What is Turkey Really After in Syria?

by Shireen T. Hunter Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has justified his invasion of the Kurdish-inhabited areas of northeastern Syria in terms of preventing Syrian Kurdish groups linked to Turkey’s Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) from assisting that group’s insurgency against… Continue Reading

Trump’s Wall is Alive in Hungary, which is why Orban is befriending Assad

by Nicolai Due-Gundersen “You’re respected all over Europe,” Trump insisted when meeting Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the White House in May 2019. For his part, Orban confirmed that his views on immigration were aligned with Trump’s border wall… Continue Reading

Global Power Shifts Sparked in Syrian Hornets’ Nest

by Helena Cobban This week, Mideast watchers have been breathlessly awaiting the arrival in NATO member Turkey of the first of the two batteries of Russian-made S-400 air defense systems that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan purchased from Russia in… Continue Reading

War with Iran Would Not Mean Happy Ending for Middle East

by Shireen T. Hunter A recent article by veteran Washington Post columnist David Ignatius urges Democratic Party politicians to adopt a harder posture on Iran. He seems to suggest that if Iran were to stop interfering in Middle East politics,… Continue Reading

The Not So “Nice” Map of Israel 

by Aaron Southlea On his recent visit to Israel, Jared Kushner presented Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a State Department map showing the occupied Golan Heights as part of Israel. President Donald Trump left a short message on the map,… Continue Reading