In The News

Washington Post: South Korea Wants More Firepower

Anna Fifield July 31, 2017
South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in, campaigning for office, had favored diplomacy over military force in handling the impoverished nation to the north. Two intercontinental ballistic missile tests by North Korea during July have forced Moon to shift his stance. “If the ICBM had been launched on a normal trajectory, the missile could theoretically have reached Chicago and perhaps even New York,...

New Statesman: Mosul Has Fallen, But Islamic State Is Far From Defeated

Shiraz Maher July 20, 2017
The Islamic State held Mosul for only a short period, entering in July 2014. Waging battle since October 2016, a coalition of troops has resumed control of what was once Iraq’s second largest city. “Yet the battleground defeats by the Iraqi army and the US-led Western coalition (which includes the UK, Germany and France), as well as Kurdish forces, have done little to dent the triumphalism of the...

The Washington Post: Ukrainian Separatists Claim to Create New Country

Adam Taylor July 19, 2017
One group of separatists announced that eastern Ukraine is a new country, one that will be close with Russia. A map displayed during the announcement described all of Ukraine, except Crimea, as Malorossiya, or Little Russia. “The move seems to undermine the faltering Minsk peace agreement, a 2015 deal reached between Russian-backed rebels and the government in Kiev that sought to end the violence...

Stars and Stripes: Mattis Rejects Mission Creep in Syria as New Chemical Weapons Threat Alleged

Tara Copp June 27, 2017
The Pentagon has reported “active handling of chemical weapons” at a Syrian airbase, where chemical weapons were launched in April, and the White House warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would “pay a very heavy price” if the weapons were used. The US ambassador to the United Nations added “The goal at this point not just to send Assad a message, but to send Russia and Iran a message."...

Reconstruction of Chinese History for a Peaceful Rise

Suisheng Zhao June 13, 2017
China is rising and its leaders vow this rise will be peaceful. A shared history can be a motivating force, binding citizens together. “Some leaders, though, selectively use historical memories to serve political and strategic objectives,” explains Suisheng Zhao, professor and director of the Center for China-US Cooperation at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver...

Haaretz: ISIS Assault on Tehran May Lead to Surprising Alliances in the Middle East

Zvi Bar'el June 8, 2017
Islamic State terrorists struck the Iranian parliament and Khomeini shrine in Tehran, leaving 17 dead. Throughout the region and stretching into Afghanistan and beyond, the terrorist group has targeted Shias, moderate Muslims and anyone that does not agree with their extremist goals. Conspiracy theories abound, and war in Syria has fueled extremism, attracting jihadist fighters from around the...

Al-Ahram Weekly: Failure in Geneva

Bassel Oudat June 4, 2017
The Syrian opposition and Assad regime attended a sixth round of talks in Geneva to end the civil war, just before Donald Trump’s trip to the Middle East. Little progress was reported, and there is a sense that the talks in Geneva compete with Russian-led talks in Astana to end the war. UN envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura proposed “formation of a precarious human rights and constitutional...