U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters on April 4 that the inspector-general of the intelligence community he fired the previous day had taken “a fake report and took it to Congress with an emergency,” lending weight to accusations that the dismissal was retaliation connected to Trump’s congressional impeachment over pressure …
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IntelBrief: The Humanitarian Impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic
Bottom Line Up Front While news headlines on COVID-19 are focused largely on its spread in the developed world, the virus has reached many countries ravaged by conflict with large populations in need of humanitarian aid. The lack of clean water, sanitary facilities, and space in many locations hosting displaced …
Read More »IntelBrief: Oil Price War Clouds COVID-19 Response
Bottom Line Up Front A Saudi effort to regain dominance over world oil production is weakening regional economic powers at a time of crisis over the COVID-19 pandemic. The dramatic drop in oil prices might render the Persian Gulf countries less able to provide funds to poorer regional governments that …
Read More »IntelBrief: The Economic Impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Bottom Line Up Front President Trump signed a $2 trillion stimulus package into law last week, designed to provide relief for an American economy that many experts suggest is heading for a recession—some even predict a depression. Overall, the bill has been credited for being more transparent than previous economic …
Read More »Lebanese Armed Forces must act against Hezbollah to retain America’s military aid
As Lebanon struggles with an economic crisis and the new coronavirus pandemic, momentum is building in Washington to curtail or end U.S. assistance to the Lebanese Armed Forces. Such a move could diminish U.S. influence and empower Russia and Iran. But the LAF is not helping its advocates to make …
Read More »League of the Revolutionaries threatens U.S. Embassy in Iraq
A new video released by the League of the Revolutionaries (LoR), a likely Iranian-backed front group, warned of a future attack against the U.S. Embassy in Iraq.
Read More »Palestinian militants praise Houthi’s offer for a prisoner exchange with Saudi Arabia
Palestinian militant groups the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) recently praised the Iranian-backed Houthis for their offer to exchange prisoners with Saudi Arabia.
Read More »Kurdish Officials, Rights Groups Concerned Coronavirus Will Spread Among IS Prisoners in Syria
As the novel coronavirus continues to spread around the world, Kurdish officials and rights groups are warning of a catastrophe if thousands of Islamic State (IS) militants held in northeast Syria become infected with the deadly virus.
Read More »Generation Jihad: Ep. 3 – AQAP Names A New Emir
Hosts Bill Roggio and Tom Joscelyn profile Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s (AQAP) new emir, Khalid Batarfi. They explain how Batarfi came to his leadership position, what’s ahead for the group’s local and global operations, and what AQAP can teach us about Al Qaeda’s larger structure and the ambitions …
Read More »Attack on Turkish soldiers spotlights Ankara’s Idlib conundrum
On March 19, Turkey’s defense ministry announced the death of two Turkish soldiers at the hands of “radical elements” in northwest Syria’s Idlib. The men were killed in a de-escalation zone that Turkey and Russia first delineated in 2018 and reaffirmed with a ceasefire deal on March 5. Hurras al-Din, …
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