Dylan Motin // The massive campaign of U.S. aid to Israel has outlived its original purpose and is now impeding Washington’s effort to outcompete great power rivals.
Category: Middle East
Azerbaijan and Iran: A Tale of Two Countries
Alexander Miguel // Iran and Azerbaijan share many cultural similarities. However, these cultural similarities fail to halt a cooling of relations as each country drifts apart geopolitically.
State-Sponsored Terrorism Is Back
Simeone Miller // As the United States faces strategic competition, it must be prepared to respond to the likely increase of state-sponsored terrorism in the coming years. In doing so, it must be cognizant of the blowback of responding to these threats with either unconventional or conventional military force as it has with Salafi-Jihadist terrorists. In lieu, it should be restrained and develop alternative means to engage in the return of state-sponsored terrorism through diplomacy, law enforcement, and intelligence cooperation.
Europe’s Breadbasket Isn’t Exporting Much Bread
Lake Dodson // Until mutual concessions are made to allow Ukrainian free trade or the Russian invasion of Ukraine ends, the lives of billions hang in the balance as “Europe’s breadbasket” is pillaged.
Al-Qaeda’s Succession Crisis: The War of the Three Princes
Simeone Miller // While the successful strike on al-Zawahiri is worth celebrating, it does not mean that the Salafi-Jihadist threat will ultimately collapse. Rather, it will more likely lead to another political shift among global jihadis.
Ideas Have People: The Killing of Zawahiri and the War on Terror
By Matthew Bryant // What was the effect that the death of Ayman Al-Zawahiri had on the global war on terror? The straightforward answer is that it mattered very little. The United States framed the global war on terror in terms of fighting an ideology rather than a specific target.
A Middle-Eastern NATO Is Highly Unlikely
By Simeone Miller // The idea of a NATO-style alliance in the Middle East is a proposition that could benefit U.S. security interests. However, there are just too many roadblocks to making it happen, and little action is being taken by either the United States or Middle Eastern states to clear those roadblocks.
Over the Horizon: How to Improve the U.S. Counter-Terrorism Strategy
By Simeone Miller // When the majority of Americans want fewer American troops engaged in direct combat and a tougher focus on China over counter-terrorism, U.S. decision-makers should not be so hesitant to try something new and give over the horizon a chance.
As the West Shifts Away From Fossil Fuels, MENA Pays the Price
By Giorgia Piantanida // As a region of interest for the United States for economic and national-defense reasons, not assisting MENA in reducing its reliance on fossil fuels is dangerous.
The Octopus Doctrine: How Israel Is Making U.S.-Iran Nuclear Negotiations More Difficult
By Sydnee Fox // Israel's operations against Iran have only increased Iranian motivation to acquire nuclear weapons and take revenge on both Israel and the United States, making successful negotiations impossible.