The fourth anniversary of the start of the battle for Raqqa, which led to the city’s liberation from the Islamic State (IS), has just passed. Raqqa was IS’ Syrian capital, and it took over four months for the liberators, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), to wrest back control of the …

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) continue to deceive their donor organizations. Supposedly, the group is providing for families living in the camps and trying to coordinate with several Western European countries to increase material support. A delegation even visited France and was scheduled to visit several other countries, including the …

Russian President Vladimir Putin did not commit to renewing a United Nations cross-border operation for aid to Syria during Wednesday’s meeting with his US counterpart Joe Biden, a senior US official has said. There was “no commitment, but we made clear that this was of significant importance for us if …

Analysts cannot offer any definitive indications about the fate of the Syrian issue after the summit between president Joe Biden, and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Reports hinted, however, at the possibility of cooperation between the two countries. Some reports described the Biden-Putin meeting as a pragmatic summit, while other …

Peace in Yemen does not mean a reversion to the status quo ante; competing external powers must determine what peace terms they can tolerate. When Saudi Arabia intervened in Yemen in the spring of 2015, Riyadh expected a decisive campaign in which its air force would blaze a path for …

US President Biden skilfully managed the summit with his Russian counterpart, and succeeded in passing on to Moscow some key messages. But that won’t make US–Russia relations more predictable. After a week of hugs and back-patting from the US’s closest allies in the G7, NATO and the EU, US President …

Last night the G7 concluded its summit in Cornwall with a commitment to tackle illicit finance and corruption. In reaction, Tom Keatinge, Director of RUSI’s Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies, said: ‘We welcome the inclusion of illicit finance in the G7 communiqué, putting corrupt actors and kleptocrats worldwide …

NATO countries must undergo a renaissance in the way they collectively develop and execute strategy. The forthcoming Alliance summit is the right venue to start. The heads of state and government of NATO countries are coming together in Brussels early next week to take the Alliance forward in the face …

The roots of the current political system: A historical view Speaking on the eve of U.S. forces’ entry into Iraq in March 2003, then-U.S. President George W. Bush said that one of the reasons for the war was to “liberate” Iraq’s people and to help them achieve a “united, stable, …

The eruption of violence between Israelis and Palestinians in May 2021 brought the Palestinian issue to the forefront of Arab affairs, albeit temporarily.[1] Against this backdrop, it is interesting to consider how terrorist groups such as the Islamic State (IS) and Al Qaeda (AQ) reacted to this latest chapter of …