GET UP TO SPEED There’s a message in the missiles. Iran’s 180-missile barrage against Israel on Tuesday was largely ineffectual (though it did reportedly kill a Palestinian man in the West Bank) due to Israeli air defenses and US assistance. The assault was Tehran’s response to the assassination of top Hezbollah figures, including the group’s
Since Hamas’s horrific October 7, 2023, assault on Israel, Iran has supported the group by orchestrating attacks on the Jewish state from Iran’s other Resistance Axis allies—Hezbollah in Lebanon, Shia militias in Iraq, and the Houthis in Yemen. The attacks against Israel during the past year represent the latest stage in Iran’s long-running war of
The coming months will determine whether Israel’s stunning offensive against Hezbollah over the past month, which has now triggered an Iranian ballistic missile attack on Israel, perpetuates and escalates the relentless cycle of Middle East violence or marks a positive tipping point against Iranian-backed aggression. Israel’s killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah—made possible by rock-solid
In August 2024, the largest prisoner exchange between Moscow and the West since the end of the Cold War took place, drawing much-needed attention to the issue of political prisoners in Putin’s Russia. While the release of high-profile opposition figures in August was certainly welcome, it is vital that the international community does not forget
On September 27, the unimaginable happened. At approximately 5:22 p.m. local time, reports emerged of a massive Israeli strike on the predominantly Shia southern suburbs of Beirut, known colloquially as Dahiyeh. Six buildings had been flattened, throwing up pillars of thick reddish smoke against Beirut’s skyline, and an anchor with Hezbollah’s Al-Manar later said the
Original Source On September 27, Andrew Michta, director and senior fellow in the Scowcroft Strategy Initiative, published an article in RealClearDefense titled “A Crisis of Competence.” He discussed the Global War on Terror (GWOT) post 9/11 and various conflicts post-Cold War in which the United States has invested resources. He argued that the United States
Israel’s assassination of the Hezbollah leader “is likely to inflame tensions,” according to the Washington Post, and it will keep the region “locked in a new cycle of violence,” according to the New York Times. Noting the civilians that died in the attack, including children, the US State Department spokesperson urged “all concerned to exercise
It has been quite a week for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He arrived in New York on Sunday to address the United Nations General Assembly and meet with world leaders. But his real agenda was to meet with US President Joe Biden and presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. From Biden, he wanted permission to
NEW YORK—Two dark clouds hung over the United Nations General Assembly this week in New York. The first was the growing peril of Chinese-Russian common cause. The second was uncertainty about whether US leadership will rise to the challenge after the November elections. It’s impossible to separate the two issues, as the disruptive dangers of
On May 20, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) made waves in boldly requesting the issuance of arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister and defense minister as well as three Hamas leaders accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Israel and Gaza. The decisive action confirms the ICC’s crucial role in
