Recent Posts

Assad and Hezbollah hunker down in Syria

The Middle East has experienced an extraordinarily tumultuous year, as the ripples from Hamas’ assault on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, continue to fuel hostilities in Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and the waters of the Gulf. The more recent intensification of conflict in Lebanon following Israel’s devastating pager and …

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Khamenei’s American reality check

As Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House, the main question in Tehran is not so much what the incoming American president will do about Iran. Rather, it is about whether Tehran should negotiate with him. Numerous Iranian officials, including former senior diplomats, are making the case that …

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Donald Trump’s Most Dangerous Cabinet Pick

Pete Hegseth considers himself to be at war with basically everybody to Trump’s left, and it is by no means clear that he means war metaphorically. For a few hours, Pete Hegseth’s nomination as secretary of defense was the most disturbing act of Donald Trump’s presidential transition. Surely the Senate …

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‘We are prepared for any turn of events’ In a televised speech, Vladimir Putin claims a hypersonic missile attack on Ukraine and warns the West of more to come — Full transcript

In a televised national address on Thursday, Vladimir Putin informed Russians and the world that he ordered a ballistic missile strike on a weapons factory in Ukraine in retaliation for U.S. and U.K. authorization (and alleged operational support) for longer-range attacks against targets inside Russia by Kyiv using American and …

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Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, November 19, 2024

Ukrainian forces have defended against Russia’s full-scale invasion for 1,000 days and continue to demonstrate incredible resilience against Russian aggression. Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022 under the incorrect assumption that Ukraine would fail to defend itself and that Russian forces would be able to seize Kyiv City and …

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