...
One of the central pillars of US counterterrorism policy is that capturing or killing a terrorist group's leader is effective. Yet this pillar rests more on a foundation of faith than facts. In Leadership Decapitation, Jenna Jordan examines over a thousand instances of leadership targeting—involving groups such as Hamas, al Qaeda, Shining Path, and ISIS—to identify the successes, failures, and unintended consequences of this strategy.
Is this strategy effective, or are there more effective ones ...
... continue to serve as a physical platform for the US–Iranian confrontation.
The Iranians promised to take a violent revenge on the Americans for their actions. After the funeral processions in honor of Soleimani that brought together hundreds of thousands of people throughout the Middle East, Iran exercised the promised military response to the Americans. On January 8, Iran launched surface-to-surface missiles at bases with American soldiers in Iraq, hitting the Ain al-Assad base in Anbar province and a military base near Erbil....
Iran and the Arab states of the Gulf would gain from taking control over their security interests
The beginning of 2020 was marked by yet another major crisis in the Middle East region. The crisis culminated with the US elimination of General Qasem Soleimani and could have slipped towards direct military confrontation between the US and Iran — with unpredictable consequences not just for the MENA region but also ...
... backing from at least two permanent members of the UN Security Council — Russia and China — while Iran is busy working to build support for the initiative in the region.
Shehab Al Makahleh, Maria Al Makahleh:
2020 Forecast: Revealing the Future of the Middle East
The Emir of Qatar visited Iran for the first time during the recent crisis, calling for de-escalation and regional dialogue. Other regional states are also on record stressing the need for a genuine inclusive regional process that aims to ...
... Jordan’s 2020 outlook will be promising as it is not involved in regional tensions. Although Jordanian diplomacy keeps walking the Middle East tightrope policy, the country closely monitors extremist factions and terrorist group leadership which seek to restore ... ... Jordanian Israeli bilateral relations will be tense because of Israel’s intransigence concerning the Palestinian issue, East Jerusalem and the expectation that the Israeli government would annex the Jordan Valley, exerting more pressure on the Palestinians ...
... Besides Latin America’s leftist regimes, Moscow is reaching out to Brazil (a fellow BRICS member), Argentina and Mexico.
If the Middle East record is any guide, Russia’s newly energized foreign policy is not so much about the world order as about Russia’s ... ...
The choice to weaponize internet technologies to influence other countries’ domestic politics, for instance, has provoked accusations from such important partners as Germany and France but failed to advance Russia’s political goals. Regarding elections ...
... annihilation and the discovery of the war ends of gunpowder
[xiv]
. Nuclear deterrence during Cold War historically was closely related to the idea of strategic stability. Alexander Savelyev notes that this principle became the basis for the Treaty between the USA and the USSR on the elimination of their intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles of 1987, as well as the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty of 1991
[xv]
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Andrey Kortunov:
The Future of the Middle East: Horizons of Challenges and Opportunities
Anyway, this approach was soon surpassed both by the strong defeat in Indochina, after which the US visibly retreated to their
home garden
, and which led them to a rediscovery of the terricolous ...
... eliminate the head, the person that comes after is usually even more of a risk. The main priority now is to resolve the issue for thousands of ISIS fighters and affiliates, as well as wives and children who are in prison camps in North-East Syria and Iraq. This ... ... grievances and drivers that lead to the revolt in the first place are not ignored. Only an inclusive and more transparent Syria and Middle East more broadly will be able to counter the ideological threat posed by ISIS and other terrorist organizations, which ...
... energy revolution could be a fertile ground for new potential opportunities in expanding cooperation between the countries of the Middle East with China, India, as well as with the European Union; at the same time, a decrease in the importance of the region ... ... to be a contentious issue (e.g. building new settlements in disputed territories in Israel or new development projects in Jerusalem);
Persistent political instability in the region may hinder the development of urban autonomy and prevent any move towards ...
America’s withdrawal creates an opportunity and a challenge for Moscow.
The withdrawal of American forces from Syria is said to be a gift to Russia. As the sole power from outside the Middle East with military forces and political influence in Syria, Russia may indeed become the security manager in that country. But only if it rises to the occasion. So far Russia has earned the right to play a role in Syria, but if it wants to be the ...
