February 17, 2026 Eurasia
When United States President Donald Trump dispatched special forces into Caracas to kidnap Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, the firefights and airstrikes raining down killed dozens of people. Trump soon announced that the US would “run” Venezuela and take control of its oil industry, claiming that …
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February 17, 2026 Eurasia, Middle Orient
The 162-article draft “constitution,” however, shows that, if and when the Palestinians have a state of their own, it would actually not be different from the two mini-states they have had for the past two decades: the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the …
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February 17, 2026 Eurasia
Europe’s policy of subservience to the Trump administration has failed. For Washington to take the EU seriously, its leaders now need to combine engagement with robust pushback. After a year of Donald Trump’s second U.S. presidency, the EU is still in a state of shock. So far, European leaders have …
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February 17, 2026 Eurasia, Middle Orient
A source inside the municipality of Akhtarin district, in the northern countryside of Aleppo, confirmed to Enab Baladi the transfer of residents of the “Al-Hol” camp in the countryside of Al-Hasakah, which includes the families of the “Islamic State” organization. The source said that the transfer is likely to be …
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February 16, 2026 Eurasia
Toplines The Kremlin continues to discuss future elections in Ukraine to advance its false claim that the current Ukrainian government is illegitimate and insists on means of controlling Ukraine’s politics. In an interview with Kremlin newswire TASS on February 15, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin repeated the debunked claim …
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February 16, 2026 Africa, Eurasia, Middle Orient
The rift between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has erupted beyond subtle divergences into a more overt and consequential rivalry. While it started with an emerging proxy war over southern Yemen, it has now shifted to the Horn of Africa. But while efforts to smooth their differences …
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February 16, 2026 Eurasia, Middle Orient
Syria’s oil fields in the northeast have returned to the state from the SDF, but the recovery of the country’s energy sector will take time, energy, and money Damascus, Syria – Following the government’s takeover of much of northeast Syria from the Kurdish-majority Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in recent weeks, …
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February 16, 2026 Eurasia, Middle Orient
The NCAG’s viability will depend on producing quick, tangible deliverables, so the Trump administration, the Board of Peace, and the High Representative should stand ready to provide the requisite support on staving off Hamas and PA obstructionism and cutting through Israeli red tape. Last month’s establishment of the National Committee …
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February 16, 2026 Eurasia, Middle Orient
Clear-eyed recounting and a detailed roadmap can give U.S. officials and the American public a better view of what security and governance measures the new Syrian government has taken so far, and what gaps and pitfalls remain in the path of lasting stability. The following testimony was submitted to the …
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February 16, 2026 Eurasia, Iran, Middle Orient
U.S. envoys should be focused less on making a deal and more on how they can use the prospect of imminent military strikes to secure concessions on the nuclear issue, missile threats, treatment of protesters, and other matters. Nearly eight months after the twelve-day war, which saw the United States …
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