This myth, if it is one, goes back to 1990 — and just over three decades later, it continues to form a central grievance in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s testy narrative about Moscow’s ties with the West. It’s the question of NATO expansion — an unhealed scab that, with Russian-Western …
Read More »Iran Is Already Raising the Stakes for Biden in the Middle East
Just days into the new year, Iran announced that “a couple of hours ago,” it had started enriching uranium to 20 percent—a level that experts say would put it within a six-month sprint of converting its entire nuclear stockpile to bomb-grade material. Tehran’s move Monday raises the pressure on President-elect …
Read More »How President Biden Emboldened Hamas, Islamic Jihad
Second, was the Biden administration’s offer to resume negotiations with Iran to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, enabling Iran, in a few years, to have unlimited nuclear weapons — while ignoring Iran’s continual breaches of the deal. The administration also apparently ignored Iran’s harassment of American naval vessels. In …
Read More »Germany bans Hezbollah-linked groups, conducts raids – ministry
Germany has banned three associations that are accused of donating to Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, the Interior Ministry said on Wednesday. Police conducted early morning raids at several premises in seven German states, a spokesman for the ministry said on Twitter. “Those who support terror will not be safe in …
Read More »Israel, Hamas Exchange More Rockets, Airstrikes
The 10th day of Operation Guardian of the Walls began on Wednesday with yet another volley of rockets fired by Hamas at southern Israeli towns. As of noon Wednesday, no injuries were reported. Throughout Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, Israeli fighter jets again conducted widespread air raids against military …
Read More »Poll: Biden Gets High Marks for Foreign Policy
A survey of academics shows early and overwhelming support for the U.S. president, but he will be tested by China, Russia, and national security issues. After nearly four months in office, U.S. President Joe Biden already enjoys strong public approval ratings for his handling of foreign policy. So far, international …
Read More »Perspectives | The OSCE’s Minsk Group: A unipolar artifact in a multipolar world
How did diplomacy become so irrelevant to resolving the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict? For 26 years, the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) worked fruitlessly to bring the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict to a peaceful resolution. Then, in just six weeks, the Second Karabakh War radically altered the …
Read More »US Targets Islamic State Moneymen in Turkey, Syria
The United States is taking new steps to make it more difficult for the Islamic State terror group to move money, including donations from international supporters, through Syria and Turkey. The U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions on Monday against three people and one company, all of which played key roles …
Read More »US requests evidence after Israeli airstrike destroys foreign media offices in Gaza
Israel said Hamas assets were in the building, but US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday he has yet to see evidence of this. The fallout from the Israeli airstrike that destroyed a Gaza building hosting international media outlets continued today when the top US diplomat addressed the …
Read More »Gaza violence sparks debate over conditioning US military aid to Israel
A number of progressive Democrats have called for the United States to reexamine Israel’s annual aid package. The mounting death toll from Israel’s campaign of airstrikes against militants in Gaza has thrust US military assistance to the Jewish state into the spotlight, as a small but vocal group of Democrats …
Read More »