by Larry Garber With more than 12 million refugees and internally displaced persons, any effort to organize credible Syrian elections that would contribute to resolving the on-going conflict seems an exercise in fantasy. Yet this week, in a presentation to… Continue Reading
by Paul R. Pillar The other day we learned that there are four times more U.S. troops in Syria than any earlier official figure had acknowledged. The discrepancy did not get much public attention perhaps because the numbers are small—… Continue Reading
by Alexey Khlebnikov There has been extensive diplomacy across the Middle East in recent months. Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Turkey and Iran. Saudi Arabian King Salman made a historic visit to Moscow. Turkish President Recep Tayip Erdogan visited Russia… Continue Reading
by Mark N. Katz Russia and Iran, as is well known, have been cooperating closely in Syria. The combination of ground forces from Iran and its various Shi’a militia allies plus primarily air forces from Russia have succeeded in helping… Continue Reading
by John Feffer The Middle East today is enduring a replay of World War II — with the Islamic State in the role of Nazi Germany. Having seized much of Europe and parts of the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany reached… Continue Reading