The failed assassination attempt against Iraq’s prime minister at his residence on Sunday has ratcheted up tensions following last month’s parliamentary elections, in which the Iran-backed militias were the biggest losers. Helicopters circled in the Baghdad skies throughout the day, while troops and patrols deployed around Baghdad and near the …

At the end of the day, these seemingly intractable conflicts can’t be won with just military might, or even by diplomacy in Geneva, but only by building governance that has the legitimacy of the people. The world was stunned in mid-August when Afghan Armed Forces laid down their weapons in …

As a Turkish operation in Northern Syria against the SDF looms, the Syrian Army is getting closer to the Kurdish-led group, according to al-Watan. Informed sources within the city of Ayn Issa revealed to al-Watan that the Syrian army has strengthened its presence near Ayn Issa and the outskirts of …

With Libyan presidential elections set for late December, Saddam Haftar touched down in Tel Aviv last week for a secret meeting. Could Israeli normalization with Libya be on the horizon? Last Monday, a private jet – a French-manufactured Dassault Falcon, registration P4-RMA – took off from Dubai and landed at …

Existing and emerging democratic nations around the world—particularly the Black Sea countries bordering Russia—face expanding threats that transcend traditional forms of warfare. Authoritarian regimes such as those of the current Russian Federation and People’s Republic of China increasingly rely on creative measures short of war to undermine, stall, or outright …

Transnational organised crime (TOC) is becoming an increasingly global problem that will require international and interagency coordination, network analysis and information sharing. Drug trafficking accounts for 30 per cent of the proceeds of TOC. It also includes a wide-range of other criminal activities such as human trafficking, arms trafficking, migrant …

Major-General Hossein Salami, chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and keynote speaker in this year’s ceremonies, even claims that the US has already lost its global leadership position while a trio made of China, Russia and Iran is emerging as the new arbiter of human destiny. Not responding …

The call for a supranational army, part of a push for Europe to achieve “strategic autonomy” from the United States, is being spearheaded by French President Emmanuel Macron, who, as part of his reelection campaign, apparently hopes to replace outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel as the de facto leader of …

As Ethiopia’s civil war continues to drag on, Tigrayan rebels are advancing toward the capital, leading the government in Addis Ababa to declare a state of emergency, currently slated for six months. The Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has apparently joined forces with another rebel group, the Oromo Liberation Army …

In its latest spat with yet another country in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia recently recalled its ambassador to Lebanon and banned Lebanese imports. At times, Lebanon has been caught in the middle of the regional competition between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin …