26 years later: Assassins of the Turquoise Palace: 1 of 2: by Roya Hakakian
https://www.amazon.com/Assassins-Turquoise-Palace-Roya-Hakakian/dp/0802145973/ref=sr12?ie=UTF8&qid=1523246860&sr=8-2&keywords=hakakian Islamic State a Deadly Force in Kabul
By Mukhtar A. Khan, Terrorism Monitor: “Afghanistan is no stranger to brutal terrorist attacks, but this year began with a series of particularly vicious deadly attacks in Kabul, the only secured and highly fortified city in the country. Even more worryingly, most of these attacks were claimed by the local franchise of Islamic State (IS), known as IS-Khorasan.” JCPOA PROCUREMENT FOR NUCLEAR MATERIALS: Under the nuclear deal with Iran, a new mechanism was set up to regulate any procurements made by Tehran for its now limited nuclear programme. In a new research paper, Paulina Izewicz looks closely at the mechanism's workings and effectiveness so far, and offers recommendations to policymakers to ensure its sustainability. Download the report
Eli Lake writes: Shirin Ebadi, Iran's Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights lawyer, has had enough. For years she represented her country's dissidents in the Islamic Republic's corrupt courts. She spoke out for the rights of women, minorities and students abroad. But she never called for the end of the regime she was fighting to reform. Until now. - Bloomberg More than militias: Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces are here to stay
(War On The Rocks) Over the last several years, I have met with commanders and fighters from Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (al-hashd al-sha’abi, or PMF), an umbrella organization of some 50 paramilitary groups, to hear about their perspectives on the situation in Iraq. Last month, I re-visited a leader whom I hadn’t seen in some time. As I walked into the room, I noticed that he no longer wore army fatigues — instead, he was in a suit. He joked that things had changed, and he was now returning to politics. Political party asks Pakistan to cut ties with the US BY KUNWAR KHULDUNE SHAHID Designated global terrorist’s party urges Islamabad to sever links with Washington after the US declares party a terror group Ali Fathollah-Nejad writes: Despite their heterogeneity, the slogans of the 2017/2018 Iranian Rebellion can be categorized into three thematic areas: Social justice, critique of the ruling establishment, and the linking between Iran’s regional interventionism and its domestic shortcomings. These slogans, many of them rhyming in Persian, do in fact overlap. - PBS India’s defense minister is visiting Moscow this week to finalize the purchase of a Russian missile defense system, Indian officials say, in a weapons deal that would violate American sanctions against Russia. - New York Times The Afghan government on Thursday accused Pakistan of air strikes in the Afghan province of Kunar, which borders Pakistan, causing “huge financial damage”. The tension comes ahead of a scheduled visit to Kabul on Friday by Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, when he and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani are expected to discuss cooperation on stopping militant attacks. - Reuters The Taliban has closed at least 30 schools in an area under its control south of Kabul after a local militant commander was killed by government forces, Afghan officials say. - Radio Free Europe Afghanistan Accuses Pakistan Of Cross-Border Air Strikes (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) Afghanistan has accused Pakistan of launching air strikes that caused "huge financial damages" in its Kunar border province ahead of Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi's visit to Kabul. Marine Commander in Southwest Afghanistan Strikes Optimistic Tone on Progress in Fight Against Taliban (USNI News) A recently returned U.S. commander in Afghanistan gave an optimistic assessment of the combined progress of U.S. and Afghan forces against the Taliban. Pakistan and Afghanistan have called upon the Afghan Taliban to join a new peace process in the war-torn country, after a visit by the Pakistani prime minister to his country's northwestern neighbour, a statement said. - Al Jazeera The Taliban has closed at least 30 schools in an area under its control south of Kabul after a local militant commander was killed by government forces, Afghan officials say. - Radio Free Europe One Belt, One Road, One Thrashing: How China Took Pakistan Hostage
by Tunku Varadarajan via The Print As the United States draws closer to India, Pakistan has come to regard China as a life-support machine. James S. Robbins writes: A tectonic shift is taking place in Middle East politics. We may be on the verge of seeing a historic normalization of relations between Israel and several major Arab states. And it is all thanks to Iran. - The National Interest
In or Out? Mixed Signals From Trump Administration on Syria
From The Cipher Brief: “U.S. officials speaking at the U.S. Institute for Peace in Washington reiterated the U.S. commitment to the military mission against ISIS in Syria. “We are in Syria to defeat ISIS. That is our mission and our mission isn’t over and we are going to complete that mission,” said Brett McGurk, U.S. Special Envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.”
Trump challenges the Russian-Turkish-Iranian alliance
BY M.K. BHADRAKUMAR The US President's remarks about wanting to bring troops home from Syria may have complicated talks on how events should play out in the war-torn state
Seth G. Jones, Charles Vallee and Maxwell B. Markusen write: For some, al Qaeda’s cunning and concerted efforts in Syria and other countries highlight the group’s resilience and indicate its potential to resurge and rejuvenate. Yet a growing body of evidence suggests that al Qaeda has largely failed to take advantage of the Syrian war. - Center for Strategic and International
The three presidents — Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, Iran’s Hassan Rouhani and Russia’s Vladimir Putin — gathered in the Turkish capital, Ankara, where they pledged to cooperate on reconstruction and aid. They also vowed to protect Syria’s “territorial integrity,” even as all three nations maintain a military presence inside the country. - Washington Post
Speaking at a joint news conference, Erdogan said Turkish troops, which last month took control of the northwestern Kurdish enclave of Afrin, would move eastward into Manbij and other areas controlled by the U.S.-backed Kurdish militia, the Peoples’ Protection Units, or YPG, which Turkey considers to be terrorists. - Associated Press
From Ankara to Moscow, Eurasia integration is on the move
BY PEPE ESCOBAR The Russia-led Eurasia Economic Union is spreading its wings and gaining strength, with some key projects, big players and big plans in the pipeline
Erielle Davidson writes: Moscow recently confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would be meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani this Wednesday to discuss the current state of Syria...These series of summits allude nervously to the declining role of the United States in Syria—and the potential consequences of the United States’ departure. - Washington Examiner
20 dead, civilians protest following Indian counter-terror operation in Kashmir
Indian security forces launched a decisive counter-terror operation yesterday in the Kashmiri districts of Shopian and Anantnag resulting in the deaths of at least 13 terrorists, three Indian security forces, and four civilians.
Dexter Filkins writes: [Mohammed bin Salman] promised to end the long-standing arrangement of Saudi domestic politics, in which the royal family, and its myriad princes, bought off political opposition by allowing radical Islamists to propagate their creed and even to carry out terrorist acts abroad. [...] The question for many analysts around the world was whether he represented genuine reform or was merely using the language of reform to consolidate power. - The New Yorker
Hamza Bin Laden Warns of Shiite Expansion in the Middle East
By Thomas Joscelyn, FDD's Long War Journal: “The Shiites are advancing “from the outside on several fronts and from the inside as well,” but the House of Saud has demonstrated a “shameful inability” to confront them, Hamza claims.”
Saudi Crown Prince Says Israelis Have Right to Their Own Land
(Voice of America) Saudi Arabia’s crown prince said Israelis are entitled to live peacefully on their own land in an interview published on Monday in U.S. magazine The Atlantic, another public sign of ties between Riyadh and Tel Aviv appearing to grow closer.
Saudi crown prince acknowledges Israelis' right to their own land
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman acknowledged Israelis’ right to their own land in an interview with The Atlantic on Monday. “I believe the Palestinians and the Israelis have the right to have their own land. But we have to have a peace agreement to assure the stability for everyone and to have normal relations,” he said. The crown prince’s statements reveal a shift in the kingdom’s stance, which has long linked normalization of ties with Israel’s pullout from Arab lands taken in the 1967 war. The crown prince is currently on a US tour to garner support against Iran and find investment partners. Read More theatlantic.com
Our Executive Editor, Kimberly Dozier, recently spoke with Chagai Tzuriel, Director of Israel’s Ministry of Intelligence.
Tzuriel discussed what’s his agency is worried about: the growing Iranian presence in Syria, and better predicting other future threats.
Can Resolute Support Possibly Still Not Understand Taliban Strategy? By Bill Roggio, FDD's Long War Journal: “Based on the U.S. military’s own statistics, the Taliban has had success: nearly half of the districts in Afghanistan are controlled or contested by the Taliban.” The Trump Administration’s New Afghan Problem: The Islamic State
By Sudha Ratan, The Diplomat: “The Trump Administration is supportive of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s call for talks with the Taliban in order to bring peace to Afghanistan. Russia, Iran and China have also reached out to the group. The interest in talking to the Taliban is partly the result of concerns about the Islamic State in Afghanistan.”
Iran’s Rouhani seeks to bolster ties in Central Asia amid Western pressure Iranian President Hassan Rouhani visited Azerbaijan today and inaugurated a joint car factory and railroad alongside Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in the hopes of increasing economic connectivity between the two neighbors. Rouhani is currently on a tour of Central Asia in an apparent effort to boost regional ties amid rising Western pressure as the United States threatens to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear accord unless its European allies step up sanctions on Iran for its ballistic missile program. Rouhani has also visited Armenia and Turkmenistan and he will soon travel to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Read More Ivan Sascha Sheehan writes: Many of those who oppose the selection do so under the false assumption that Bolton will put the United States on war footing with rogue states, most notably the Islamic Republic of Iran. But the argument ignores a fundamental reality: Tehran already is at war with the West and is single handedly responsible for inciting violence in Yemen, Iraq and Syria. - The Hill
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