Research & Commentary Results

In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Robert S. Ford, Gerald Feierstein, Randa Slim, and Alex Vatanka provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the chemical attack on Douma, Sheikh Tamim’s Tuesday meeting with Trump, Lebanese parliamentary elections, Moroccan and Algerian tension over Western Sahara, and Iran and India’s strategic partnership.

In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Paul Salem, Bilal Y. Saab, Marvin G. Weinbaum, and Charles Lister provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the latest violence in Gaza, Gulf Shield-1 military drills, the Taliban’s resistance to peace, and the approaching Syria summit in Ankara.

In her March 15 op-ed in The New York Times, “Tell the Truth About Afghanistan”, former National Security Advisor Susan Rice offers three “bad options” for the United States as a solution to the Afghan conflict: a limited engagement focusing on providing training, equipment, and advice for Afghan security forces which she argues would only slow down the Taliban; a complete withdrawal of troops, which would then leave the Afghan government prone to increased insurgency and interference from other i

Trump announces “mission aborted” in Syria – Paul Salem

In a speech on Thursday, President Donald Trump reversed his administration’s policy on Syria, declaring “we’re coming out of Syria very soon. Let the other people take care of it now.”

Summary

A rare prospect for peace has come into sight in Afghanistan in the wake of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s bold offer to the Taliban. In a sweeping proposal, and for perhaps the first since the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, Ghani suggested a cease-fire, removal of sanctions, prisoner release, recognition of the Taliban as a political party, fresh elections and a constitutional review. Speaking at the Kabul Process, a two-day Western-backed peace conference, Ghani has demonstrated remarkable boldness and vision.

In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Paul Salem, Bilal Y. Saab, Gerald Feierstein, Gonul Tol, and Ibrahim al-Assil provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the appointment of John Bolton to national security advisor, the Houthi missile attack on Riyadh, Egypt’s regressive referendum, the Yemeni war’s third anniversary, EU-Turkey diplomacy, and the worsening crisis in Ghouta.

In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Gerald Feierstein, Paul Salem, Charles Lister, Jean-François Seznec, and Jonathan M. Winer provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the shaping of U.S.-Saudi relations, Pompeo’s appointment to secretary of state, Turkey’s capture of Afrin, the future of Saudi energy, and Egypt’s efforts to unite the Libyan military.

Prior to the outbreak of protests in Daraa in 2011, media in Syria was state-controlled and heavily regulated. However, in the face of escalating conflict with the Assad regime, independent media outlets emerged that gave voice to Syrian journalists and civil society activists sharing information domestically and to an international audience.

Rex Tillerson’s unhappy tenure at State Department ends with a whimper – Gerald Feierstein        

Rex Tillerson was never an easy fit for the Trump administration. His management of the State Department was a source of constant frustration for the career staff as well as Capitol Hill. On policy issues, Tillerson hewed more closely than Trump to establishment Republican positions. Allied with Secretary of Defense Mattis and National Security Advisor McMaster, Tillerson often acted as an anchor against the president’s more aggressive impulses.

In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Gerald Feierstein, Alex Vatanka, Nathan Stock, and Randa Slim provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the Senate’s decision to pull out of Yemen, enduring Iran-Pakistan political strain, Egypt’s role in Palestinian reconciliation, and America’s dissolving influence in Syria.

Read the full article on The National Interest 

Pakistani foreign minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif’s visit to Russia from Feb. 19 to Feb. 22 was a desperate attempt by Islamabad to woo Moscow into countering mounting American pressure on Pakistan to close safe havens used by the Taliban, most notably the Haqqani network. However, the growing Moscow-Islamabad bonhomie is not good news for Washington’s current Afghan strategy, as it unmistakably signifies changing Russian perceptions and priorities in South Asia.

In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Eran Etzion, Gerald Feierstein, Marvin G. Weinbaum, and Gonul Tol provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including Netanyahu’s meeting with Trump, the Saudi Crown Prince’s first extended travel abroad, the Taliban’s call for peace negotiations with the U.S., and Turkey’s pivot to Africa.

On March 2, Mohammad-Hashem Esmat-Allahi, who served as a senior adviser to former President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai, praised Afghan Shiite militiamen fighting in Syria.