The Iranian Regime of War and Death
When I was in elementary school in Baghdad, in the early 1980s, teachers took us to the streets to shout angry slogans against “Khomeini the Hypocrite” for refusing to end Iran’s war with Iraq. Little...
Afghanistan
Taliban emir decries ‘Zionist assaults and acts of oppression’ in Gaza
The emir of the Taliban denounced Israel’s military operations against Hamas and other terror groups as “Zionist assaults and acts of oppression” and said that his Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan...
Op-eds
Sudan Is the War No One Cares About
Over 150,000 dead and 11 million displaced are the result of war in Sudan that started months before the Gaza War, in 2023, and shows no sign of abating. Yet despite Sudan’s tragedy, the...
Op-eds
Syrian military integrates Al Qaeda-linked terror group into its ranks
The new Syrian government is integrating a Central Asian terrorist group that is part of Al Qaeda’s network into its military, despite the objections of US President Donald Trump. The head of this terror...
Op-eds
Trump Tells Syria to Expel Foreign Fighters, But Sharaa Gives Them Army Divisions
“Tell all foreign terrorists to leave Syria,” President Donald Trump told interim leader Ahmad al-Sharaa in Riyadh on May 14 — just after lifting all U.S. sanctions on Syria. Yet on May 18, Syria’s...
Policy Briefs
5 Ways South Africa Undermines U.S. Interests — and What Must Change
The United States must increase pressure on South Africa to reverse five of its harmful policies. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s arrival in Washington this week to meet with President Donald Trump offers...
Insights
Former Michigan guardsmen detained for planning Islamic State-inspired attack on military base
On May 13, Ammar Abdulmajid-Mohamed Said, 19, a former member of the Michigan Army National Guard, was detained for planning a mass casualty attack on the United States Army’s Tank-Automotive...
Op-eds
Trump presses Sharaa on foreign fighters as jihadists rise in Syria’s new army
On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump held talks with Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, a designated terrorist by both the US and the United Nations and the former head of Syria’s...
Op-eds
India claims Jaish-e-Mohammad leader killed during airstrikes in Pakistan
The Indian government claimed that Abdul Rauf Azhar, a senior leader of the Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad and a brother of the group’s founder, Masood Azhar, was killed during India’s retaliatory airstrikes on Pakistan on May 7.
Op-eds
Trump Can’t Have ‘Peace Through Strength’ on a Biden Defense Budget
It will be difficult for President Trump to implement his ‘Peace Through Strength’ foreign policy with a Biden defense budget. The Trump administration requested a $892.6 billion base defense budget...
Policy Briefs
Amid Syria troop reduction, will Trump repeat Middle East withdrawal mistakes?
Cameron McMillan and Bradley Bowman of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies argue in this op ed that getting out of Syria too quickly could leave the US vulnerable.
Op-eds
The U.S. Can’t Avoid Decoupling from China
Though tariffs may be the opening salvo, a coordinated strategy of economic statecraft is now required to end economic dependence on China.
Op-eds
Lashkar-e Taiba front group claims responsibility for deadly terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir, India
The Resistance Front, a cover organization of the Pakistan-supported Lashkar-e-Taiba terror group, claimed credit for the April 22 attack in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir that killed...
Op-eds
Afghan national pleads guilty over Islamic State-inspired terror plot in US
On April 17, Abdullah Haji Zada, an 18-year-old Afghan citizen and legal permanent resident of the US, pled guilty to conspiring to receive firearms intended for an election-day terrorist attack...
Op-eds
United States to Withdraw 1,000 Troops from Syria in Coming Months
Pentagon Confirms Troop Consolidation: The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) confirmed on April 18 that the United States will consolidate and reduce its forces in Syria, maintaining...
Flash Briefs
The Iranian Negotiating Tactic the Trump Administration Doesn’t Get
Sanctions and ‘maximum pressure’ have never made the clerical regime abandon its nuclear ambitions.
Op-eds
Washington Must Pressure Baghdad to Disarm Iran’s Proxy Militias in Iraq
Gaza and Yemen are well established as two arenas of the ongoing struggle between the United States and Iran, but Iraq is another vital stage that has garnered comparatively less attention. That may now...
Policy Briefs
U.S. Treasury Targets Russian Elements of the Houthis’ Iran-Backed Financing Network
Washington is intensifying pressure against Iran and its proxies. The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced new sanctions on April 2 against the Russia-based funding sources of Yemen’s Iran-backed...
Policy Briefs
US removal of Sirajuddin Haqqani’s $10 million bounty signals engagement with the Taliban
The Trump administration appears to be continuing its previous policy of engagement with the Taliban, which led to the 2020 Doha Agreement that paved the way for the Biden administration’s 2021 withdrawal...
Op-eds
Instead of Rewarding Qatar With Weapons Sales, Washington Should Use Them as Leverage
Despite enabling terrorist groups, Qatar is poised to purchase nearly $2 billion worth of American arms. The U.S. State Department approved the potential sale on March 26 under the Foreign Military Sales...