Category Archives: Uncategorized

Jerusalem Post, 2/8 Turkey’s ambitions to assert itself as a Middle East power are currently in evidence across the western part of the region.  Ankara occupies a chunk of north west Syria. Its troops are currently massing on the border … Continue reading →

Jerusalem Post, 5/7 Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abd el-Mehdi this week announced that the Shia militias of the Popular Mobilization Units or ‘Hashd al-Shaabi’ are to be fully integrated into the Iraqi security forces.  According to the statement announcing this … Continue reading →

  Jerusalem Post 17/5 Evidence grows that Iran is stationing missiles directed at Israel with its client militias in western Iraq   In a speech delivered on May 9, Sheikh Akram al-Kaabi, Secretary General of the Hizballah Nujaba movement in … Continue reading →

Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security 1.5.19 The current instability in Algeria, Sudan and Libya has led to some excited western media coverage heralding a second chapter of the Arab Spring.  Those celebrating should be careful what they wish for. … Continue reading →

Jerusalem Post, 26/4 Regional Rivals Clash via Proxies in Tripoli Fight The offensive by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army on Tripoli is currently stalled. Haftar’s troops have encountered strong resistance from Sunni Islamist militias based in the city, … Continue reading →

No new beginnings in sight for ravaged Syria. Jerusalem Post (8/3) The Islamic State proclaimed by the Iraqi jihadist Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi at the al-Nuri Mosque in Mosul on June 29, 2014, is about to cease to exist. At the … Continue reading →

Iran’s Strategy for Control of Syria Jerusalem Post, 1/2 Recent statements by a number of Israeli officials have claimed a degree of success in Israel’s efforts to contain and rollback Iran’s entrenchment in Syria.  But while Israel’s tactical successes are … Continue reading →

Jerusalem Post, 11/1 Significant obstacles remain before a Turkish push south The announcement by US President Donald Trump on December 19 of his intention to rapidly withdraw US forces from eastern Syria led to expectations of a rapid move by … Continue reading →

28/12 if I think back to the days of my aliyah and the year or two that preceded it -the period 1989-91, Amos Oz was one of the writers who was most present and influential in my mind. His prose, … Continue reading →

Jerusalem Post, 21/12 The apparent decision by US President Donald Trump to order the complete withdrawal of US forces from Syria was preceded by a looming crisis between the US and Turkey. It is worth looking at this crisis in … Continue reading →