Tag Archives: Iran

A Ceasefire in Gaza but Regional Challenges Remain

January 20, 2025 The Hamas-Israel ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange agreement went into effect yesterday with the release of three Israeli woman hostages and ninety Palestinian prisoners, mostly women. During the past fifteen months, nearly 47,000 Gazans were killed and more … Continue reading

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Türkiye at an Inflection Point

December 19, 2024 The history of Türkiye-West relations over the last fifteen years has been characterized by a lack of meaningful dialogue, unfriendly rhetoric, and confrontation despite a promising beginning. In April 2009 President Obama came to Ankara on his … Continue reading

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The Year 2024 in Review

December 16, 2024 People aspire to democracy.  Regardless of their respect for fundamental rights and freedoms, and the rule of law, all regimes claim to be democratic in some form because it remains the ultimate source of legitimacy to govern. … Continue reading

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The Race Toward January 20th

December 2, 2024 The year 2024 was largely dominated by the wars in Ukraine, Gaza, and Lebanon, and in mid-summer attention started to shift toward the US presidential election. President Biden was determined to run for a second term. A … Continue reading

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Gaza Ceasefire Talks Should No Longer Be a Distraction

August 19, 2024 Since the Hamas onslaught of October 7, world attention has essentially focused on two aspects of the war in Gaza. First, the ferocity of the IDF operations that have caused immense loss of civilian life and devastation, … Continue reading

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Iraq and Syria Refuse Being Made Punching Bags

February 5, 2024 On January 3, twin blasts near the burial site of Qasem Soleimani, the former head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, killed a hundred people and injured scores in the southern Iranian city of Kerman adding to concerns … Continue reading

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Ankara’s Troubled Relations with Washington

January 29, 2024 Türkiye’s governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power following the general election on November 2, 2002. This marked the end of the coalition government led by Prime Minister Ecevit, the prominent leader of Türkiye’s democratic … Continue reading

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US and Israeli Leaders on Different Wavelengths

January 22, 2024 On January 18, Prime Minister Netanyahu claimed that Israel under his leadership will not compromise on less than total victory over Hamas, and they will win. “In any arrangement in the foreseeable future — with an arrangement … Continue reading

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The Question of the Endgame in Gaza

January 17, 2024 That the US and the UK reacted militarily to Houthi attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea was no surprise. What is striking is how after years of war, Yemen, a country going through the world’s … Continue reading

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Growing Concerns About a Wider Middle East Conflict

January 6, 2024 The killing of Hamas’s Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut on January 2, and the twin blasts near the burial site of Qasem Soleimani that caused the death of nearly a hundred Iranians the next day have raised worries … Continue reading

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