Assad’s Syria manipulated the region, will the new Syria do the same?
The question now is whether the new Syrian government will seek to try to play countries against each other or work to be a unifying and stabilizing force in the region
Arab Spring
US removes $10 million reward for Hayat Tahrir al Sham leader
The US State Department removed the $10 million reward for Abu Mohammad al Jolani, the Specially Designated Global Terrorist who leads Haytat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), which State describes as an Al Qaeda...
Op-eds
Is Syria’s Julani part of a rising generation of younger Middle East leaders?
If Julani is to remain in power for the coming years, he could play a transformative role in Syria and the Middle East.
Op-eds
Assad exits and Khamenei’s strategy unravels
Lessons to be learned in the Middle East
Op-eds
US launches massive strikes on Islamic State as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham deposes Assad regime
The US Military launched “dozens” of airstrikes against Islamic State targets in central Syria on December 8, the day that President Bashir al-Assad’s regime was overthrown by the terrorist organization...
Op-eds
Assad Is Gone: What Happens to Syria Now?
On 9/11, Sunni Islamism attacked the U.S. and suffered a crushing American response that allowed Iranian Shia Islamism to rise and dominate parts of the Middle East. On 10/7, Shia Islamism – with the...
Op-eds
Assad End in Syria
Excerpt The Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria has collapsed. Sunni rebels, backed by Turkey and Qatar, completed their lightning offensive last night after just a few short days of fighting. Assad’s...
Op-eds
Winners and losers in the Middle East: The story so far
For Turkey and Qatar, net gains. For Iran, and its Palestinian and Lebanese proxies, net losses. For Israel, the jury is out.
Op-eds
Erdogan’s Turkey: Diminished and Marginalized
Under the president’s watch, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to describe any foreign policy portfolio that has furthered the country’s national interest.
Op-eds
“Natural Allies”: Israel to Cultivate Kurdish, Druze Ties
Latest Developments Outreach to Arabs, Minorities by New Foreign Minister: Gideon Sa’ar, Israel’s new foreign minister, gave remarks on November 10 in which he spoke in favor of expanded...
Flash Briefs
The Houthis have challenged the Rules-Based International System and must be defeated
In my first analysis and opinion piece on the so-called Axis of Resistance, I set the scene by describing Iran’s 45-year trajectory from the Khomeini revolution to its current challenge to...
Op-eds
Responding forcefully to the Axis of Resistance
Iran has defined itself in opposition to Israel, the United States, and the wider West since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Over the course of half a century of complex regional and global events, the clerical...
Op-eds
Egypt’s relationship with Hamas: What does history tell us?
October 7 deeply impacted Egypt, however, Cairo has not appeared to excoriate Hamas for the attack, leaving questions about how this all transpired.
Op-eds
Did Raisi’s outreach to Arab states pave the way for Oct. 7?
Iran sought to derail any Saudi-Israeli normalization deal, which October 7 did; as such, it exploited October 7 to change the regional order.
Op-eds
Raisi set the Middle East aflame but his death will not put out the fire
With Raisi and Amir-Abdollahian gone, Iran will fall back on the IRGC which controls much of the country behind the scenes.
Op-eds
Kuwait: Islamists and the end of Arab democracy
Installing democracy in a society without a tradition of liberty is like handing car keys to an unlicensed driver
Op-eds
Iran Is Winning the War
Right now things look good for Israel. But the Islamic Republic is playing the long game. And its advantages, alas, are many.
Op-eds
US Should Sanction Lebanon’s pro-Iran ‘Resistance TV’
On December 27, an Israeli missile hit a home in the Southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil, killing brothers Ali and Ibrahim Bazzi and Ibrahim’s wife. Within hours, Al Manar, Hezbollah’s official media...
Op-eds
Will China-Russia summit impact Israel’s war with Iran-backed Hamas?
Despite years of favorable Israeli foreign policy, both Beijing and Moscow are now openly hostile to Israel.
Op-eds
Report from the Gaza Front: A New Playbook
I spent the first days of the war on the Gaza border, mostly near Kibbutz Zikim. On the fifth day, October 11, I went to the Gaza border city of Sderot and spent time in the community, speaking with locals...