In The News

Carter Says Russian Airstrikes in Syria Didn't Target ISIS

Richard Sisk October 1, 2015
Efforts by major powers and advanced militaries to control extremism have faltered before – Russia in Afghanistan in the 1980s, the United States after the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Americans and Russians alike resent high-cost interventions that result in horrific casualty counts and demonstrate little progress. Some critics would prefer that the international onlookers choose sides and pass out...

Obama, Putin Need Steady Nerves and Stout Hearts in Syria

M.K. Bhadrakumar September 30, 2015
Conflict, extremism and a refugee crisis in the Middle East, spurred by autocratic governance and glaring inequalities, challenge the international community. Leaders of the United States, Russia, Iran and Saudi Arabia are committed to removing the scourge of Islamic State terrorists, but do not agree on a role for the Assad regime: Russia and Iran support the dictator and functioning...

We Should Have Seen This Refugee Crisis Coming

Rana Novack September 23, 2015
Conflict combined with high rates of fertility, poverty, failed governance and lack of opportunity is behind the refugee crisis in the Middle East and Africa. The world’s developed economies should have prepared, argues Rana Novack in an opinion essay for Wired. “Predictive analytics provides the ability to extract meaningful information from vast amounts of data allowing us to identify patterns...

Putin’s Plan: Moscow Handles Syria, US Looks After Iraq

Raghida Dergham September 21, 2015
Policymakers in the West had anticipated immigration to bring terrorism to their shores, but the reverse has occurred. Hundreds of thousands refugees flee homes in the Middle East and parts of Africa to escape brutal extremism and failed governance. Russian President Vladimir Putin prepares to intervene on behalf of the Assad regime in Syria while the United States assists Iraq. US President...

Border Chaos: Europe Reacts to Syrian Refugee Crisis

Chris Miller September 15, 2015
Thousands of families flee Syria, a nation devastated since 2011 civil war, a dictator’s crackdown with chemical weapons and infiltration by brutal extremists. Millions more people wait in barren refugee camps, lacking work and schools, near Syria’s borders. In just a week, more than 100,000 people fled to Europe, resisted by poor, conservative nations like Hungary and welcomed by others like...

Why Aren’t the Gulf States Taking More Syrian Refugees?

Marc Owen Jones September 11, 2015
Alarm over the Syrian refugee crisis prompts questions about why Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other wealthy Gulf states that share cultural characteristics do not do more to assist. Amnesty International reports that 3.8 million of the Syrian refugees live in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt. Analysts, criticizing Saudi funding the export of radical programs like Wahhabism, suggest that the...

Struggling Germany Urges Neighbors to Do More to Ease Refugee Crisis

Paul Carrel and Georgina Prodhan September 8, 2015
Tens of thousands of refugees flee conflict and head to Europe. Millions are displaced from fighting in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan and northern Africa and seek secure places to settle. Refugees crossing Europe’s borders encounter varying welcomes – ranging from volunteers opening homes and distributing free meals to beatings and tear gas. The issue triggers sharp political divides for...