by Mark N. Katz Numerous reports indicate that Russia’s military intervention in Syria has succeeded in halting the loss of territory that the Bashar al-Assad regime had been experiencing in the months before it began. Moreover, it has enabled Damascus to… Continue Reading
by Graham E. Fuller It is hard to find even the smallest silver lining in the ongoing series of jihadist outrages that now proliferate with each daily news report. The immoral and cynical exploitation of religion (a constant of human… Continue Reading
by Tom Engelhardt One of the charms of the future is its powerful element of unpredictability, its ability to ambush us in lovely ways or bite us unexpectedly in the ass. Most of the futures I imagined as a boy… Continue Reading
by Paul R. Pillar Large-scale armed insurrection tends to move through identifiable phases that correspond roughly to what Mao Zedong described many years ago. In Mao’s formulation, the first of three phases emphasizes organization, propaganda, and the establishment of cadres… Continue Reading
by Derek Davison Last week’s suicide bombing in Istanbul’s Sultanahmet district was the fourth bombing on Turkish soil since last June linked to the Islamic State (ISIS or IS). However, unlike the three previous bombings, this attack was not directed… Continue Reading