The Islamic State and Boko Haram Merger

by Emile Nakhleh As the world focuses on the Islamic State (ISIS or IS) in the Levant, it seems to be expanding its influence and reach into the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, Nigeria, and other parts of West Africa and… Continue Reading

The Middle East and China

by Chas W. Freeman The Middle East is where Africa, Asia, and Europe come together and where the trade routes between China, India, and Europe converge. It has two-thirds of the world’s energy reserves. It is also the epicenter of… Continue Reading

The US and a Crumbling Levant

by Emile Nakhleh The international media is currently mesmerized by the advance of Daesh (ISIS or ISIL) on the Syrian city of Kobani near the Turkish border, but Arab states and the US need to look beyond Kobani’s fate and… Continue Reading

Assad May Not Be Key to Iran’s Levantine Reach: A Critique of AEI-ISW Report

by Aurélie M. Daher That Iran is deeply concerned with the civil war in Syria and is currently providing important assistance to President Bashar al-Assad’s regime is not in question. What remains to be determined, however, is the form that its… Continue Reading