In The News

Saudi Arabia and Terrorism Today

Daniel L. Byman October 7, 2016
US Congress overturned President Barack Obama’s veto of a bill that allows the families of 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia. Daniel L. Byman, a researcher at the Brookings Institution, provides historical background on Saudi Arabia’s complicated relationship to terrorism. He describes Saudi Arabia as a “vital counterterrorism partner” that has made progress in fighting terrorism and notes that...

Congress Overrides Obama on Bill Allowing 9/11 Lawsuits Against Saudi Arabia

Joe Gould September 30, 2016
US Congress defied some of the nation's top military commanders by overriding President Barack Obama’s veto of a law allowing those who lost family members in the 9/11 attacks to sue Saudi Arabia in US courts. The country is a key US ally in the Middle East, but most of the 19 attackers who used commercial jets to attack New York and Washington in 2001 were Saudi citizens. Analysts have long...

US to Russia: Stop Aleppo Assault or Syria Talks End

September 30, 2016
Horrific scenes from Aleppo are released to the world daily – streets empty except for rubble, wounded children, and dire shortages of food, water and other basic supplies. The United States, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and other countries have taken sides in the civil war that has raged since 2011. Ceasefires do not hold, and the power vacuum has opened space for multiple terrorist groups...

Even Peace May Not Save Syria

Robin Wright September 20, 2016
Russia and the US had tried for a ceasefire, starting September 12, that lasted a week. Fighting has resumed after the United States mistakenly fired on Syrian troops and then accused Syrian troops of firing on an aid convoy. Russia and Syria each denied striking the convoy. The UN has suspended aid deliveries and a consensus has emerged among experts that Syria may never be a united country...

Yemen: The War Canada Can’t Afford to Ignore

Elizabeth Renzetti August 29, 2016
Yemen, a country of 25 million, has become a focal point for a proxy war between rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia. Elizabeth Renzetti, in her Globe and Mail column, urges countries to reconsider supplying arms used in a brutal conflict resulting in thousands of civilian casualties. The median age in Yemen is under 19. A ceasefire ended in August, and Médecins Sans Frontières and many journalists are...

How the Refugee Crisis Became Invisible

Yiannis Baboulias August 26, 2016
Problems that go unresolved for months on end become the new normal, and the media spotlight can fade. Refugees continue to flee fighting and violence in Syria and other countries. Total numbers may be down, with Turkey stemming migrant flows, but infrastructure is strained. Refugees are in limbo – stuck in temporary camps not intended for years on end. “Inside the camps, reports of overcrowding...

Syria Jarablus: Turkish Tanks Roll Into Northern Syria

Pinar Sevinclidir August 24, 2016
A dozen Turkish tanks and other vehicles have entered the Syrian town of Jarablus, a few kilometers from the border. “President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the operation was aimed against both IS and Kurdish fighters,” reports BBC News. “Turkey shelled Syrian Kurdish forces in the region this week, determined not to let them fill the vacuum if [the Islamic State] leaves.” The five-year war is...