In The News

Islamic State Faces a Complex Web of Militant Groups and Violence in Pakistan

Samira Shackle May 4, 2015
The Islamic State terrorists have made no secret of plans to extend their so-called caliphate across Muslim nations beyond the Middle East, and their extreme ideology is attracting supporters throughout South Asia, including Pakistan. Pakistan has plenty of militant groups, including the Taliban, Al Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Toiba and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, with acts of violence taking place every day. The...

China “Extremely Concerned” by ASEAN Statement on Disputed Sea

May 1, 2015
The Association of South East Asian Nations, 10 member states in all, expressed concern about China’s land reclamation and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, reports Reuters. ASEAN released a statement suggesting that China’s activities “"eroded trust and confidence and may undermine peace, security and stability in the South China Sea." Reuters adds, “Diplomatic sources told...

Vietnam and US Find Strategic Common Ground

Murray Hiebert April 30, 2015
North Vietnamese troops met little resistance in taking control of Saigon on April 30, 1975, after the United States rejected extending further military aid to the South Vietnamese after years of intervention. By 1979, Chinese troops invaded Vietnam from the north. All sides suffered tens of thousands of casualties in the two wars, and still, Vietnam tries to maintain good ties with the United...

An Unending Refugee Tragedy: Europe's Path to Deadly Partition

Matthias Gebauer, Horand Knaup, Peter Müller, Maximilian Popp, Jörg Schindler and Christoph Schult April 28, 2015
European leaders were ashamed after the 2013 sinking of a rickety boat with more than 500 refugees near the Italian island of Lampedusa. The EU promised measures to avoid such tragedies, but thousands still use life savings to attempt the treacherous crossing, fleeing poverty and conflict in Africa, Syria and beyond. Many refugees do not survive. The article in Spiegel Online reviews the array of...

Will the Real Iran Please Stand Up?

Robert A. Manning April 28, 2015
The nations negotiating to curb Iran’s nuclear research program are divided over strategy, including the intensity of inspections and the schedule for lifting sanctions. Iran is divided, too, explains Robert A. Manning, a senior fellow of the Brent Scowcroft Center for International Security at the Atlantic Council and its Strategic Foresight Initiative. Iranian leaders are issuing conflicting...

Rebalancing the Middle East

Emma Sky April 23, 2015
The US invasion of Iraq in 2003 empowered Iran as did the abrupt American departure in 2011. Since then the region has unraveled. Emma Sky, author and senior fellow at Yale University’s Jackson Institute, suggests that US regional policy narrowly focuses on three objectives: the defeat of the Islamic State, neutralization of other extremist groups and a nuclear agreement with Iran. Bilateral...

Words of Concern, Walls of Deterrence: Refugees Pushed Out to Sea

Aurélie Ponthieu April 20, 2015
The numbers of grossly overloaded vessels of all types, carrying desperate migrants from Syria and other conflict zones, are on the rise. More than 20,000 have died in recent years, and more than 200,000 took the dangerous trip across the Mediterranean in 2014 alone. Médecins Sans Frontières, or Doctors Without Borders, has announced it will launch search-and-rescue operations in the sea. “The...