Terrorism
Sanctions and related policies
New sanctions ordered following Iran’s April 13 missile and drone attacks against Israel
Following Iran’s massive, but ineffective, missile and drone strikes against Israel April 13, the United States and the United Kingdom announced their new sanctions...
Democracy & Human Rights
G7 Italy 2024 Foreign Ministers’ Statement on Addressing Global Challenges, Fostering Partnerships
The text of the following statement was released by the G7 foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the...
Sanctions and related policies
U.S. zeroes in on Houthi revenue sources
The U.S. Government made several announcements this month regarding new sanctions on Houthi revenue sources, building on steps taken in coordination with the U.K....
Terrorism
Washington strongly condemns Houthi attacks on shipping
The U.S. State Department issued a strongly worded condemnation of Houthi attacks on international shipping on February 21st, equating many Houthi attacks with piracy.Washington...
United Nations
UNRWA blasted for allegations that staffers supported Hamas
The United Nations agency that manages support for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said on January 26 that it is starting an investigation into several employees...
Terrorism
US designates Yemen’s Houthis as terrorist organization
The Biden administration announced on January 17 that it is re-designating the Houthis, an Iranian-backed, Yemeni Shia Islamist group, as a terrorist organization. The...
Democracy & Human Rights
For Turkey, the Kurds are always considered terrorists
“Hamas is a reality for Palestine. It is a political party … it entered the elections as a political party and won,” said Turkey’s...
Economy & Business
US slaps new separate sanctions on Iran, Russia and Hamas
On October 18, the US Department of State announced new separate sanctions packages against Iran and Hamas; they are not directly connected. A number...
Africa
Private military companies continue to expand in Africa
In the wake of the July 26 coup in Niger, the world’s spotlight has once again turned to the expansion of private military and...
Afghanistan
The global impact two years after the Taliban’s takeover
Two years ago, the world saw the return of a repressive Taliban regime. The rapid fall of the Afghan government sent shockwaves throughout neighbouring...
Iran
Iran’s ruling mullahs have demanded that European governments crackdown on opposition groups
As European and Iranian officials actively work to reduce tensions, some diplomatic sources privately say that Tehran has demanded from France that it silence...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
Belgium’s prisoner swap with Iran proves the EU is unwilling to punish state sponsors of terror
An Iranian terrorist, Asadollah Assadi, is heading home from Belgium just two years into a 20-year sentence. He is the beneficiary of the Islamic...
Albania
Conflict in Ukraine and Kosovo are connected
Vladimir Putin claims that protecting ethnic Russians justifies military action against Ukraine. Putin’s concern for Ukraine’s Russian minority is bombastic. His greater global goal...
Archive
Why Biden shouldn’t use the ‘Summit for Democracy’ to start more Cold Wars
On December 9 and 10, President Biden will host a virtual “Summit for Democracy.” The gathering will bring together leaders from 110 countries who...
Archive
The EU and the hijab
Given my relentless, savage, repetitive and – if I may say so – eminently fair criticism of the European Union, I could easily forgive...
Analysis
New political patterns in the South Caucasus
Developments in the South Caucasus continue to race ahead of Europe’s understanding of them. By the time an event has been noticed, recognized, digested,...
Archive
A dash of UK Hubris: Containing China
Hubris is a fickle emotion. Too much of it can be deadly, while too little of it can be crushing. A country with a...
Afghanistan
In US foreign policy, realists are finally on the rise
During the autumn of 2020, the United States lost one of its most brilliant, incisive, yet unheralded thinkers in Sherle R. Schwenninger.One of Schwenninger’s...
Analysis
The need for trilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific
A coercive China and a nuclear North Korea are peripherally affecting the U.S.’ security interests in the Indo-Pacific. With increasingly well-developed power derived from...
Analysis
Defense pacts and energy in the Eastern Mediterranean
The Greeks have finally come to the realization that despite a period of relative calmness Turkey is not about to abandon its assertive behavior...
Afghanistan
Why the Taliban’s promise to stop the opium trade rings hollow
One of the first announcements the Taliban made after seizing power in Afghanistan in August was that they were going to “ban the production and sale...
Afghanistan
Why the fall of Afghanistan sllows Iran to expand its influence
Since 2020, the United States has been working to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan. The Americans' announcement emboldened the Taliban, who recently took control...
Afghanistan
With the AUKUS pact, the US has opted to snub some of its European partners
In the nearly nine months since he took office, it has become apparent that the US and European Union will not immediately experience a...
Afghanistan
Will Central Asia serve as Europe’s bridge to Afghanistan?
Just over one month on from the fall of Kabul, Europe is still grasping for answers to the question of how to engage in...
Afghanistan
On 9/11, it’s time for a reckoning and reflection of decades of failed US national security policy
A reckoning with America’s failed national security policy is long overdue.Our calamitous misadventures in the Middle East and the global financial collapse of 2008...
Afghanistan
What next after 20 years of war in Afghanistan? Anatol Lieven on the U.S.’ legacy and the Taliban’s rise
On August 30, 2021, a C-17 transport plane took off from Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, signaling the end of America’s longest war....
Afghanistan
Europe willingly forfeited a leadership role in Afghanistan
If Winston Churchill were alive today, I imagine he might have said something like “Never in the history of human conflict have so few...
Analysis
Zero tolerance for hate teaching is not negotiable
The June 2021 publication of an overdue review of Palestinian textbooks by Germany’s Georg Eckert Institute (GEI) was meant to bring peace of mind...
Afghanistan
Afghanistan 2021: An extremist ‘stammtisch’
Everybody has a favorite bar or coffee house. A place you can go to seek solace or connect with old friends. In some cases,...
Analysis
Under Ebrahim Raisi, Iran’s LGBTQ community fears the worst
The recent election of Ebrahim Raisi as President of the Islamic Republic of Iran has sent shockwaves through the country's LGBTQ community, with many...
Analysis
Are Turkish investors falling for Hamas’ games?
Recent reports have revealed the extent of investments and assets controlled by Hamas, the Palestinian terror group, within Turkey.
Hamas has long maintained a strong...
Afghanistan
How Erdogan will “manage” the Afghan refugee crisis
Images of Afghan refugees scrambling to escape Kabul following the Taliban’s seizure of power will haunt the international community for decades. According to the...
Afghanistan
Russia and China poised to gain influence in Afghanistan
Amidst the chaotic scenes that ushered in the Taliban’s take over of the Afghan capital Kabul, coupled with the West's harried exodus from the...
Afghanistan
The legacy of failure in Afghanistan starts in 1979, not 2001
A decade ago, John Lamberton Harper, a professor of US Foreign Policy and European Studies at Johns Hopkins in Bologna, Italy published an indispensable...
Analysis
How the Austrians and their Chancellor charmed the Arabs
In late July, the Austrian capital of Vienna hosted a special guest. It was none other than the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. The...
Afghanistan
Afghanistan and the Great Powers
Can Afghanistan's never-ending internal conflict be resolved by the efforts of great and regional powers that have numerous conflicting strategic and global goals? Is...
Afghanistan
France has a generals problem: Why there’s a fray in civilian-military relations
The sensitive question of civilian control of the armed forces is one which Western democracies like the United States and France must continue to...
Analysis
If Europe is serious about fighting antisemitism, it must skip Durban 20
Countries are lining up to declare they will not attend the20th anniversary of the UN’s notorious 2001 World Conference Against Racism, held in Durban,...
Afghanistan
Making sense of the Italy-UAE rift
Earlier this month the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ordered the withdrawal of all Italian aircraft and personnel from its Al Minhad Air Force Base...
Afghanistan
A broken migration system
Turkey and Greece are both transit countries for migrants on their way to Germany and wealthy destinations in northern Europe. Migrants are resilient. Many...
Afghanistan
Tribal truths: The wounds of the US’ Afghanistan exit
As a land heavily influenced by tribal practices, an Afghan proverb stating, “The wound of the sword will heal, but not that of the...
Archive
Open letter to European leaders on Iranian elections
Dear Josep Borrell, Boris Johnson, Emmanuel Macron, Angela Merkel:On Friday, June 18th, the Islamic Republic of Iran held its thirteenth presidential election since the...
Analysis
Europe must double down on fighting antisemitism
Whenever Israel exercises its right to defend itself against terror, count on a wave of violent antisemitism to sweep across the West. Last month,...
Archive
No discounts on the EU’s fundamental values
Alexander Schallenberg has been Austria's Federal Minister for European and International Affairs in the second Sebastian Kurz government since January 2020. He previously served...
Archive
Ode to the Cold War: Geopolitics is more complicated than ever
“Christ, I miss the Cold War,” hisses Judi Dench while playing the role of 'M' in the 2006 James Bond reboot, Casino Royale. Well,...
Afghanistan
In Afghanistan the Allies invested in the US’ security
After nearly twenty years of engagement in Afghanistan, the United States has now set in motion the process of pulling out all its forces...
Ireland
The Trying Game: Why extreme caution is needed in Northern Ireland
I doubt that any of those who predicted resurgent violence in Northern Ireland is taking pleasure in being proved exactly correct as riots, fighting,...
Analysis
Erdogan starts a political earthquake in Turkey
Significant developments are underway in Turkey. Most ominously, the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) has moved...
Archive
Turkish government moves to shut down liberal pro-Kurdish party
Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) plans to shut down the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), the party's spokesperson said on Tuesday, state-owned...
Archive
Turkey launches investigation into Dutch politician Wilders over Erdogan comments
Turkish prosecutors have launched an investigation into remarks by Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders about Recep Tayyip Erdogan, local media reported on Tuesday. The investigation...
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