Turkey’s Syria strategy is at a critical juncture. Facing military deadlock, Russian resistance, and US economic pressure, Ankara is considering political avenues, potentially reshaping its Kurdish policy. Turkey is navigating multiple opposing strategies at once, from engaging with Damascus to eliminate the YPG-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Syria to allowing the imprisoned leader of
Original source On November 7th, 2024, Global China Hub nonresident fellow Wen-Ti Sung was quoted in a Business Times article on how a second Trump administration may approach relations with Taiwan: “Trump’s transactional nature means that U.S. support for Taiwan could come at a price.” China Conflict Crisis Management Defense Policy Elections Maritime Security Politics
Get ready for the sequel. On November 6, the Associated Press declared Donald Trump the winner of the 2024 US presidential election. A transition now kicks off as world events continue to churn. When he returns to the presidency on January 20, Trump’s inbox will be full of global challenges. How will he respond? And
Hezbollah has a new secretary-general, though far from the obvious choice. On October 29, the group announced that its demure and soft-spoken Naim Qassem, rumored to be hiding in Iran, had succeeded Hassan Nasrallah, who was assassinated on September 27, to Hezbollah’s top local post. Though entirely ideologically aligned, there is a vast contrast between
Over the past month two developments unfolded that together capture Israel’s predicament with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). First, a top Hamas commander, killed in combat in Lebanon, was revealed to be an UNRWA employee on administrative leave—signaling, once again, the involvement of local UNRWA
On September 29, rumors began circulating on social media that a helicopter carrying leaders from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Yemen-based Houthis crashed in southwestern Iran. The crash reportedly killed several high-ranking IRGC members and Houthi leaders, including the head of coordination for the Houthis, Mohammed Abdul-Salam, and Houthi commander Abdul Malik
As Egypt continues to suffer the ramifications of the Israel-Hamas war that has dragged on for over a year on its northeastern border, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has proposed a new two-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that Cairo hopes would ultimately lead to a broader, permanent truce. Announcing the ceasefire initiative during a press conference with
Pentagon officials and NATO chief Mark Rutte have this week confirmed that thousands of North Korean troops are currently in the process of joining Russia’s war against Ukraine. The arrival of North Korean soldiers on the battlefields of Europe is an historically unprecedented event that represents a major escalation in the largest European invasion since
As the Israel-Gaza war continues and expands regionally, Atlantic Council nonresident fellow Stefanie H. Ali spoke to Dr. Dahlia Scheindlin on October 15 to discuss how Israelis view Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the ongoing conflict, and the future. Scheindlin is a Tel Aviv-based public opinion researcher and political advisor who has worked on nine national
Russian President Vladimir Putin is moving on several fronts simultaneously, both military and political, to take advantage of a United States that is distracted and divided ahead of next week’s presidential election. Putin’s risky move to bring thousands of North Korean soldiers to Russia to fight Ukraine, and his doubling down to push for pro-Kremlin
