Shia Islam

Why Iraq’s Politics Haven’t Changed

Iraq’s latest prime minister designate, Ali al-Zaidi, is an embodiment of the corruption that has held Iraq hostage for over 20 years.

U.S. Signals Approval of New Iraqi Prime Minister-Designate Selected by Pro-Tehran Bloc

More than five months after its national elections, Iraq may finally have a new leader.          On April 27, Iraqi President Nizar Amedi named Ali al-Zaidi,...

Lebanon Must Reform its Army or Lose American Aid

Washington is working on establishing a system “where vetted units within the Lebanese Armed Forces [LAF] have the training, the equipment, and the capability to go after elements of Hezbollah and dismantle...

Iraq nominates little-known businessman to be next prime minister

The Coordination Framework (CF), a coalition of Iraqi Shiite parties that is the largest bloc in the country’s parliament, announced on April 27 that it is nominating Ali al Zaidi for prime...

All quiet on the Lebanese front? 

Hezbollah is not just Israel’s enemy

Iraq aims to select new PM as US warns of Iran-backed threats, IRGC-QF head visits

Iraqi Shiite political parties are seeking to appoint a new prime minister amid significant internal and external pressures. The Coordination Framework (CF), a coalition of Iraqi Shiite parties, was working...

Ceasefire with Tehran doesn’t end the regime’s war on Iranians

A state with public backing does not flood its cities with checkpoints, expand executions and shut down the internet.

The road to the second Lebanon ceasefire

At midnight local time on April 17, a second ceasefire in as many years went into effect between Israel and Lebanon. Brokered, or to some degree imposed, by the United States, this cessation of hostilities...

What Victory Looks Like When Your Foe Won’t Surrender

The U.S. can win without Iran acknowledging it lost

Iraq focuses on political appointees, economic challenges amid Iran ceasefire

On April 14, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al Sudani met with French Ambassador to Iraq Patrick Durrel. “Mr. Al-Sudani emphasized the necessity for major powers to exert utmost efforts to curb escalation...

The “Lebanese Street” Warms up to Normalization with Israel

A surprising poll offers real hope for normalization between Lebanon and Israel. Conducted by an anti-Western, anti-Israel website with a sample of 500 respondents, the survey found that only 42 percent...

Christianity Is the Vanguard of Western Civilization—and America Must Protect It Abroad

On Easter Sunday, the White House issued a press release stating that under President Donald Trump’s leadership, “the U.S. is once again a beacon of religious liberty — honoring the biblical...

A breakdown of Israel’s heavy bombardment of Beirut on April 8

On the afternoon of April 8, Israel launched its deadliest and most intense wave of airstrikes in Beirut since the war with Hezbollah restarted in early March. Initial reports claimed that the Israel Defense...

U.S.-Iran Ceasefire Negotiations With Iran Do Not Extend to Hezbollah in Lebanon

“The only reason they are alive today is to negotiate!” So declared President Donald Trump with regard to the representatives Iran dispatched to Pakistan to negotiate with  a U.S. team led...

Hezbollah at War: What Comes Next for Lebanon and the Region

Double-dealing Pakistan is the danger looming over critical US-Iran talks

President Donald Trump’s two-week cease-fire with Iran is a huge gamble — and allowing Pakistan to act as the go-between only raises the stakes. Pakistan, after all, is the nation where...

Iraq’s bake sale for the Islamic Republic

Iran, under financial isolation, is turning to an old friend: Iraqi cash. Through informal financial channels and networks, currency-filled envelopes are moving across Iraq into Iran under...

Hezbollah Emerged from Iran’s Revolution, Not “Resistance” to Israel

A false claim, now common in Western media and academia, portrays Hezbollah as having emerged in response to Israel’s 1982 invasion and subsequent occupation of Lebanon. In reality, Hezbollah arose in...

Israeli goals in Lebanon war shift from imminently disarming Hezbollah to reestablishing South Lebanon Security Zone

The renewed Lebanon war between Israel and Hezbollah that began on March 2 is now over a month old, with little change in the overall picture or disposition of the main actors. However, Israeli officials...

Why we have a TSA and a DHS

And the jihadis that make them necessary