mircea

U.S. Sanctions on Syria: What Comes Next?

Sanctions on Syria aim to protect Syrian civilians from the regime but may end up hurting them instead. Washington should further clarify humanitarian exemptions, specify benchmarks related to civilian protection and offer temporary easing of sanctions as long as these are met.

Read More »

Mosques, Museums and Politics: The Fate of Hagia Sophia

When the caustic Evelyn Waugh visited the majestic sixth century creation of Emperor Justinian, one subsequently enlarged, enriched and encrusted by various rulers, he felt underwhelmed. “‘Agia’ will always win the day for one,” he wrote of Istanbul’s holiest of holies, Hagia Sophia, in 1930. “A more recondite snobbism is …

Read More »

France abandons Haftar, attacks Wagner

After having been one of the European countries to provide the greatest diplomatic and logistic support, and remaining silent regarding the thousands of deaths and massacres committed by its troops, France has finally abandoned General Khalifa Haftar. But isn’t it too late? And why now? French President Emmanuel Macron, who …

Read More »

Bin Salman orders former Crown Prince to repay ‘stolen’ money

The former Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Muhammad Bin Nayef, has been ordered to repay $15 billion by an anti-corruption committee set up by his rival successor and de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad Bin Salman. The current Crown Prince, who took over when his father King Salman deposed …

Read More »

Politicizing Intelligence is Harmful to the United States

The White House has labeled multiple reports of Russian bounties on U.S. troops as ‘fake news,’ the Trump administration’s standard response for any reporting that reveals the President’s obsequiousness toward Vladimir Putin.

Read More »