Middle Orient

Turkey’s president is trying to sound more helpful to the West. But his broader policy objectives have not changed. On 14 June, US President Joe Biden met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Brussels. Ankara had long anticipated the meeting, as the transfer …

Iraq remains a struggling nation confronting enormous, social, economic and reconstruction challenges yet progressing in critical areas such as resettling its displaced population and preparing for national elections this fall, two ministers of the Baghdad government said. The current government, which assumed power a year ago in the wake of …

Lebanon, unlike many other countries, is actually ruled by a conglomerate of political figures and business elites and organizations. Therefore, a change in Lebanon can neither be about a single politician or party nor can it be led by one political group. In the past 15 years, there were several …

In a scene reminiscent of the uprisings that swept the Middle East 10 years ago, Palestinian protesters took to the streets over the weekend, chanting, “The people want to bring down the regime.” The recent death of activist and Palestinian Authority critic Nizar Banat while in the custody of Palestinian …

Former US defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld has died a few days back. The death-news pulls back the lie the US political leader uttered and sold forcefully around the world. That was not a petty lie. That was a devastating lie – creating a premise for an imperialist invasion of a …

MILITARY AFFAIRS: A month and a half after Guardian of the Walls, it’s back to ‘normal’ for the IDF on the Gaza border. A month and a half after Operation Guardian of the Walls, the border between Israel and Gaza is quiet but tense. The stores and roads are open …

Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kohavi’s recent decision to appoint two officers without media experience to key roles in the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit is puzzling. Imagine for a moment that the IDF chief of staff decided to appoint an officer from the Spokesperson’s Unit to serve as the commander of …

The pro-Turkish al-Hamza Division summoned the mayors of the villages and towns which they control – Ma’arat, Kazeh, Kfardali Fawqani, and Kfardali. The Division demanded the mayors to count the property of the forcibly displaced people from the aforementioned areas, to take full control over them. According to the Syrian …

Tri-Lightning one-day counter-air exercise involves friendly and adversary aircraft in active and passive defense operations; IAF commander says drill enables Israel Air Force to strengthen capabilities and enhance operational readiness British and American troops joined the Israel Air Force on Tuesday for a one-day exercise in the Negev Desert. The …

Russia’s UN ambassador said his government is still considering whether or not to veto the UN’s mandate for Syria’s last remaining aid crossing. Russia’s UN ambassador on Wednesday said a proposal to open of additional border crossings for humanitarian aid into opposition-held areas of Syria, calling the idea a “nonstarter.” …