As Russian President Vladimir Putin confronts a series of humiliating battlefield setbacks since his February 24 invasion of Ukraine, and amid an increased flow of Western arms into the country, the risk of escalation remains all too real. So we asked some of our top experts to answer three burning …
Read More »FAST THINKING: Why Finland and Sweden are feeling secure about NATO membership
It’s (almost) official. With Finland’s president and prime minister officially backing their country’s membership in NATO on Thursday—and Sweden expected to do the same shortly—the path now seems clear for both countries to formally apply for membership in the Alliance. How did they arrive so quickly at this juncture? And …
Read More »Russia Crisis Military Assessment: How Ukraine is taking the fight to Russian soil
The bottom line While Russia has made slight progress in the Donbas, the line of control has hardly budged and the Kremlin’s campaign has largely stalled.The Ukrainian counteroffensive near Kharkiv remains strong, with Russian forces being pushed back toward the Russian border.Russia continues to assault the Azovstal steel plant in …
Read More »Europe’s role in Gulf maritime security
In February 2022, the Council of the European Union (E.U.) gathered in Brussels to discuss the extension of the Coordinated Maritime Presence (CMP) concept to the North-Western Indian Ocean. First piloted in the Gulf of Guinea at the beginning of 2021, the CMP is a flexible tool to enhance maritime …
Read More »Islamic State claims attack near Suez Canal
On May 7, a group of militants attacked a water pumping station east of the Suez Canal, leaving one officer and 10 troops dead, while five others were injured in the clashes that subsequently erupted, according to Egyptian military spokesperson Gharib Abdel Hafez. On May 8, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah …
Read More »US eases sanctions on investment in Kurdish, Turkish areas of Syria
The United States has formally lifted sanctions on foreign investments in non-regime held areas of northern Syria, a long expected move that was held up by Treasury Department red tape as reported earlier by Al-Monitor. The Treasury Department posted the authorization on its website, which allows activities in 12 different …
Read More »Funeral of Shireen Abu Akleh stormed by Israeli police
Videos showing Israeli police officers beating and kicking mourners at the funeral of Shireen Abu Akleh in Jerusalem have gone viral. Palestinian television icon Shireen Abu Akleh was laid to rest in the Melkite Catholic Cemetery in Jerusalem’s old city Friday afternoon after an unprecedented attack by Israeli police at …
Read More »Erdogan opposes Finland, Sweden joining NATO
Just as the commentariat was hailing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Westward pivot, he announced today that Finland and Sweden’s bid to join NATO was not such a great idea.
Read More »Sweden Repatriates Five ISIS Family Members, Norwegian Council Suspends Activities In al-Hol Camp
The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) handed over to a Swedish Foreign Ministry delegation five members of ISIS families in camps in northeast Syria, an official in the AANES said on Wednesday. Abdukarim Omar, the co-chair of the Department of Foreign Relations in the AANES, posted in …
Read More »Idleb: 15 Syrian Regime Fighters Killed by Anti-armor Missile
On Tuesday, at least 15 regime members were killed and others were wounded in a rocket-propelled missile, which targeted the al-Malaga front in the southwestern countryside of Idleb. The official Amjad al-Diraa media organization announced to the Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) that the operations room of the al-Fath al-Mubeen targeted a …
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