September 22, 2021 Middle Orient
As attacks believed to be by Iran-linked armed groups continue amid questions over how long US forces will retain a presence in Iraq, Sunni Arabs are again seeking safety in the Kurdistan Region of the country. A Sept. 11 drone attack on Erbil International Airport, which flanks an air base …
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September 22, 2021 Africa
The surrender of Abu Hamza al-Qadi to an Egyptian tribal union linked to the government could be a major blow to the terrorist organization. A high-profile Islamic State commander in Sinai has given himself up to a tribal union loyal to the Egyptian military, exposing possible cracks within the organization …
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September 22, 2021 Middle Orient
The Syrian opposition is getting ready for a possible attack by Syrian government forces in Idlib, following increasingly intense bombing and reconnaissance attacks since the beginning of September. The Syrian opposition fears renewed battles in the northwestern province of Idlib, amid escalating tension between Turkey and Russia, which has been …
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September 22, 2021 Iran, South East Asia
Iran has been upgraded to permanent member status in the Eurasian alliance, of which Turkey is also a partner. Iran officially joined a Chinese-based alliance of Eurasian states on Friday. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization admitted the Islamic Republic of Iran as a permanent member at the organization’s summit in Tajikistan, …
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September 22, 2021 Eurasia
Russia’s invitation to the Taliban’s since-canceled inauguration ceremony indicates a special relationship has developed between Moscow and the Taliban. Russia – along with Pakistan, China, Iran, Turkey and Qatar — was on a fairly short list of states invited by the Taliban to inaugurate their new government in Kabul on …
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September 22, 2021 Afghanistan
A full accounting of the costs of the United States’ failed intervention in Afghanistan will take years or even decades. But judging from the reactions from overseas to the past week’s events, the debacle has already taken a significant toll on America’s credibility. Justifiably or not, President Joe Biden’s insistence …
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September 22, 2021 Eurasia
Proponents of a U.S. grand strategy of “restraint” are perhaps most well-known for advocating the end of America’s “forever wars” and reducing the country’s military footprint in the Middle East and Afghanistan. But the so-called restrainers have also questioned the rationale for maintaining the United States’ extensive networks of alliances …
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September 22, 2021 Africa
U.S. President Joe Biden campaigned for the 2020 Democratic nomination promising not only to restore the defense of human rights and democracy to a central position in U.S. foreign policy, but also to “build back better” in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. But for Africa’s 54 countries and 1.4 …
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September 22, 2021 Eurasia
Have know-nothing civilian bureaucrats, lily-livered humanitarian do-gooders and misguided academics tied the military’s hands with increasingly restrictive norms that don’t correspond to the laws of war, let alone the rigors of battle and requirements of victory? That’s the premise of a new article in Military Review by Army Lt. Gen. …
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September 22, 2021 Eurasia
In an address to the nation in early July, President Joe Biden suggested that one of the factors leading him to withdraw all remaining U.S. troops from Afghanistan was the “need to focus on shoring up America’s core strengths to meet the strategic competition with China and other nations that …
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