Terrorism
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
What chance for peace in Sudan?
The conflict in Sudan has raged for two years, causing immense human suffering, regional instability, arms proliferation and massive displacement of the population. South...
Sanctions and related policies
Swedish Foxtrot criminal network in Washington’s sanctions crosshairs
The U.S. Treasury is targeting the “Foxtrot Network,” which is one of the most notorious criminal gangs based in Sweden and has conducted shootings,...
Yemen
Washington targets Houthi leaders for terrorism, Russia ties and weapons procurement
Under U.S. President Donald Trump, there is no ambivalence in Washington regarding the Houthis. Handling all of the statutory requirements required to press the...
Sanctions and related policies
Trump administration unleashes first sanctions on Iranian shadow fleet
On February 6, the Department of the Treasury unleashed the first wave of the new Trump administration’s economic sanctions using the tried-and-true U.S. Government/Treasury...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
The New Face of an Old Enemy: The renewed dangers of ISIS and al-Qaeda
A dangerous cocktail of indifference and complacency enabled al-Qaeda to evolve from a shadowy fringe network in the early 1990s into one of the...
Terrorism
Washington targets Syrian conglomerate funding Iran and Houthis
On November 14 the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned 26 companies, individuals, and vessels associated with the...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
How French Neocolonialism converges with Iranian terrorism
France raised one billion euros "for the people of Lebanon," with a declared goal “to provide humanitarian aid." French President Emmanuel Macron even made...
Terrorism
Washington orders new sanctions against Hamas’ sham fundraising network
Going after key elements of the Hamas European fundraising network on the anniversary of the Gaza war, on October 7 the U.S. Treasury Department’s...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
Strategic Partnership or Strategic Risk? France’s Deepening Ties with Qatar
It has recently marked the half-year anniversary since France and Qatar announced a strategic partnership that will see the emirate invest €10 billion into...
United Nations
UN forced to admit Hamas operatives infiltrated UNRWA staff
The United Nations acknowledged on August 5 that nine staff members of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNWRA) may...
Sanctions and related policies
U.S. Targets ISIS Facilitation Network across Africa
On July 23, the U.S. Government announced new sanctions against a network of three individuals associated with the expanded activities of the Islamic State...
Europe & Eurasia
EU-Central Asia discuss security challenges, joint cooperation
The European Union and the five Central Asian Deputy Foreign Ministers discussed common security challenges and joint cooperation to deepen ties between the two...
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,...
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