Editor’s Picks
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Mar- 2018 -6 MarchCommentary
Ghani’s peace offer to the Taliban: A long shot, but worth a shot
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani was right to offer peace to the Taliban, and he deserves praise for making such a politically risky move, Michael Kugelman and Nishtha Sharma argue
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2 MarchCommentary
From Hasakah to Manbij: How I got shot at by rebel snipers in Syria
When Wladimir Van Wilgenburg returned to Syria to cover the ongoing war in the north, he quickly found that getting access to the frontlines in Afrin and Manbij was more difficult than anticipated
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1 MarchCommentary
What’s behind the military shake-up in Saudi Arabia?
LSE's Courtney Freer says that Mohammed bin Salman has for years expressed his desire to advance Saudi Arabia's military, lamenting that high military spending has not led to correspondingly high military performance
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Feb- 2018 -28 FebruaryCommentary
Red Army in the grey zone: Russia’s greatest threat to the US is ‘less-than-war’
Crispin Burke argues that a credible US military deterrent may encourage Russia to use less-than-war measures, including military contractors and cyber power – designed to create plausible deniability and preclude the US from striking back
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17 FebruaryCommentary
An experimental playground: The footprint of Russian private military companies in Syria
The footprint of Russian private military contractors in Syria is significant and has demonstrated the capacity of the Kremlin to apply military pressure abroad without officially deploying regular troops
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13 FebruaryCommentary
The Manbij Conundrum
The collapse, or eviction by military force, of the SDF from Manbij would have dire consequences for the stability of the SDF, and by extension, the entire US mission to build stability in the wake of the Islamic State in Syria.
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10 FebruaryCommentary
Egypt’s new Sinai campaign unlikely to achieve long-term stability
It is nearly inconceivable to think that the Egyptian military could support a sustained presence to the level it will demonstrate over the next days in Sinai, Allison McManus writes
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2 FebruaryCommentary
SDF defeated ISIS in northern Syria – the US and its allies should support them in Afrin
The world made the right choice when it stood with the SDF in Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor. It is not too late for the United States to stand with Afrin.
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1 FebruaryAsia Pacific
The ‘weak link’: Afghan Police bear the brunt of insecurity in Afghanistan
Undertrained and improperly equipped, the Afghan National Police act more as a security force than civilian police, and they bear the brunt of terrorist attacks
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Jan- 2018 -29 JanuaryWar of Words
Will militia leaders shape Iraq’s future?
What role will Shia militia leaders and the Hashd al-Shaabi popular mobilization units who fought ISIS play in the Iraqi political arena in the 2018 election?
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