Can a superpower nation like the US afford to withdraw from world affairs? Is it even possible for America to simply make itself an equal among all nations? The answer to both is simply no, not even if the US wanted to do so and certainly not in today’s turmoil-ridden Middle East. The debate over […]

The negotiations between the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany, known as the P5+1, and Iran on the latter’s nuclear weapons program are currently scheduled to conclude in about six weeks. But even with the right deal on its nuclear weapons program, Iran would still be far from any rapprochement with […]

In September, President Obama faced the obvious and announced a strategy for the US to enter the fray against the Islamic State (ISIS) with US air assets and to halt the ISIS advance in Iraq. But in this strategy, he is ignoring fundamental elements that will either doom the US and coalition’s effort or force […]

Even before the rise of the Islamic State, the Gulf Cooperation Council faced challenges, both internal and external. Unlike anything it had confronted in its 33-year history, those challenges – political, economic, security, social and environmental – erode the unity and effectiveness of the GCC. Now, a new and more ominous challenge confronts the GCC. […]

Degrading and defeating the Islamic State — a vicious terrorist organization with an effective army, enormous financial resources, a seductively pernicious ideology, wide-ranging media campaign and powerful recruitment operation — will require much more than air and drone strikes. What is needed is a comprehensive strategy that eliminates all of the legs on which ISIS […]