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Climate-induced migration in the GCC states: A looming challenge
Photo by SAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP via Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • Climate-induced migration in the GCC states: A looming challenge

    Gulf states are collectively investing billions of dollars in developing renewable energy. Yet climate change patterns in neighboring regions, combined with rising average temperatures, could eventually trigger more serious climate migration problems for the Gulf countries themselves.

    January 13, 2023

    Keeping up appearances: The Ukraine war’s effect on Russian deployments in Syria
    Photo by DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • Keeping up appearances: The Ukraine war’s effect on Russian deployments in Syria

    As Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine turned into protracted positional and attrition warfare, often speculative reports emerged about the imminent reduction of the Russian military presence in Syria. Several factors may explain the changes in the Russian military presence in Syria and its future.

    The Houthis' embargo on Yemen's oil exports
    Photo by Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • The Houthis' embargo on Yemen's oil exports

    On Nov. 21, the Iranian-backed Houthi militia launched a drone attack against the Dhabba Oil Terminal in Yemen’s Hadramawt Governorate. The threat of further attacks on oil ports and military targets remains high as the militant group tests the tolerance and response of Yemen’s government and the international community while increasing its demands.

    December 9, 2022

    The spider of Khanasir and the rising star of Syria’s Hussam Luka
    Photo courtesy of the author
  • Analysis
  • The spider of Khanasir and the rising star of Syria’s Hussam Luka

    Despite his rural Sunni roots, one general has managed to play a part in nearly every step of the regime’s counter-revolution, all while building a web of networks across much of Syria as he worked his way up the complex internal ladders of the mukhabarat: Maj. Gen. Hussam Luka.

    December 8, 2022

    The Future-Seeking, Team-Building 5th Fleet Is Busier Than Ever
    U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Cryton Vandiesal
  • Commentary
  • The Future-Seeking, Team-Building 5th Fleet Is Busier Than Ever

    In recent years, the United States has stepped up its efforts to promote a Middle East security order in which cooperation is more widely preached and effectively practiced among like-minded nations. Nowhere has this multilateral approach to regional security been more credible and fruitful than in the maritime domain.

    December 6, 2022

    ISIS leader’s death raises intriguing questions
    Photo by JOSEPH EID/AFP via Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • ISIS leader’s death raises intriguing questions

    On Nov. 30, the Islamic State announced that its leader, Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, had been killed in battle and that his successor, Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurayshi, was now in place. Hours later, the United States military’s Central Command confirmed the death of Abu al-Hassan, adding that it had occurred in Daraa, in southern Syria, in mid-October at the hands of “the Free Syrian Army.”

    داعش" إلى العلن في الجنوب السوري"
    Photo by LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images
  • Commentary
  • داعش" إلى العلن في الجنوب السوري"

    أطلقت المجموعات المحلية في مدينة درعا البلد ، وهي مجموعات عسكرية كانت تتبع للجيش السوري الحر، و بقيت في المحافظة بعد توقيع أتفاقية المصالحة مع النظام السوري برعاية روسية في يوليو / تموز عام 2018، عملية عسكرية واسعة على مجموعات هفو _ الحرفوش في أحياء طريق السد والمخيم داخل درعا البلد.

    ISIS is back in the open in southern Syria
    Photo by LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • ISIS is back in the open in southern Syria

    On Oct. 31, local units previously affiliated with the FSA launched a large-scale military operation against the al-Hafo-Harfoush group in the southern Syrian city of Daraa al-Balad. The operation followed a suicide bombing targeting the house of Ghassan al-Akram Abazid, a former FSA leader, that left four dead and several others wounded, on Oct. 28, in Daraa al-Balad. The attack was only the latest in a string of similar operations in southern Syria conducted by the group over the past year targeting military factions affiliated with the opposition.

    Dispatches from Sharm el-Sheikh: Reviewing COP27 from the MENA perspective
    Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images
  • Commentary
  • Dispatches from Sharm el-Sheikh: Reviewing COP27 from the MENA perspective

    Participating in COP27 provided a unique opportunity to view the proceedings firsthand and evaluate the effectiveness of the meeting in advancing critical climate priorities that can alter the alarming trajectory of future climate change.

    November 29, 2022