Illegal arrest and detention of Libyan Asset Recovery head reflects worsening Libyan corruption
Endemic corruption in Libya continues to deter foreign investment, cripple public services, and erode trust in government. This dismal situation is driven by the ongoing power struggles among Libya’s political and military elite. Recently, bad actors in both Libya’s east and west have undertaken a spree of arbitrary arrests and detentions that the United Nations Support Mission in Libya has now warned are not only illegal, but creating “a climate of fear.”
Reimagining Syria: A Roadmap for Peace and Prosperity Beyond Assad
The work of the Syria Strategy Project and the considerable policy recommendations found in this report present a realistic and holistic vision for Syria’s recovery and reintegration into the international system.
The national dialogue in Syria: A step forward or a concerning trajectory?
Syria’s national dialogue, held in Damascus at the end of February, was intended to chart the country’s future, one that would have been unthinkable just three months earlier. However, the process and outcomes of the dialogue were flawed, left critical questions unanswered, and raised new concerns.
US disengagement and new regional security dynamics in Afghanistan’s neighborhood
Afghanistan’s neighborhood is in the midst of a consequential restructuring of its security architecture. Key regional actors Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, and China have been continuing to adjust their defense plans and security partnerships to meet the growing threats posed by domestic and cross-border terrorism. At the same time, these four countries have also been looking for new ways to fill the vacuum in southern Asia left by the United States military’s departure from Afghanistan.
A historic shift may be on the horizon, as Turkey and Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan engage in unexpected peace talks. After 40 years of insurgency and 40,000 lives lost, Ocalan is expected to call for PKK fighters to lay down their arms. However, with President Erdogan’s democratic backsliding and continued crackdown on Kurdish political rights, questions remain about whether lasting peace is possible. MEI’s Gönül Tol explains.
Normalizing regular contacts and building relationships with the Taliban leadership can offer a more effective way to hold the Islamic Emirate to account for its actions. It also gives greater promise of realizing American hopes for an Afghanistan inhospitable to global terrorists and more respectful of the human rights of its citizens.
With al-Assad gone, the risk of an ISIS resurgence grows
This perilous moment for Syria’s future comes at a moment when American foreign policy in the region could change on a dime. President-elect Donald Trump has already stated the United States should have “nothing to do” with Syria’s future. But to do nothing would give the Islamic State a chance to surge once again.
In only six days, a broad coalition of advancing opposition forces coordinated by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has captured all of Idlib province, almost all of Aleppo province, and a sizeable stretch of northern Hama — a humiliating defeat for Bashar al-Assad and illustrative of the fragility of regime rule in Syria.
To abandon the Syria mission now would bring no meaningful benefit to the US, but it would swiftly and significantly empower America’s adversaries, like ISIS, Iran, Russia, and Assad’s regime.
Over the past month, Iran and its regional network of allies and proxies – The Axis of Resistance – has suffered a string of dramatic losses and defeats. What is the future of the Axis and its members, and what can the US and its allies do to confront and disrupt this Iranian-led network?
