Terrorism: State Support Is Self-Defeating

by Shireen T. Hunter The end of June and the beginning of July were especially bloody times as terrorists affiliated with the Islamic State (ISIS or IS) struck in several places. As usual, Baghdad, especially its Shia quarters, were favorite… Continue Reading →

An Endless Cycle of Indecisive Wars

by Patrick Cockburn We live in an age of disintegration. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Greater Middle East and Africa. Across the vast swath of territory between Pakistan and Nigeria, there are at least seven ongoing wars… Continue Reading →

Protecting the World’s Shia: Where’s the International Community?

by Shireen T. Hunter Only a few short months ago, Saudi Arabia executed the Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr Al Nimr, and the Nigerian military killed hundreds of the country’s Shia and severely wounded their leader Sheikh Ibrahim Yaqoub Zakzaki. Now,… Continue Reading →

Bombs Away! America’s Latest Misguided Strategic Fad

by James A. Russell You know you’re in trouble when a group of State Department diplomats (of all people) join the hawkish consensus calling for an open-ended commitment to start blasting away at Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. Somehow they think… Continue Reading →

America’s Sinkhole Wars

by Andrew J. Bacevich We have it on highest authority: the recent killing of Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour by a U.S. drone strike in Pakistan marks “an important milestone.” So the president of the United States has declared,… Continue Reading →