December, 2019

• 4 December

  NATO Secretary General announces increased defence spending by Allies

  Ahead of the meeting of NATO Leaders in London to mark the Alliance’s 70th anniversary, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Friday (29 November 2019) gave details of large increases in Allied defence spending. Mr. Stoltenberg announced that in 2019 defence spending across European Allies and Canada increased in real terms …

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• 2 December

  Pompeo’s audience: The Trumpian base

  It is not always recognized that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s Nov. 18 declaration that Israeli “settlements are not inconsistent with international law” was primarily political, not diplomatic, designed for domestic American consumption as part of the president’s reelection campaign. Secondarily, it was intended to strengthen Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin …

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• 2 December

  Return to the northeast: Syrian Army deployments against Turkish forces

  Five years ago, ISIS swept across northeast Syria, racking up a string of victories against the People’s Protection Units (YPG), Syrian Arab Army (SAA), and Free Syrian Army (FSA) alike. For Syrian loyalists, this defeat has been epitomized by the massacre at the Brigade 93 base and the defiance of …

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• 2 December

  Tearing down the walls of vested interests in the Middle East and North Africa

  The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) needs bolder and deeper economic reforms. GDP growth is projected to be 0.6 percent in the region in 2019, a fraction of what is needed to create enough jobs for its fast-growing working-age population. Even in the few countries that have had periods …

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• 2 December

  Balance in the Black Sea: The complex dynamic between Turkey, Russia, and NATO

  Turkey’s relations with its Western allies are at an all-time low while its partnership with Russia is flourishing. Since Russia began delivery of its S-400 advanced aerial defense system in July, questions have abounded about Turkey’s future in the NATO alliance. Such concerns are not baseless. Turkey-Russia ties have never …

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November, 2019

• 27 November

  Gunmen, bomb plots and secret networks: Inside Iran’s alleged campaign of terror in Europe

  Everywhere Yaghoub al-Tostari goes, an officer from Denmark’s spy service follows him. Wearing an earpiece and armed with a handgun, the official keeps an eye not just on the Arab-Iranian activist, but on those around him – a man lingering on a street corner, a motorcyclist carrying a passenger stopped …

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• 27 November

  Israel and Syria exchange fire, Syrian aerial defense batteries destroyed, Israeli military says

  The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it carried out “wide-scale strikes” of targets in Syria belonging to Iranian forces and the Syrian regime, in response to the four rockets launched into Israel in the overnight hours.

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• 27 November

  Isil leaders with 'vast amounts of cash' planning comeback in Turkey, Iraq spy chief claims

  Senior Islamic State members with access to “huge” amounts of money are in Turkey and plotting a comeback, an Iraqi spy chief has warned. Lieutenant General Saad al-Allaq, head of Iraq’s Military Intelligence, claimed in an interview with CNN that Iraq has given Ankara dossiers on nine alleged leaders of …

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• 27 November

  Qatar's Role In 9/11 And Hosting Jihadi Commanders; Afghan Taliban's Hideouts Move To Safe Haven Of Doha

  Introduction This report examines Qatar’s relationships with jihadi organizations. Right through the 1980s, Afghan mujahideen – backed by the U.S., Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Arab donors – fought against the Soviet troops from their hideouts in the mountainous terrains of Afghanistan. Since the 9/11 attacks on New York, the Pentagon, …

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• 27 November

  HAMMER: Terror-Funding Qatar Once Again Proves It Is Not America’s Friend

  The enigmatic Gulf emirate of Qatar, which is obscenely wealthy due to its fortuitous location above the world’s largest natural gas field, has a longstanding problem with Sunni jihadism. The wealthy petrochemical sheikh minority of the majority slave state Qatari populace is, along with Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Turkey, disproportionately responsible …

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