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The U.S. Sanctions Toolkit Can No Longer Hold Off Global Challengers

n Christmas Eve in 2002, I was suddenly dispatched from my base in Tokyo, where I was the New York Times bureau chief at the time, to Seoul, the capital of South Korea, to cover reports that North Korea was about to reactivate a nuclear reactor that had previously been …

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What happened to the Turkish lira? – Güven Sak

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is still insisting on false economic premises, including a theory that higher interest rates cause inflation; a policy stance that has led to sharp losses for the lira, said Güven Sak, a former member of the Monetary Policy Council of the Central Bank of Turkey. …

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The Less Said About NATO and Ukraine, the Better

Neither Membership nor Neutrality Is the Answer With Russia massing troops on Ukraine’s border and demanding an end to NATO enlargement, a heated international debate has broken out over whether limits on future membership in the alliance might resolve the crisis and avert war. Some have argued that it is …

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Iran’s Hollow Victory

The High Price of Regional Dominance Few countries have maintained clearer or more consistent aspirations over the last four decades than the Islamic Republic of Iran. Since 1979, when Islamic revolutionaries transformed the country from an U.S.-allied monarchy into an ardently anti-American theocracy, Iran has sought to expel the United …

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Kataib Hezbollah movements in Iraq and abroad spark concern

Hints of a greater presence of an IRGC-linked Iraqi armed faction with government-salaried brigades in a Sunni tribal-dominant province has sparked outcry, as the group continues to raise money for operations in other countries. The Iraqi armed faction Kataib Hezbollah (KH) has in recent weeks stepped up messaging and attacks …

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Iranian commander lobbies Iraq’s Muqtada al-Sadr for ‘inclusive’ approach to Shiite parties

Iranian Quds Force commander Esmail Ghaani is seeking to maintain unity among the Shiite political ranks before the formation of the new government, including a role for parties affiliated with Iran. The official website of Muqtada al-Sadr, leader of the Sadrist movement in Iraq, published Feb. 8 a brief statement …

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Ethiopia’s accusations against Egypt, Sudan dispel hopes for Renaissance Dam crisis

Egypt considers recent statements made by Ethiopian officials a setback for Nile Dam talks. The positive signals exchanged between Egypt and Ethiopia in January did not help to overcome the two countries’ existing differences let alone move toward resuming the stalled negotiations on the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). …

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Controversy among jihadis in Idlib over killing of Islamic State leader

Jihadis in Idlib believe that former al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham played a role in the killing of Islamic State leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi during a US Special Forces operation in Idlib. The Feb. 3 US Special Forces operation that led to the death of Islamic State (IS) leader …

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Israeli leadership caught between US, Russia over Ukraine

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid walk a fine line to avoid angering Russian President Vladimir Putin while not turning their backs on the United States and Ukraine. Foreign Minister Yair Lapid’s briefing to reporters Feb. 13 about escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine can best be …

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