Category Archives: Uncategorized

Erdogan’s Kurdish Gambit

Jerusalem Post, 17/5 On May 8th, fighters of the Kurdish PKK militia began to withdraw from their positions in Turkey, bound for their mountain strongholds in Kurdish-ruled northern Iraq. The decision by the PKK to withdraw is the result of … Continue reading

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The Israeli Debate over Syria

Tablet Magazine, 14/5: The civil war in Syria has led to a keen debate among the professional echelon tasked with advising policymakers in Israel. This debate has been reflected in a more subdued public conversation and occasionally in spectacular events—like … Continue reading

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Is Assad Winning?

Jerusalem Post, 3/5 The imminent demise of the Assad regime has been announced on numerous occasions over the last two years of civil war in Syria. But the regime has held on. Despite some advances by rebels in the south … Continue reading

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Muslim Brotherhood Presides over Growing Chaos in Egypt

Jerusalem Post, 12/2: Recent days have seen a further sharp deterioration in Egypt. Against a background of economic crisis, Salafi Islamist groups are increasingly assertive. The Salafis are engaged in the violent harassment of Egyptian Copts and secular oppositionists, and … Continue reading

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Iran’s Silent War in the Gulf

Jerusalem Post, 5/4: A series of trials currently under way in the neighboring Gulf states of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain offer a glimpse into the ongoing, silent war being waged by Iran against its regional rivals. Bahrain is of particular … Continue reading

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In Syria, Western Illusions Lead to Ill-Advised Action

PJ Media, 23/3: The signs are now unmistakable: both openly and behind the scenes, a major Western effort to bring the Syrian civil war to a close with the defeat of the Assad regime is now underway. This is being … Continue reading

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The Kurds are for the Kurds

Weekly Standard, 9/3. In northeast Syria, from the border with Iraq to the disputed town of Seri Kaniyah, a de facto Kurdish autonomous region has emerged. The area, known to the Kurds as western Kurdistan, is ruled by the Democratic … Continue reading

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War over the Ruins

Jerusalem Post, 8/3. The Syrian civil war bursts its banks This week, 48 Syrian soldiers who were reported as having ‘sought refuge’ in Iraq were ambushed and killed on Iraqi soil. At least 9, and possibly as many as 19 … Continue reading

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A small cautionary tale

The map above was produced by the Relief Web website. Relief Web is a project of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The website, according to its homepage, aims to ‘provide reliable disaster and crisis updates … Continue reading

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Syria’s Kurds end their silence

National Post, 23/2 As the civil war in Syria grinds on, one of the less noticed developments has been the emergence of a de facto Kurdish autonomous area in the country’s north east. Stretching across a chain of towns and … Continue reading

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