On February 24, the world will reflect on the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. While attention is understandably focused on the current phase of Russia’s war, this week also marked ten years since the Kremlin first began its attack on Ukraine with the military takeover of Crimea. One decade on, it should
Before Arab normalization with the state of Israel or the Abraham Accords ever became a reality, any sincere consideration of Saudi-Israel normalization was tied to the prospect of Palestinian statehood. This condition still applies today. In early 2021, it was clear that the Joe Biden administration sought a normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia
Clashes along the Lebanon-Israel border have steadily escalated lately, even as international diplomats scramble to find a solution to return calm to the region. In recent days, Israel has attacked deeper into Lebanon with a series of airstrikes that have killed Hezbollah fighters, some of them senior officers, and several Lebanese civilians. On February 19,
Friends of Ukraine often say to Western political leaders: The West’s economy is 20-25 times bigger than Russia’s, how could we possibly give Ukraine fewer weapons than Russia has? Let’s do more, it is not such a big deal. But it is a bigger deal than that. I would like to encourage you to take
Reports have surfaced regarding the possibility of the United States withdrawing from Syria completely. Despite officials rejecting these reports and a recent vote in the US Senate exhibiting reluctance among lawmakers to leave Syria, news of a potential US exit has been closely monitored by regional actors. Turkey is among them. While Ankara may favor
MUNICH—The stench of appeasement hung over the Munich Security Conference this past weekend, leaving more than a few European leaders making comparisons to September 1938. That was when a very different Munich meeting placated a murderous dictator—with disastrous consequences. It was then that British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, meeting with Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and
Egypt has up security along its shared northern border with the Gaza Strip following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s February 9 announcement of a planned ground offensive in Rafah, south of the enclave, “to eliminate Hamas’ last remaining strongholds.” The impending crisis has left Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi with little options—as internal pressures continue
War once again looms between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah. After the last conflict between the two adversaries, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) adopted Resolution 1701, which installed figurative guardrails to prevent renewed war. It demanded that Lebanon—which promised to send fifteen thousand of its soldiers to its frontier with Israel—control its territory and disarm
As the Red Sea crisis prompted by the Gaza War enters its fourth month with no sign of a breakthrough, Egypt—which relies on Suez Canal revenues as one of its primary sources of foreign currency—has been hit hard. Attacks on ships in the Red Sea by Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen have caused major shipping companies
Are we at the end of an eighty-year period of US global leadership? The United States emerged as a global leader—no, the key global actor—when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt overcame a long tradition of US isolationism by moving forward with the Lend-Lease program that provided essential aid to keep the United Kingdom in the war
