US Policy Toward the Levant, Kurds, and Turkey

by Joshua Landis The State Department has turned the page on Turkey for it no longer views Ankara is a reliable US partner. Many argue that Washington will abandon Syria’s Kurds in order to assuage Turkish anger. I doubt this.… Continue Reading

2018 Looks Like an Arms Bonanza

by William Hartung  As Donald Trump might put it, major weapons contractors like Boeing, Raytheon, and Lockheed Martin cashed in “bigly” in his first year in office. They raked in tens of billions of dollars in Pentagon contracts, while posting… Continue Reading

Counter-terrorism: Who will act on evidence in 2018?

by Jordan Street and Murray Ackman The evidence that mainstream counter-terror strategies need a rethink is crystal clear. Will 2018 be the year that decision-makers begin taking it seriously? The failure of current counter-terror strategies—in countries like Afghanistan, Egypt, Somalia,… Continue Reading

Salafi mission calls into question Saudi concept of moderation

by James M. Dorsey Plans to open a Salafi missionary centre in the Yemeni province of Al Mahrah on the border with Oman and Saudi Arabia raise questions about Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s concept of a moderate form of Islam.… Continue Reading

Congress Addresses Iran and Israel/Palestine

by Lara Friedman As we have over the past two years, LobeLog is posting excerpts from the Legislative Round-up published weekly when Congress is in session by the inimitable Lara Friedman, previously of Americans for Peace Now and now the president of the Foundation… Continue Reading