Friday, December 8, 2023
Press
Experts from the U.S. Institute of Peace provide the latest analysis and perspective on the world’s critical hot spots, U.S. and global security and issues involved in violent conflict, based on the Institute’s work on the ground and with key individuals, governments and organizations. They give interviews and background briefings to journalists and write for news outlets around the world.
Debating the US presence in Syria: The ISIS factor - Responsible Statecraft
Roughly ten years ago, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, swept across Mesopotamia. At its peak, it controlled large swathes of Iraqi and Syrian territory, equivalent in size to Great Britain, subjecting more than 10 million people to its brutal governance. Although the “caliphate” lost its ...
Is the U.S. at war with the Houthis in Yemen? Here's what to know about the rift in the Red Sea - Yahoo News
Houthi militants in Yemen fired a ballistic missile on Friday toward a U.S. warship patrolling the Gulf of Aden, according to U.S. Central Command. There were no reported injuries or damage to the ship. The attack comes one day after the U.S. and U.K. announced that they’re jointly imposing sanctions on four Houthi military officials, in an effort to deter the Iran-backed militant group from...
Peace expert says U.S. strikes on Houthis in Yemen mark 'very dangerous moment in the Middle East' - Yahoo News
One day after the U.S. and U.K. launched retaliatory strikes against Houthi militant locations in Yemen, President Biden said the U.S. is prepared to take action again if the Iran-backed rebels continue to attack ships in the Red Sea. “We will make sure that we respond to the Houthis if they continue with this outrageous behavior along wit...
Attacks in Lebanon, Iran inject new volatility into Middle East - The Hill
The killing of a top Hamas official in Beirut and a shock explosion that killed dozens of mourners of a top Iranian general are challenging efforts to contain fighting on multiple fronts in the Middle East from exploding into a larger war. It’s not yet clear what connection, if any, there is between the suspected Israeli assassination against...
The US Wanted Out of the Middle East. The Middle East Had Other Ideas - Military.com
Facing a growing list of attacks against U.S. forces in the Middle East, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Charles "C.Q." Brown was pressed at a recent conference on why the American military wasn't responding more aggressively. Two decades of war in the region, a war that much of the American public is eager to...
Assad in China: Syria's new economic and diplomatic ally? - The New Arab
On 21 September, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad landed at the Hangzhou airport in China for an extended visit with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. Except for visits to Moscow, this trip constituted Assad’s first travel outside the Middle East since the...
Syria's Bashar Al Assad to meet Xi Jinping on first China visit in almost two decades - The National
Syria's President Bashar Al Assad landed in China on Thursday for his first visit to the country in almost two decades. Mr Al Assad and his wife Asma arrived in the eastern city of Hangzhou for the opening ceremony of...
UN envoy persists with Syria peace talks despite stalemates - The National News
Every few months, a UN envoy seeking a political solution to the Syrian civil war briefs the Security Council on what has been described as a lack of any significant progress. Geir Pedersen's mission, to implement international resolutions calling for undefined political transition in Syria, now faces even...
Syria becoming a key battleground in US-Russia rivalry - Arab News
A growing strategic consensus gaining influence inside Washington suggests that Russian President Vladimir Putin is stepping up the pressure on the US in Syria in a bid to force American troops out of the country. And some US military experts are blaming the Biden administration for being too...