Qatar tests its new North Africa strategy in Tunisia

Doha maintains its objectives in the region, but opts for pragmatism after ironing out differences with its Gulf neighbours

The Arab Spring put the Gulf states in competition to gain weight and influence on a regional scale. The revolutionary onslaught that subdued Ben Ali’s Tunisia, Gaddafi’s Libya and Mubarak’s Egypt in a matter of weeks did not take long to suffer interference from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, which sought to strengthen their internal allies by taking advantage of the prevailing chaos in a strategic area due to its energy resources and its endless connections with sub-Saharan Africa, Europe and the Mediterranean.

Egypt just seized part of Libya’s maritime zone. What’s the story behind the Egyptian decree no one is talking about?

On December 13, 2022, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi issued a presidential decree demarcating the country’s maritime borders with Libya. The presidential decree is believed to cut off thousands of square kilometers of Libya’s maritime zone. Egypt’s unilateral move was taken without prior consultation or negotiation with the Libyans, raising many questions about its content, timing, and justifications.

To counter the Wagner Group’s presence in Africa, the US will need to prioritize stabilizing Libya

The war in Ukraine has brought Yevgeny Prigozhin and his Wagner Group to the forefront, with the United States now focusing on countering their presence beyond Ukraine, particularly in Africa.

One theatre Washington is now prioritizing as part of this burgeoning effort is Libya, where Russia’s influence is mainly projected through Wagner mercenaries. There, Wagner has acted as the Kremlin’s surreptitious foreign policy tool for over three years, significantly expanding its footprint in the country after supporting General Khalifa Haftar in his failed attack to capture Tripoli and oust Libya’s United Nations-recognized government in 2019. Quelling Wagner’s influence in Libya will be challenging, as the US must address Libyan realities and unite Europe and regional powers to support its foreign policy endeavor.

The Growing Concern Over Older Far-Right Terrorists: Data from the United Kingdom

Abstract: Recent attacks, disrupted plots, and arrests in Europe and the United States have suggested that the terrorist threat posed by older extreme far-right individuals might be increasing. A deep dive into the United Kingdom, which has seen five attacks by extreme far-right men over the age of 47 since June 2016, indicates that most attackers had limited direct connections to the organized extreme far-right, conducted attacks involving limited but rapid planning, and—perhaps as a result—had relatively limited impact in terms of casualties. These attacks coincided with (and likely led to) significant increases in the number of extreme far-right-linked men aged 51 and over being referred to the U.K.’s Prevent program and discussed within its Channel program. The U.K. case study and data raise important policy questions regarding the likely effectiveness of preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE) interventions for older demographics in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.

Quelles sont les forces qui poussent les États-Unis à une agression militaire internationale croissante ?

Introduction

Depuis environ deux décennies, nous assistons à une escalade militaire des USA. Les événements qui ont mené à la guerre en Ukraine s’inscrivent dans ce cadre et en représentent une nouvelle étape qualitative. Avant cette guerre, les USA n’intervenaient que contre des pays en voie de développement ayant des forces armées bien inférieures aux leurs et ne possédant pas l’arme nucléaire.

Le Washington Post laisse le dangereux chat de Hersh sortir du sac

Première bombe : le rapport de Seymour Hersh du 8 février selon lequel le président Joe Biden a autorisé le sabotage des pipelines Nord Stream construits pour transporter du gaz russe bon marché vers l’Europe.

Deuxième bombe : Le Washington Post a mis fin aujourd’hui à l’embargo médiatique de l’Establishment sur le rapport accablant de Hersh, mentionnant ses conclusions et incluant même un lien vers son article.

Qatar, US encourage legitimizing former Al-Qaeda leader in Syria: Report

Extremist group HTS wishes to establish full control over the economy of Syria’s northern region

A 23 February report by Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar suggests that the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) extremist group, formerly the Al-Qaeda affiliated Nusra Front, has been attempting with external support to consolidate its power in Syria’s north – with the aim of establishing full economic control over the region and thereby ‘legitimizing’ itself.

US-trained Afghan special forces recruited by Wagner Group in Ukraine: Report

New reports of US-trained Afghan special forces joining the fight in Ukraine, but on the Russian side, are emerging. The Wagner Group, a Russian private military contractor firm that has played a vital role in the battle for the town of Bakhmut in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, is recruiting Afghan fighters that US special forces spent decades training.