Recent Posts

The Sterility of Sideline Politics

The Lebanese Forces have the largest Christian bloc in parliament, but you wouldn’t know that from their policy of splendid isolation. On Sunday, Sheikh Nabil Qaouq, a Hezbollah official, denounced the continued deadlock in Lebanon over electing a new president, but offered (what he considered) a sliver of good news. …

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Strategy, Politics and Ethics of the Ukrainian Counteroffensive

The Ukrainian counteroffensive of the past three months or so, starting on 4 June, has been widely discussed. In one of the most well-documented and thoughtful reviews of this counteroffensive titled ‘Bound to Lose— Ukraine’s 2023 Counteroffensive’ Prof. John J. Mearsheimer, who is R.Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political …

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Putin, Prigozhin And The Shadow Of Anastasia – OpEd

According to Mafia lore, notorious mob boss Albert Anastasia ordered the murder of informant Arnold Schuster in 1952 after watching an interview on television in which Schuster recounted how he had assisted police in identifying and capturing fugitive bank robber Willi ‘the Actor’ Sutton, a criminal unknown to Anastasia who …

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The Russian Imperial Movement in the Ukraine Wars: 2014-2023

Abstract: The Russian Imperial Movement has taken advantage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to further its revanchist goals of conquering the Donbas and “Novorossiya” while expanding its international footprint both politically and militarily. The Russian Imperial Movement gained useful combat experience through the participation of personnel from its paramilitary arm, …

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The Enduring Duel: Islamic State Khorasan’s Survival under Afghanistan’s New Rulers

Abstract: Starting around February 2023, a wave of Taliban operations against Islamic State Khorasan (ISK) led some observers to herald the Taliban’s “counterterrorism” capabilities and declare ISK a defeated, or at least irrelevant, organization. Across the Durand Line, however, in July 2023, ISK perpetrated one of its deadliest attacks since …

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