In The News

Putin Is No Ally Against ISIS

George Soros February 12, 2016
Russia’s indiscriminate bombing of population centers in Syria by Russia may temporarily save the Assad regime, but is threatening the region and Europe, too, argues George Soros, financier and philanthropist, in an essay for Project Syndicate. “There is no reason to believe [Russian President Vladimir Putin] intervened in Syria in order to aggravate the European refugee crisis," he writes...

Russia’s Syrian Intervention Gives the West a Chance to Re-Engage Turkey

Marc Grossman February 11, 2016
The bilateral relationship between Russia and Turkey shifted from strategic partnership to wariness in the course of a year as civil war in Syria intensified. The West has extended limited support to the rebels, including Kurds, while targeting the Islamic State terrorists. Turkey, bordering Syria, has sheltered 2 million refugees, but also targeted Kurdish troops who have been effective in...

Tears and Destruction Amid Turkey PKK Crackdown

Mark Lowen January 27, 2016
Parts of Turkey’s southeast region, near the country’s border with Syria and Iraq, has transformed into a war zone. For Turkey, the fight is internal, not against Islamic State extremists, but a Kurdish minority group. “The heart of the battle is Diyarbakir, where the Sur neighbourhood has been under curfew for weeks, as Turkish police and military flush out rebel fighters from the PKK – the...

Opening a New Front Against ISIS in Libya

January 26, 2016
The Pentagon is gathering intelligence in Libya, preparing to target Islamic State holds with allies France, Great Britain and Italy. “That is deeply troubling,” argues the editorial board of the New York Times. “A new military intervention in Libya would represent a significant progression of a war that could easily spread to other countries on the continent.” The terrorist group is estimated to...

Abe and Blair: Political Apologies, East and West

Joji Sakurai January 26, 2016
Globalized communications ensure that national wrongdoings do not go forgotten. Official apologies for past wrongs are strategic affairs, crafted for public scrutiny. Journalist Joji Sakurai explores the cultural nuances of recent public apologies by Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s for sex slavery involving Korean women associated with World War II and by former British Prime Minister Tony...

Charsadda Attack: It Is Time to Ask Pakistan Army Some Hard Questions

Umer Ali January 20, 2016
Militants stormed Bacha Khan University in northwestern Pakistan, killing at least 20 and injuring 60. A Pakistan Taliban official quickly claimed and then withdrew responsibility. The attack comes just after a year after 134 were killed at a school in nearby Peshawar. Pakistan endures repeated attacks on schools as symbols of progress and idea centers. Pakistan must confront the extremism in its...

Iran Nuclear Deal Fuels Tension With Saudi Arabia Inflaming New Conflicts

Mohammed Ayoob January 19, 2016
Iran has moved swiftly in implementing terms of an international nuclear deal, and the nation's rising stock in the international community has alarmed rival Saudi Arabia. “As the economy falters, the Saudi regime seems to take aggressive stances in the foreign-policy arena in order to impress its domestic constituency, relying on sectarian rhetoric to justify policies and expenditures,”...