Needed in Syria: Disengagement

by Paul R. Pillar The cauldron of intervention known as the Syrian war has recently become even more likely to boil over than it was just a few weeks ago. There are two immediate dangers of escalation. One is the… Continue Reading

The U.S. Is Permanently Occupying Northern Syria, and That’s Trouble

by Reese Erlich When President Barack Obama started bombing Syria in 2014, he enjoyed bipartisan support in Washington, D.C. Americans were appalled by the atrocities of the Islamic State, which had massacred Yazidis, and seized swaths of territory in Syria and Iraq.… Continue Reading

The Islamic State Threat to Hamas

by Theodore Karasik and Giorgio Cafiero At the beginning of January, the offshoot of the Islamic State (ISIS or IS) in the Egyptian Sinai released a 22-minute execution video titled “Community of Abraham.” The victim was an alleged Hamas collaborator.… Continue Reading

Except for Syria, Middle East Disappeared from Network News in 2017

by Jim Lobe Except for the ongoing war in Syria, coverage of the Middle East by the evening news programs of the three big U.S. networks virtually disappeared in 2017, according to the latest annual compilation by the authoritative Tyndall… Continue Reading