Eurasia

Turkey wild card in US-Russia conflict over Syria aid

The US administration might be open to a position shift on the Syrian file to secure the flow of cross-border international aid to Syria, a prospect that may spoil Turkey’s calculations in Syria and particularly in Idlib. Although humanitarian aid to Syria was hardly a top agenda item during President …

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America’s ‘Return’ Might Not Be Enough to Revive the West

The United States is “back,” proclaims U.S. President Joe Biden, seemingly as often as he can. The coming week will show if the same is true of the West. At successive summits of the G-7, NATO and the European Union, Biden and fellow leaders will confront a dual task: reviving …

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What the ‘Restrainers’ Get Wrong About U.S. Alliances

Proponents of a U.S. grand strategy of “restraint” are perhaps most well-known for advocating the end of America’s “forever wars” and reducing the country’s military footprint in the Middle East and Afghanistan. But the so-called restrainers have also questioned the rationale for maintaining the United States’ extensive networks of alliances …

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For the U.S. and Russia, ‘Stable and Predictable’ Would Be a Good Start

When U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met last month with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, in Reykjavik, it prompted inevitable comparisons with another high-level encounter in Iceland’s capital: the famous October 1986 summit between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev that set the stage for the thawing of the Cold …

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In Central Europe, Biden Can Build on Trump’s Record

Today, the United States’ relations with Central Europe are at an inflection point. Much of the recent media coverage in the region has focused on how Washington’s influence might wane if President Joe Biden picks a fight with the governments of Hungary and Poland, whose leaders had cultivated close ties …

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Air Force announces availability of final environmental study on Ground Based Strategic Deterrent ICBM recapitalization Test Program

The Department of the Air Force announces the availability of the Final Environmental Assessment for the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent Test Program and the program’s Finding of No Significant Impact. The analysis can be found at gbsdtesteaoea.govsupport.us. The GBSD program would modernize the aging U.S. land-based intercontinental ballistic missile Minuteman …

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Meet The New Boss: Iran’s Raisi In His Own Words And Those Of Others

Hard-line cleric Ebrahim Raisi has been declared the presumptive winner of Iran’s June 18 presidential vote, which was marred by the disqualification of prominent moderates that paved the way for Raisi’s path to presidency. Concerns have been raised that Raisi’s rise to power could bring more social and political restrictions …

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US Defense Department approves replenishment of Israel’s Iron Dome system

The Secretary of Defense announced during a Thursday congressional session that the request for military assistance has been approved and the US will transfer the requested amount over to Israel. The United States has pledged to replenish and reinforce Israel’s Iron Dome system following the most recent escalation between Israel …

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Taliban Advances Test Afghan Forces’ Morale as the U.S. Leaves

Every few hours this weekend, the Taliban released videos of triumphant insurgents inspecting yet another Afghan district headquarters that had been lost in battle by government forces or surrendered without a fight. Some of these districts, a unit equivalent to American counties, are too remote or sparsely populated to warrant …

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Ousted Israel PM plotted with Saudi’s MBS to undermine Jordan king

New details have emerged about the alleged plot to overthrow Jordan’s King Abdullah, indicating that former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu played a starring role along with senior officials within the Trump administration, prominent Jordanians, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. Details of the role played by Netanyahu, who …

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