This paper assesses the risks to national and transnational security posed by foreign terrorist fighters and their families, and considers how global leadership and multilateral solutions are necessary to address them. The collapse of the Islamic State caliphate in March 2019, while a positive development overall for international security, has …
Read More »Rightsizing in the Middle East
The U.S. Military Should Pull Back but Not Pull Out Since declaring his candidacy for president, Joe Biden, like his two Oval Office predecessors, has made it clear that he wants to rebalance the United States’ military presence in the Middle East. During the 2020 campaign, Biden pledged to “end …
Read More »Turkish lira sinks further with Erdogan’s latest rate cut
Ankara’s controversial economic policy coupled with external forces portend a continuing deprecation of the Turkish lira that will only worsen inflation and other economic parameters. Turkey’s Central Bank lowered its policy rate by 100 basis points to 14% Thursday, delivering a fourth cut in as many months in line with …
Read More »Lebanon: Quo Vadis?
Forty years have passed this fall since my first travel to Lebanon and it happened ever since to return there many times and to spend more than four years in the beautiful Cedars country; I had during the time the opportunity of meeting relevant Lebanese personalities such as the late …
Read More »Blinken says US ready to move forward with sale of F-35s, drones to UAE
Speaking at a news conference in Kuala Lumpur, Blinken said Washington had to conduct some reviews. The United States is prepared to move forward with the sale of F-35 fighter jets and drones to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday, after reports …
Read More »‘Entire Muslim world’ will recognize Israel if it withdraws to 67′ line
The Saudi representative to the UN said the “entire Muslim world” will recognize Israel if it withdraws to the Green Line. The “entire Muslim world” will normalize relations with Israel once it withdraws to the ’67 boundary, Saudi Arabia’s representative to the United Nations, Abdallah Al-Mouallimi, said in an interview …
Read More »‘One wrong move’: Tehran Times reveals Iran’s targets in Israel
A “rocket alert” map displaying a list of targets Iran would strike including pins in Lebanese territory and on Palestinian cities. An Iranian newspaper published a map on Wednesday threatening Israel with missile attacks. The map shows pins representing rocket alerts for dozens of potential targets, including Lebanese territory and …
Read More »Egypt Calls for Federation in Cyprus, Rejecting Turkish-backed 2-State Solution
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on Tuesday said a solution to the dispute in ethnically divided Cyprus must follow the UN-endorsed road map for reunification of the island in a federal framework, and be based on international law rather than promoting “aggressive activities or expansionist tendencies.” His remarks, seen as …
Read More »UAE Suspends $23 Million Deal to Buy F-35s From US While US Says Committed to Sale
While the United Arab Emirates seems to really want to buy F-35 fighter jets from the United States , conditions placed by the US on the sale could lead the UAE to scrap the whole sale. The UAE on Tuesday told the US that it was suspending discussions on the …
Read More »Arab Gulf Countries Call on Iran To Make Progress in Nuclear Talks
Arab Gulf countries meeting in Saudi Arabia called on Iran to ease tension and make progress in its nuclear talks with the world powers, and Iran just may be listening. The final communique issued at the end of the 42nd Gulf Cooperation Council summit on Tuesday in Riyadh said that …
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