December, 2025

• 8 December

  What Makes Europe the Enemy of the World

  Few relatively knowledgeable observers of international relations doubt that Europe today once again poses the greatest threat to peace. This fact is especially depressing, given that virtually the entire experience of world politics since World War II has been aimed at creating reliable ways to prevent a repetition of the …

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• 8 December

  The Critical-Minerals Race Is Putting the Planet at Risk

  

  BERLIN – The environmental and human toll of mineral extraction is becoming clearer – and more alarming – by the day. Roughly 60% of Ghana’s waterways are now heavily polluted due to gold mining along riverbanks. In Peru, many communities have lost access to safe drinking water after environmental protections …

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• 8 December

  Experts react: What Trump’s National Security Strategy means for US foreign policy

  

  The Trump 2.0 worldview is now on paper for the world to see. Late Thursday, the Trump administration released its National Security Strategy (NSS), a twenty-nine-page document outlining its principles and priorities for US foreign policy. The document articulates what US strategy is—for example, a focus on the Western Hemisphere …

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• 8 December

  Oil from Northern Iraq Arrives in the United States After Pipeline Reopens

  

  In addition to providing discounted crude of a quality desired by American refiners, the resumption of oil flows via the ITP is already showing promise of furthering U.S. policy toward partners and adversaries alike. On November 24—two months after the reopening of the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline (ITP)—an oil tanker laden with …

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• 8 December

  Iran Update, December 5, 2025

  

  Toplines Former senior Assad regime officials are likely funding and equipping clandestine networks in Syria to conduct insurgent activity against the Syrian transitional government. Reuters reported on December 5 that former Military Intelligence Chief Major General Kamal Hassan and Bashar al Assad’s cousin, Rami Makhlouf, have formed rival Alawite militias …

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• 8 December

  Iran Update, December 3, 2025

  

  Toplines Iranian-backed Iraqi militia Harakat Hezbollah al Nujaba head Akram al Kaabi threatened on December 3 to attack US Special Envoy to Iraq Mark Savaya in response to Savaya’s “blatant interference in Iraqi affairs.”[1] Iranian-backed Iraqi militias are unlikely to attack Savaya due to the potential repercussions that such an …

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• 8 December

  Egypt rejects Israeli decision to open Rafah for exit only, insists it would only accept ‘two-way’ opening

  

  Cairo reaffirmed its adherence to the plan and UN Security Council Resolution 2803, including the right of return for Palestinians. According to the Egyptian State Information Service, Egyptian authorities refuted on Wednesday afternoon reports that Israel claims it will open the Rafah crossing, the only lifeline for Gaza to the …

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• 8 December

  THE NEW SYRIAN ARMY: ORDER OF BATTLE

  The-New-Syrian-Army-Order-of-Battle_finalDownload

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• 8 December

  Salvaging the Lebanon Ceasefire Amid Looming Deadlines and Threats of War

  

  Washington and its allies are waiting for Beirut to acknowledge the difficult but unavoidable truth: that war will resume unless serious action is taken to target all the pillars of Hezbollah’s power, bolster Shia political alternatives, and otherwise satisfy the ceasefire’s most important requirement: disarming the group. Although major military …

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• 8 December

  3 IDF Soldiers Injured in Separate West Bank Attacks, Terrorists Killed

  

  Latest Developments 2 Attacks in a Day: Two IDF soldiers were lightly wounded in a West Bank stabbing attack on December 2. The stabbing occurred when an IDF patrol was dispatched to the Israeli West Bank community of Ateret, near Ramallah, to investigate a suspicious individual who stabbed the soldiers …

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