Middle Orient

At its height half a decade ago, the Islamic State was among the most feared armed organizations in the world. The infamously brutal group had at one point captured and established governance of more than a third of Iraq and large swaths of Syria. But that shocking, sudden rise to …

Is Russia’s lucky streak in Syria and Libya finally running out? The Kremlin has gambled big on proxy warfare in both countries, deploying thousands of private military contractors with the so-called Wagner Group to back its favorite strongmen. But after a recent run of misfortunes for Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, …

While the war in Syria has receded from the international spotlight, residents in the country’s northeast are bracing for a new wave of armed conflict. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has for months threatened to launch a military invasion of the region to push back Syrian Kurdish fighters and create …

The British Labour Party leader, Keir Starmer, has come under fire from members of his own party for refusing to call for a ceasefire in the Hamas-Israel war, instead pushing for a humanitarian pause in the conflict. As a result, 50 Labour councillors have quit the party. The controversy raises …

On September 19, 2001, eight days after 9/11, as the leaders of both parties were already pounding a frenzied drumbeat of war, a diverse group of concerned Americans released a warning about the long-term consequences of a military response. Among them were veteran civil rights activists, faith leaders, and public …

White House and Pentagon officials have said they will hold Iran accountable for attacks on US bases by Iranian proxies. US troops in Iraq and Syria came under a spate of new rocket and drone attacks over the weekend, as the Pentagon sent an Ohio-class nuclear-powered submarine into the region …

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s Tehran visit came only one day after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Baghdad, amid an uptick in Iran-backed militia attacks on US bases in the region in response to Israel’s war on Hamas. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said pressure …

While the Israeli army advances rather rapidly toward Hamas headquarters in the heart of Gaza City, eliminating the group’s leadership would require more time than what Israel can afford. The Israeli army has been advancing quicker than its own commanders anticipated in encircling Gaza City and reaching Hamas headquarters, but …

Israeli ground forces were battling Hamas fighters deep inside Gaza’s largest city, Israel said Tuesday. The push signals a major new stage in the month-old conflict, and its leaders foresee controlling the enclave’s security after the war.

As the massacre of Palestinian civilians continues a widening global outrage to Israeli atrocities is growing. Commentators, mostly as asides, have wondered why the areas being bombed and attacked are called camps. The question about using the nomenclature “camps” arrived from two decidedly opposing sources. One source is a firmly …