor directly links Mediterranean ports …

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Can Iran Be Defeated?

The overwhelming military, intelligence, and technological superiority possessed by the United States and Israel in their war against Iran has led many cheerleaders for Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu to assume that crushing Iran is merely a matter of operational sequencing. Yet such assumptions ignore a range of …

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