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.
Category: Middle East
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.
Botched Surgeries: The Real Costs of Drone Warfare
By Noah Schwartz // Primacy comes at a human cost and drones are only the latest lie sold to the public that America can project force in far-away places in a precise and surgical fashion that limits civilian casualties.
Will Turkey and NATO Stay Together?
By Christopher Ynclan Jr. // America and all of NATO must recognize that Turkey will be a crucial partner for the security challenges of the remaining 21st century. Now is the time to start mending fences.
A Human Rights Foreign Policy Demands Dumping the Saudis
By Rishab Chatty // President Biden recently approved a $650 million sale of air-to-air missiles to Saudi Arabia in a complete reversal of his February announcement. This comes not long after the administration announced a $500 million contract with Saudi Arabia in September, providing the Arab nation with military support and maintenance of its Apache and Black Hawk attack helicopters.
Emirates and Empires: The Taliban, ISIS-K, and China in the New Afghanistan
By Brad Settelmeyer & Alison O'Neil // ISIS-K presents a unique challenge to the Taliban, many of whom have experience as fighters but few of whom are experts in governance. ISIS-K seeks to dissolve nation-state borders and establish an Islamic caliphate with Afghanistan at its heart.