The Fall of the House of ISIS
ISIS is on the decline, but the catastrophic political divisions in Iraq and Syria that gave rise to it are no closer to being mended.
War Still Isn’t Winning in Iraq and Syria
The Islamic State group lost its capital, but U.S. military action has done more harm than good.
A Bipartisan Vote to Put the Brakes on War
By putting such a sinister face on it, Trump might have finally inspired lawmakers to rein in America’s post-9/11 war machine.
When States Dream, Is Syria Their Nightmare?
Syria is emerging as a metaphor for the fragmentation and chaos that the modern world barely contains.
Are We Near the End of NATO?
Problems with Turkey, Eastern Europe, and Donald Trump could tear the rickety alliance apart at the seams.
How a Child is Made into a Suicide Bomber
These children’s participation in ongoing atrocities represents an utter failure on the part of states and the international community to provide a minimum amount of stability and economic prosperity in precarious regions of the world.
Russia is Withdrawing from Syria — and the U.S. Should Follow Suit
For too long Moscow and Washington have tried to out-muscle each other by escalating the Syrian war. Now, for once, they’ve got a chance to escalate their efforts to end it.
Syrian Ceasefire Offers New Era of Hope Between US, Russia
Former CIA counterterrorism officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou told Sputnik that the Syrian ceasefire offers the first substantive step towards a lasting peace and the possibility for a new era of US-Russian cooperation.
Life in the Gray Zone
While ISIS makes war on the world’s vast majority of “moderate Muslims,” hardliners in the West pretend they don’t exist.
Here’s the Thing About Terrorism Obama Won’t Tell You
Our wildly inflated fear of terrorism is a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The GOP Candidates Know Nothing about Syria
Ending this imbroglio requires robust diplomacy.
Obama: The Fairy-Tale President?
Obama’s made a lot of Faustian bargains over the last seven years. But given his likely successors, what we got over the last two terms may be as good as it gets.
Military Intervention Is the Problem, Not the Solution
The Islamic State’s latest atrocities are a calculated effort to bring the war in Syria home to the countries participating in it.
Is Putin Really as Foolish as We Are?
Putin’s attempt at “shock and awe” in Syria has all the hallmarks of failed U.S. interventions of the past
The Middle East’s New Nakba
The chain of events set into motion by the U.S. invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq is reaching its logical conclusion — the disintegration of multi-ethnic states and a great expulsion of innocents.