North Africa

Patient Extremism: The Many Faces of the Muslim Brotherhood

Turkey is escalating tensions in the Mediterranean (again)

Turkey is once again stoking tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean – this time by undermining the sovereignty of Greece and Cyprus while wagering that Washington and Brussels will look the other way....

Why the Polisario Front Threatens Morocco—and the Region

An independent Western Sahara run by the Polisario Front would likely turn into another source of regional insecurity.

Unpacking Iran’s counterintelligence apparatus

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recently issued “seeking information” posters for two operatives of the Islamic Republic’s intelligence services implicated in the 2007 abduction...

Trump’s Second Shot at Peace in the Middle East

REVIEW: ‘One Jewish State: The Last, Best Hope to Resolve the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict’ by David Friedman and ‘The Battle for the Jewish State: How Israel—And America—Can Win’ by Victoria Coates

Islamic State release highlights the foreign-fighter nature of its recent assault in Somalia

A day after the Islamic State Somalia’s (ISS) brazen suicide assault against a Puntland military base—its most audacious attack to date in Somalia—the jihadist group released images of the men it...

What’s next for Syria? Assad, Jihadist terrorist groups, and chemical weapons

7 Israelis killed by Hezbollah rocket fire as Israel hosts US envoys

Seven Israelis were killed on October 31 by Hezbollah rocket fire, one of the worst days for civilian casualties in northern Israel since Hezbollah’s rocket attacks began on October 8, 2023. Five people,...

A Marriage of Convenience—the Limits of a Turkish Rapprochement With Egypt

On Sept. 4, Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Ankara, marking Sisi’ first visit to Turkey since taking power in 2014. Despite the optics...

U.S., Israeli, and Palestinian Officials Met to Discuss Control of Rafah Crossing

Latest Developments Officials from the United States, Israel, and the Palestinian Authority (PA) held a secret meeting in Tel Aviv last week to discuss reopening the Rafah crossing between Egypt and...

Israel’s Defense Minister meets with US leaders and sees progress in Gaza

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant spoke to US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on the evening of July 16, communicating his views on Israel’s progress in Gaza. Gallant “emphasized that IDF operations...

Israel’s operations in Gaza are headed for a new phase

On June 24, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant met with Amos Hochstein, a senior advisor to President Joe Biden, in Washington, DC, discussing what Gallant has called a transition to “phase C” of...

Shabaab advertises creation of “special forces” unit

In a newly released video, Shabaab, al-Qaeda’s branch for East Africa, announced and advertised the creation of its new so-called ‘special forces’ unit. The new unit also has its own specific training...

Hezbollah seeks to use Syrian refugees to create crisis with Europe

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said on May 13 that Lebanon should open its maritime borders so that Syrians who live in Lebanon can board boats heading to Europe.

What is Iran’s strategy against Israel amid FM’s Middle East trips?

It is clear that Iran, the main backer of Hezbollah and Hamas, is seeking to keep both terrorist groups in play against Israel.

Gaza and the De-Colonization Narrative

Western views of Arab society often get one major thing wrong – Arab agency.

I’m an Egyptian American who studied in Israel: We can’t let Hamas kill peace along with the peacemakers

In the long litany of death notices that fill my Facebook feed — the friends and family of Israelis I met years ago as the lone Egyptian American studying at Tel Aviv University — one entry popped...

How America and Its Allies Can Stop Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran from Evading Sanctions and Financing Terror

Al-Qaeda’s North and West African branches respond to the Hamas-led invasion of Israel

In a joint statement released online, al-Qaeda’s branches in North Africa and West Africa, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and the Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), respectively,...

Baker’s Dozen: Thirteen Recommendations to Improve Deterrence in the Western Pacific

The United States Department of Defense (DOD), with the support of both Congress and the U.S. defense industrial base, has built the preeminent military force in the world. The United States has unmatched power projection capability, the ability to establish air and maritime dominance far from its shores, the resources to execute large scale ground maneuver operations, and the ability to conduct brigade-level amphibious operations. But despite all this, the United States will not be ready to deter and defeat America’s most capable adversary — China — in the demanding military environment the United States will face in the next few years in the western Pacific.