Category Archives: Uncategorized

From the Mosul Frontlines

The Australian, 10/2 The neighbourhood of Hay al-Arabi in eastern Mosul city has the appearance of a place recently visited by apocalypse.  This was one of the last areas east of the Tigris River vacated by the Islamic State organization, … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Book Review: The Weapon Wizards by Yaakov Katz and Amir Bohbot

Jerusalem Post, 10/2 Israel’s success over many decades  in the field of military endeavor has long fascinated observers.  The focus on this area was imposed on Israel and the early Zionist movement out of necessity.  But defense industries have today … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

The Mirage of the Mid-East ‘Moderate Alliance’

Jerusalem Post, 3/2   In recent years, it has become customary in much analysis of the Middle East emerging from Israel to divide Middle Eastern countries into a series of alliances or ‘camps.’  These camps are identified in a variety … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Syria: Two Scenarios

Jerusalem Post, 6/1. The latest reports from Syria indicate that the ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey in Syria is already in trouble.  Fighting has continued in the Wadi Barada area north west of Damascus as regime forces and Hizballah … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Iranian Kurds Join the Fight

American Interest, 15/12 (Co-authored with Benjamin Weinthal) The instability that has swept over the Middle East over the past half-decade has its winners and its losers. For the most part, the much-beleaguered Kurds are to be numbered in the former … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

After the Fall of Aleppo

Jerusalem Post, 16/12 The battle for Aleppo is over.  The Assad regime and its Russian, Iranian and Shia paramilitary allies have achieved victory. The process of evacuation of civilians and rebels is yet to be completed.  Syrian oppositionists are alleging … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Hizballah vs. ISIS. vs. Israel

Jerusalem Post, 2/12 Two incidents this week showcase the complexity of the challenges facing Israel on its northern front. In the first, an air strike killed four members of the Islamic State-affiliated Khalid Ibn al-Walid Brigade after a patrol of … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Syria’s Interlocking Conflicts

Jerusalem Post, 11/11 The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces last Friday announced the commencement of an operation to conquer the northern Syrian city of Raqqa.  The operation was designated ‘Euphrates Wrath.’ Raqqa is the capital of the ‘Caliphate’ maintained by the … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Battle for Power: Iran vs. Turkey in northern Iraq  

  Jerusalem Post, 4/11 The Iraqi special forces have now entered the first neighborhoods of the city of Mosul.  Captured by the Islamic State in the summer of 2014, the city constitutes the jewel in the crown of the Sunni … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Tremor in Yemen

Jerusalem Post, 21/10 Tremor in Yemen The Yemeni civil war, in which an Iran-supported Shia militia, the Ansar Allah movement (the ‘Houthis’) is clashing with a Saud- led coalition supporting the government of President  Abd Rabbo Mansur al-Hadi,  is largely … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments