The Three Quiet Victors of the Iran War
Turkey, Pakistan, and Qatar have played their hands well since February 28, without disrupting their relations with either the United States or Iran.
Turkey
Syria’s military is rebuilding, but foreign influence may slow security progress
Foreign influence in the Syrian military, chiefly Turkish and Russian, combined with the continued presence of extremist elements within its ranks, will constrain Damascus’s ability to take steps consistent...
Op-eds
Saudi Arabia Picked a Fight With the Two Nations That Could Help It the Most Against the Houthis — Israel and the UAE
Riyadh is running out of options, and more importantly, it is running out of time. In less than two weeks, Iran and its proxy militia in Yemen have effectively checkmated Saudi Arabia by severing...
Op-eds
The Heart Attacks Fueling Suspicion in Syria
When a commander in the Syrian army’s 52nd Division died in March, a Syrian Telegram channel announced the news in the language of an ordinary obituary: Nader Mutlaq, better known as Abu Hatem...
Insights
The UN Arms Embargo on Sudan Is Broken. America Has a Plan to Fix It
The U.S. is rightly pushing the UN Security Council to expand the Sudan arms embargo before it expires this Saturday. Outlined by Ambassador Mike Waltz and Senior Advisor Massad Boulos, the proposal...
Op-eds
The post-9/11 Global War on Terrorism won — by keeping our homeland safe
Friday, a quarter-century since the 9/11 attacks, marks an important milestone in our nation’s history. It’s a fitting moment to take stock of the Global War on Terrorism, launched by President...
Op-eds
U.S. Sanctions on Iranian Aviation Should Be Followed by Operational Isolation
Washington first tightened the chokehold on Tehran at sea and is now extending it to the skies. On September 8, the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned all 27 remaining active Iranian airlines...
Policy Briefs
Post-9/11 Lessons — We Overlooked Festering Geostrategic Issues
As we approach the 25th anniversary of 9/11, it is important to reflect on the historic significance of that atrocity and on the lessons we have drawn and should draw from it. The 20 years that followed...
Op-eds
Islamic state plots disrupted and operatives arrested in 4 countries
In August and September, Kuwaiti, Israeli, Turkish, and French officials thwarted several suspected Islamic State attacks and arrested and indicted alleged Islamic State members and sympathizers, underscoring...
Op-eds
The New Islamic Empire: Will Turkey Inherit Iran’s Mantle?
Despite being 1,000 miles apart and in different time zones, Turkey and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) maintain a military partnership that operates in direct violation of a standing UN arms embargo....
Op-eds
Saudi Nuclear Deal Raises Concern Over Diluted U.S. Nonproliferation Standards
In a notable loosening of decades of U.S. nonproliferation practice, the bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement between the United States and Saudi Arabia now being reviewed by Congress would open the...
Policy Briefs
Ankara Is Baiting Israel, Not the Reverse
Turkey invokes a Syrian sovereignty it spent a decade dismantling. Washington should not buy it.
Insights
Trump Administration Foreign Policy Tracker: September
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Policy Tracker
The Axis of Aggressors Is Getting Ready for War. Is America?
America has grown addicted to the phrase “wars of choice,” often using it to vilify the U.S. government for campaigns deemed unnecessary. Wholesale skepticism of military power, however, undermines...
Op-eds
Iranian-backed militia in Iraq sets ‘conditions’ for disarmament
Kataib Sayyid al Shuhada, an Iranian-backed militia in Iraq, has set conditions for placing its arms under the control of the Iraqi government. Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al Zaidi has sought to...
Op-eds
Saying Goodbye to the Syrian Democratic Forces
During the fight against ISIS, the SDF proved that the Kurds were useful allies to the United States. Now they may prove equally useful to the new Syrian government.
Op-eds
Zero Shells for $533 Million
Turkey’s Expanding Stake in America’s Munitions Base On Aug. 12, ProPublica documented what the Pentagon’s inspector general had already confirmed in July: a Texas plant built...
Op-eds
Operation Economic Outcast Commences, And Where It Could Head
And so, it begins. On Monday, the U.S. Treasury Department launched Operation Economic Outcast in a bid to expand the architecture of U.S. sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran and its network...
Insights
How Putin’s Black Sea food fight puts the world — and your grocery bill — at risk
The oil war in the Black Sea between Russia and Ukraine is turning into a food fight — with potentially disastrous implications. Moscow, fuming at strikes on its “shadow fleet” of sanctions-evading...
Op-eds
5 Things To Know About Turkey’s Relationship with Syria
Turkey has emerged as one of the leading patrons of Syria’s new government under President Ahmad al-Sharaa, following the December 2024 fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Ankara had built ties with...