In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Randa Slim, Robert S. Ford, Marvin G. Weinbaum, James P. Farwell, Emadeddin Badi, Guney Yildiz, and Jean-François Seznec provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s visit to Baghdad, reconstruction efforts in Syria, the crackdown on militant Islamists in Pakistan, Iran’s cyber attack capabilities, upcoming elections in Libya, Turkish-Egyptian tensions, and Qatar’s $12B loan from bond markets.
Monday Briefing: Tenuous promise in Pakistan and Afghanistan
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Marvin G. Weinbaum, Robert S. Ford, Alex Vatanka, and Birol Baskan provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including a potential agreement between Pakistan and Afghanistan, protests in Algeria, Rouhani’s planned trip to Baghdad, and recent Turkish naval exercises.
Madiha Afzal, visiting fellow at Brookings, and MEI’s Marvin Weinbaum join host Alistair Taylor to discuss Pakistan’s latest flare-up with India, the recent visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the US-Taliban talks, and the political and economic challenges facing the government of Imran Khan.
Monday Briefing: Egypt hosts first EU-Arab League summit
In this week’s Monday Briefing, contributors Mirette F. Mabrouk, Gerald Feierstein, Marvin G. Weinbaum, Przemysław Osiewicz, Grace Wermenbol, and W. Robert Pearson provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the EU-Arab League summit, the progress in US-Taliban talks, challenges to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s power, consequences of the Kashmir attack, and Turkey’s next steps in Syria.
The current conflict in Afghanistan, the latest in a series of perpetual wars and episodes of civil strife over the past 40 years, is strategically stalemated. While the Taliban are willing to negotiate with the U.S. about the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country, they continue to reject direct talks with the Afghan government for a political settlement. Even with inclusive peace talks, there is reason to question whether the Taliban’s vision of a future Afghan state and society can be reconciled with a liberal, democratic constitutional order.
Weekly Briefing: MBS South Asia swing aims to shore up relations
In this week’s briefing, MEI experts Gerald Feierstein, Charles Lister, Marvin G. Weinbaum, and W. Robert Pearson provide analysis on Saudi-Pakistan relations, Turkish politics in the lead-up to March municipal elections, and the question of what to do with ISIS prisoners after the group’s territorial collapse.
MEI’s Ahmad Majidyar and Marvin Weinbaum join host Alistair Taylor to discuss the US-Taliban negotiations in Doha and what a potential agreement could mean for Afghanistan and the wider region.
Monday Briefing: US-Taliban talks progress, but major obstacles remain
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Ahmad Majidyar, Marvin G. Weinbaum, Randa Slim, Paul Salem, and Guney Yildiz provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including U.S. negotiations with the Taliban in Afghanistan, a warning sent to Israel by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, the Sudanese president’s appeal for external support, Turkish-Syrian diplomacy, and Pakistan’s acceptance of Gulf aid.
October going on December: Voters are still waiting for results in Afghan elections
While four million Afghans bravely defied Taliban threats to cast their ballots in parliamentary elections in October, issues with the voting process and the two-month delay in announcing the results are causes for concern, especially with four important elections scheduled for next April.
Geneva conference lays out challenges in Afghanistan
Held on Nov. 27-28, the two-day Geneva conference on Afghanistan voiced both challenges and prospects for Afghanistan’s economic and political stability.
Monday Briefing: Russians launch air strikes after alleged gas attack
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts discuss recent and upcoming events including Russian air strikes in Aleppo, the elections in Bahrain, the growing international interest in Egypt’s offshore energy finds, and the appointment of a new Afghan team of negotiators for peace talks.
A new approach in Afghanistan: China and India take steps toward cooperation
While there have been promising recent signs of Indian-Chinese cooperation in Afghanistan, Beijing’s “all-weather” friendship with Islamabad and Pakistan’s concerns about Indian involvement in the country remain obstacles to closer ties.
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Alex Vatanka, Marvin G. Weinbaum, and Charles Lister provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including Iran’s decision to sell its oil in the private sector, the prime minister of Pakistan’s search for foreign aid, and the Syrian summit in Istanbul.
