The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) captured a suspected ISIS facilitator in an operation near the Euphrates River Valley in Syria’s eastern Deir al-Zor province, the US-led Special Operations Joint Task Force-Levant (SOJTF LEVANT) announced on Tuesday morning.
Although great empires rank among the most powerful engines of world history, they are also among the most dangerous, especially as they brood over their decline.
The National Interest has published a shameless apology for Saudi Arabia’s genocidal war in Yemen, “The Saudi War of Necessity in Yemen” by Ahmed al-Maimouni.
With his second sentence, Al-Maimouni, a retired Saudi major general, forfeits his right to be taken seriously: “It is imperative for Saudi Arabia to preserve peace in Yemen….” What peace? Yemen has been at war since 2015 and the reason is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In 2015, an Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia attacked Yemen without provocation. Since then, 150,000 Yemenis have died, most of them at the hands of the Saudi coalition.
Conflict and counterterrorism are two sides of the same coin, and silos between the two must be broken down to reduce terrorism.
The ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine overshadowed the latest step taken in Washington to turn the page on 20 years of a costly, largely military-driven approach to addressing conflicts.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has turned into the largest testing ground for ballistic and cruise missiles in modern warfare. According to the latest figures from a senior U.S. official as of April 29, 2022, Russia had launched more than 1,950 missiles — far more than the 955 cruise missile strikes U.S. forces carried out during the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Since late September 2021, when Iran-Azerbaijan relations hit a low point, Tehran and Baku have engaged in a process of de-escalation. Much of the focus is on expanding economic cooperation and advancing plans to establish pan-regional transportation links, such as the North-South railroad corridor connecting India to Russia via Iran and Azerbaijan.
As the U.S. administration considers whether to remove Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organization, understanding its nature, development, and ideology is essential to making an informed decision. There is much about it that differentiates it from a conventional armed force. One fundamental aspect of its ideology that until now has been overlooked is the doctrine of Mahdism.
Western leaders shrugged it off when, in 2016, Erdoğan said in plain language that Turkey did not need to join the European Union “at all costs” and could instead become part of a security bloc dominated by China, Russia and Central Asian nations.
The Greek government is expected to raise with its EU partners Ankara’s decision not to join western sanctions against Russia, questioning Turkey’s narrative of being a neutral broker, EURACTIV has learned.
“It’s inconceivable that Turkey has managed to escape western sanctions against Russia,” a source close to the matter told EURACTIV Greece.
As it continues its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, Russia finds itself facing growing international isolation, including an expanding list of sanctions.
While not exactly a pariah nation, Russia can now count on few allies. Other nations have remained essentially neutral, including China, the Persian Gulf monarchies, and Turkey.