Yearly Archives: 2019

Unraveling the Rawi Terrorist Financing Network

Bottom Line Up Front: The U.S. Treasury Department recently imposed sanctions on the Rawi terrorist financing network, which helped move funds for the so-called Islamic State. The network was truly global in nature; headquartered in Iraq, it had connections that spanned the Middle East, Africa, and Europe.

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Senior U.N. official meets Taliban negotiators in Qatar

The United Nations’ top official in Afghanistan met the Taiban’s chief negotiator in Qatar on Thursday, the movement’s chief spokesman said, as moves continue to try to start full peace negotiations to end more than 17 years of war.

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$360 Million U.S. Lawsuit Against Iran And Syria For Funding Hamas Killers In Israel

“When I shot the woman,” Yahya Haj Hamed told investigators, “I saw there were three or four children in the car, but I didn’t fire in their direction. We got back into our car and drove off.” Yahya, a member of a Hamas terror cell, had already “fired in the …

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ISIS’s Newest Recruiting Tool: Regional Languages

When ISIS claimed responsibility for the coordinated bombings in Sri Lanka that killed more than 350 people, it did so, as one would expect, in Arabic and English. But it also issued statements in other languages—including Tamil.

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Iran Oil Waivers Ended

Bottom Line Up Front: The Trump administration ended a key waiver on Iran oil sanctions as part of an effort to apply maximum pressure on Iran’s economy and its regime. The end of the waiver program will reduce Iran’s oil exports further but is unlikely to bring them to a …

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“Two Hadramawts” emerge in a fractured Yemen

Yemen’s strategic and oil-rich eastern governorate of Hadramawt stands at a critical turning point, as feuds between competing political and military groups are coming to a head. Forces supporting the internationally recognized government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi have gained prominence in the north of the region (Sayoun and …

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The Syrian Civil War: A New Stage, but Is It the Final One?

Eight years on, the Syrian civil war is finally winding down. The government of Bashar al-Assad has largely won, but the cost has been steep. The economy is shattered, there are more than 5 million Syrian refugees abroad, and the government lacks the resources to rebuild. Any chance that the …

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Joe Biden Officially Announces 2020 Presidential Run

After months of oscillating speculation, followed by a long ramp up that drew out uncomfortable reassessments of his long public career, former Vice President Joe Biden has announced that he will run for president in 2020.

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