Levant

Troubles Mount in Lebanon

Episode 43

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi killed himself during raid, U.S. says

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State, is dead, according to the White House. President Donald Trump announced Baghdadi’s death earlier today, saying “U.S. Special Operations forces...

What should the West do as UN arms embargo on Iran ends in 2020?

The Islamic Republic of Iran has consistently proven how much damage it can cause without having access to high-tech military equipment and formal arms markets. The past few months are indeed instructive....

Key Border Crossing Opens along Route of Iran’s Land Bridge to the Mediterranean

Syria and Iraq on Monday formally opened a key border crossing that lies along the principal route of Iran’s emerging land bridge to the Mediterranean via Baghdad and Damascus. The opening threatens to...

Welcome to the End of the Process

Speaking to reporters in August, President Trump said he would likely wait until after the Israeli elections in September to unveil his peace plan for Israel and the Palestinians. Although this plan has...

U.S. offers rewards for information on 3 al Qaeda leaders in Syria

The U.S. State Department has announced rewards of up to $5 million each for information concerning three al Qaeda leaders in Syria. All three have been involved in the heated disagreements regarding...

Ayman al-Zawahiri defends 9/11 hijackings in anniversary address

Ayman al-Zawahiri defends the 9/11 hijackings in a video released on the 18th anniversary of al-Qaeda’s most devastating attack. The production, released by al-Qaeda’s As Sahab propaganda arm, is titled...

Global Terrorism: Threats to the Homeland

Editor’s note: Below is Thomas Joscelyn’s testimony before the House Committee on Homeland Security. Chairman Thompson, Ranking Member Rogers, and other members of the committee, thank you for inviting...

Any Way You Slice it, Hezbollah Had a Very Bad Month

Israeli strikes inside Lebanon together with new U.S. sanctions suggest a significant change in policy toward the terror group.

Strategic Geography of the Middle East

With the end of the Cold War the United States lost a sound understanding of the strategic geography of the Middle East. Before the fall of the Soviet Union, US strategy focused, correctly, on histori...

Burning Bridge: The Iranian Land Corridor to the Mediterranean

Senior al Qaeda official praises Taliban’s ‘victory’ in Afghanistan

Asim Umar, a senior al Qaeda official, has released a lengthy statement praising the Taliban’s “victory” in Afghanistan. He claims that America’s “defeat” proves that its superior technology...

Hezbollah Isn’t Broke. So Why Is Everyone Claiming Otherwise?

U.S. officials claiming that sanctions against Iran have put the Lebanese terrorist organization in dire financial straits are cherry-picking evidence to paint a misleading picture

Hezbollah’s Deadly Lies

For years, the terrorist organization duped the expert class into believing it was peacefully evolving. Now that many have wised up, new and more dangerous fictions emerge.

New Legislation Aims to Recognize Israeli Sovereignty over the Golan

House and...

Continued Iranian Ballistic Missile Activities Require Unified Response

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz identified missile proli...

Taliban continues to host foreign terrorist groups, despite assurances to the contrary

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Arafat and the Ayatollahs

The PLO’s greatest single contribution to the Iranian Revolution was the formation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, but the Palestinian leader’s involvement with Iran didn’t end there.

Israeli Security As the U.S. Leaves Syria

The Israeli military launched an operation last month to expose and neutralize Hezbollah’s commando tunnels penetrating Israeli territory from Lebanon. According to Israeli officials, the operation...

The Curtain is Falling on Bibi’s Lebanese Belly-Dance

What lies beneath seven years of Israeli rhetoric about Iran?