TimeLine Layout

February, 2022

  • 13 February

    Yemeni officials say suspected militants abduct 5 UN workers

    Suspected al-Qaida militants have abducted five U.N. workers in southern Yemen, Yemeni officials said on Saturday. The officials said the workers were abducted in the southern province of Abyan late Friday and taken to an unknown location. They include four Yemenis and a foreigner, they said. In response to a …

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  • 13 February

    Navy denies Moscow’s claim that US submarine was chased out of Russian waters

    The U.S. Navy denied operating in Russian territorial waters on Saturday after Russia’s military claimed it chased away a Virginia-class submarine in the Kuril Islands after the American vessel refused an order to surface. A Russian navy destroyer used “appropriate means” against the U.S. submarine after the order was refused, …

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  • 13 February

    Biden warns Putin of ‘severe costs’ if Russia invades Ukraine

    President Joe Biden told Russia’s Vladimir Putin that invading Ukraine would cause “widespread human suffering” and that the West was committed to diplomacy to end the crisis but “equally prepared for other scenarios,” the White House said Saturday. It offered no suggestion that the hourlong call diminished the threat of …

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  • 13 February

    Macron’s Moscow Visit Fails to Break the Stalemate Over Ukraine

    British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is in Brussels today for a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg about the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. Their meeting follows a busy diplomatic week full of high-level meetings aimed at preventing the outbreak of war near the European Union’s borders. But with the week …

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  • 13 February

    Special Ops Are Better Than Drones for Counterterror Missions

    Last week, U.S. President Joe Biden ordered a team of U.S. special operations forces to carry out a raid in northern Syria that is now stoking legal controversy. The mission targeted a residential compound where Islamic State leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi had been holed up with his family and …

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  • 13 February

    A New Thaw in Israel-Turkey Ties Still Faces an Old Obstacle in Ankara

    Recent signs of a thaw in ties between Israel and Turkey after a decade of frosty relations are yet another reflection of how the Middle East’s changing regional order is not only leading to the emergence of new relationships, but also to adjustments in old ones. The thaw is in …

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  • 13 February

    A Rival of America’s Making?

    The Debate Over Washington’s China Strategy THE REAL LIBERAL BET Most observers would agree with John Mearsheimer that the liberal bet on China did not work out (“The Inevitable Rivalry,” November/December 2021). Welcoming the country into the world economy after the Cold War did not cause it to open up, …

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  • 13 February

    The potential impact of Ukraine-Russia conflict on the MENA region

    The Black Sea basin has become a flashpoint due to Russia’s interventions in Georgia and Ukraine. This has implications not only for European security, but also for Mediterranean security as well. As the prospect of a larger conflict between Ukraine and Russia looms, close attention should be paid to its …

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  • 13 February

    Baghdad announces crackdown on drug trafficking, gangs in Maysan

    Security file in Maysan governorate has become a priority for the Iraqi government following assassinations, armed tribal conflicts, organized crime and drug trafficking. A wave of assassinations in Maysan province has led Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi to establish a special operations command. Kadhimi, who is also commander in chief …

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  • 13 February

    Jihadi leader’s donation to IDP camps in Syria questioned as PR stunt

    Some observers feel that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani’s donation of $1 million to displaced camp residents is more about public relations than benevolence. The latest public appearance of the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib again raised controversy. On …

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