Trump and the Return of Private Military Contractors

by David Isenberg In 2005 the Marine Corps University published a paper entitled “The Professional Military Services Industry: Have We Created a New Military-Industrial Complex?” To consider that question now, more than a decade later, is the equivalent of asking… Continue Reading

Bacevich and Mearsheimer on U.S. Policy in the Middle East

by Derek Davison With Donald Trump set to take the oath of office and become America’s 45th president in a matter of days, this is an appropriate time to begin to evaluate Barack Obama’s presidency. To help analyze his performance… Continue Reading

Kurdish Rivalries Create New Challenges for Islamic State Fight

by Robert Olson and Derek Davison The U.S.-led anti-Islamic State (ISIS or IS) coalition is being challenged by a new but fairly predictable problem. Tensions between the Turkish Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), along with its Syrian affiliate, the Democratic Union… Continue Reading

Middle East Perceptions of the Roles Played by Global and Regional Powers

by James J. Zogby The tumult that has rocked the Arab World, has contributed to dramatic changes in the Arab public’s attitudes toward important global and regional powers. This is one of the findings of a recent Zogby Research Services… Continue Reading

Poll: Lack of Internal Reforms – Not External Interference – Biggest Obstacle to Mideast Peace

by Jim Lobe The failure by regional governments to implement political and economic reforms is seen by most publics in predominantly Muslim Middle Eastern countries as a greater obstacle to peace and stability than foreign interference, whether from the U.S.… Continue Reading