What is happening in the Middle East is its entry into another era. This description carries no judgement of value: the question is not whether the change is negative or positive, but that the rules of the game have changed.
The Middle East’s New Era: Rules No One Wrote Read More »
Syrian president Ahmed al-Shara’s drive to centralize the country and marginalize minority communities shows no sign of abating. Seven months after seizing power, Syria’s transitional president, Ahmed al-Shara, had successfully recast himself from a jihadist once subject to a $10 million US bounty into a pragmatic statesman and the nation’s best hope for reunification and
Ahmed Al-Shara: Syria’s Fragile Strongman Read More »
Despite his rhetoric about democracy and inclusivity, Syria’s new president is steering the country back toward military dictatorship. At the Victory Conference on January 29, Ahmed al-Sharaa stood in military fatigues before an audience of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) members and Islamist militia leaders as he was declared Syria’s transitional president. Alongside this announcement, he suspended the constitution and ordered that
Syria’s Dictatorship Trap Read More »
On Wednesday, November 27, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led by Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa (commonly known as Abu Mohamad al-Jolani), and the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) launched a lightning offensive against the Assad regime. By December 1, they had seized Aleppo, Syria’s largest city. One week later, Bashar al-Assad’s regime is on the verge of collapse. While the volatile geopolitical
The Fall of the House of Assad Read More »
As Israel launches its offensive on Rafah at the peril of the hostages and its international standing, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has once again demonstrated that his primary objective is to ensure his political survival by catering to the messianic Far Right. Netanyahu has argued that an assault on Rafah is key to achieving total victory. However, after nearly
The Middle East’s Perfect Storm Read More »
