... like it or not, the West, including Europe, are on the losing side of the conflict in Syria and this automatically limits leverage
During the 11
th
EU–Russia Expert Network on Foreign Policy (EUREN)
meeting
, Andrea Dessì,
Senior Fellow... ... U.S. raid. What do you make of his death and what consequences could that have for ISIS and international terrorism as a whole?
Andrey Kortunov, Michel Duclos:
Helping... ... 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...
... sending them back to Europe to establish caliphates. The third phase of Jihadism, namely ISIS, held a post-millenarian perspective, as opposed to
Al Qaeda
which was pre-millenarian. By the same token, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi independently developed a form of jihad that was mostly sectarian. He... ... who were antagonized and persecuted. With this support, they established a network in Syria and Iraq which eventually became the Caliphate.
The third phase of Jihadism did... ... led to an increase in foreign boots on the ground: the 2015 JCPOA agreement allowed Russia to increase presence in Syria and send forces to Khmeimim, and Western presence...
Russia and its partners can arguably win the war, but they cannot win the peace in Syria
Historically, the Middle East has never been a Russia’s strategic priority ... ... that call for significant adjustments in the Russian strategy.
First, the defeat of ISIS, which is definitely a positive development for everybody engaged in Syria and... ... pull Moscow to its side of the conflict. The risks of alienating either Teheran or Jerusalem, or even both of them, are on the rise.
Finally, if Damascus finally has a complete...
... of History,” the end of the Cold War marked the end of thousands of years of ideological struggle, and the spread of Western ... ... prevent the onset of the greatest global financial and economic crisis since the Great Depression (barely managing to address it ... ... failed to effectively deal with conflict in Libya, Ukraine, and Syria, all within or near its periphery. The situation in Syria ... ... economic policies. In France, a rising far-right party funded by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government may possibly ...
In the wake of Turkey’s downing of a Russian military jet that violated its airspace and Russia’s resulting casualties,... ... bombings in recent days that have targeted Turkmen—on the border area of Turkey and Syria. Turkey is supporting these Turkmen rebels against Assad that Russia is bombing... ... Egypt’s own explosive and volatile domestic security situation with its own people and an ISIS franchise running amok in the Sinai (one which apparently was able to blow up a...
... erudition on others.
To the militant pro-Snowden anti-NSA crusaders: I’m not going to tell you that what Snowden did ... ... simply more use of force and would blame Obama for not invading Syria and Iraq today like Bush invaded Iraq in 2003, please, just ... ... attack—one following on the verily likely terrorist downing of a Russian airliner in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula—it is important ... ... the airliner attack) and maybe even by others if it turns out ISIS had something to do with it; Yemen could be a focus if the ...
... the Europeans reducing their military expenditures as well as Uncle Sam tired of his burden are not able and willing to pay for worries of Eastern Europeans.
Accordingly, the next year should provide an answer for the following question: Is fear of Russia and percieved threat in Europe sufficient for increasing defense capabilities of the European NATO members in the first place? If not, recent events in Ukraine could merely remain a favorable opportunity for NATO bureaucrats to pretend the alliance ...
