In The News

Iran Unveils Western Art Largely Unseen Since 1979

Kia Makarechi November 26, 2015
An exhibition at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art features works by some of the great names in modern art. The works were acquired by Farah Diba Pahlavi, whose husband was deposed as Iran’s leader in the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Works by Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollock serve as context for a collection by Farideh Lashai, an Iranian artist who died in 2013, explains Kia Makarechi for Vanity...

Why Would Turkey Shoot Down a Russian Plane?

Greg Myre November 25, 2015
Turkey warned and then shot down a Russian fighter plane over its territory, and Russia has announced plans to send anti-aircraft missiles to the region. Both nations are intervening in the Syrian civil war, an escalating conflict that has dislocated millions. Russia supports the Assad regime; Turkey, a NATO member, opposes the dictator. The “episode illustrates why it's so hard to get all...

ISIS Wives and Enforcers in Syria Recount Collaboration, Anguish and Escape

Azadeh Moaveni November 24, 2015
When terrorists storm a town and take control, some occupants resist, others collaborate, and most inevitably try to flee. Three young women describe life in Raqqa – a Syrian city of 220,000 – under the control of the Islamic State since early 2014. The three once wore casual clothes, worked or attended school, dated as they pleased and led independent lives, reports Azadeh Moaveni for the New...

There Is Only One Way to Defeat ISIS

Charles P. Pierce November 20, 2015
High-cost military equipment like fighter jets or missile defense shields won’t stop coordinated terrorist attacks like those in Paris against youth enjoying city life on a Friday night. Intrusive surveillance won’t prevent brothers, roommates or loners contemplating suicide and plotting murder, argues Charles Pierce for Esquire: “Abandoning the Enlightenment values that produced democracy will...

Air War May Be Satisfying, But Won’t Defeat ISIS

Mohammed Ayoob November 19, 2015
Air strikes pounding strips of territory in Iraq and Syria controlled by the Islamic State won’t destroy the ideology and can inflict civilian casualties. Analysts concur that ground troops are needed to deliver precise attacks. Public opinion in the United States and the European Union won’t permit use of their ground troops, and such force would only reinforce extremist claims about the West...

Not Just Paris: Why Is Beirut's Brutal Terrorist Attack Ignored?

Anna Lekas Miller November 16, 2015
Every act of terrorism is an act against humanity. Anna Lekas Miller questions decisions by news and social media and the global audience to rally in support of France, after attacks killed more than 120 and injured more than 300, yet regard a Beirut attack, killing more than 40 and injuring 200, as routine. She expresses concern for “borders that are rapidly closing for Syrians and Iraqis...

For Gulf States, Forging National Identity Trumps Regional Integration

Ellen Laipson November 11, 2015
For the six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman – national identity may matter more than collection action as region. The countries resist power for Iran and extremism, but differ on Islam as a political force, dependence on and rights for foreign workers, and regional security priorities. “It’s on the security...