ISIS
Jordan: On the Edge?
Jordan, which has enjoyed deep relations with the United States for over seventy years and hosts nearly 3,000 American troops, is a vital partner in America’s presence in the Middle...
Turkey is the Hole in the Western Security Bucket
Because of its recent equivocation about Sweden’s membership in NATO, doubt has arisen about Turkey’s commitment to the organization’s principles and aims. January’s paper by the International Working Group on...
What is the Point of the U.S. Military Presence in Syria?
Members of the U.S. military are sitting ducks in the Middle East, and in December 2023, eighty-four members of the Senate voted to keep them there because fewer U.S. troops...
American Troops in Iraq and Syria Have a Target on their Backs
Since the brutal attacks in Israel on October 7, the Middle East has been on the brink of a vicious regional war. As Israel retaliates in Gaza, Iranian-backed proxies across...
Question: Why Is the U.S. Military Still in Syria?
As part of the fallout from the war in Gaza, U.S. forces in Syria and Iraq have come under attack more than fifty times from Iranian-backed militias since early October. At least fifty-six military...
The Case for A Counter-Iran Coalition
The parallels between Hamas and ISIS became awfully apparent following the grotesque horrors over the last two weeks. This parallel, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Joe Biden have...
Why the United States Should Leave Syria
The Iranian drone strike against the American military base in northern Syria that killed one American contractor and wounded six servicemen has once again called into question the purpose of...
Good Riddance to the War on Terror
The occasion did not get much attention, but December 31 marked the end of what came to be called the “war on terrorism” (or alternatively, the “war on terror,” the...
The Past, Present, and Future of ‘By, With, and Through’
The United States developed—or further developed—a strategy called “by, with, and through” for its successful military campaign from 2014 to 2019 against the Islamic State, or ISIS. Under this strategy,...
Soleimani’s Legacy: Corruption at Home, Death and Destruction Abroad
Three years after the death of Qasem Soleimani, the notorious commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards-Quds Force (IRGC-QF), the Islamic Republic continues to invoke his “martyrdom” for its malign and...
America’s Presence in Syria Is Riskier Than Ever
“Out with the new, in with the old” appears to be the doctrine for U.S. policy in Syria in 2023. U.S. troops are resuming operations after a pause in the...
‘Enough Is Enough’: What Blinken Should Tell Turkey’s Cavusoglu
Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu is expected to visit Washington in mid-January, in what is expected to be major push by Ankara to realize much-desired policy goals. Expectations should be...