Russian forces are suffering heavy casualties following one month since the start of the invasion of Ukraine. Morale is low and there has been widespread reporting on how the Russian military has performed poorly. In addition, there have been reports about the possibility of Syrian fighters soon joining Russia’s side…

The world now has to grapple with the reality of an all out Russian invasion of Ukraine. There are three factors in the coming weeks to watch out for as the largest war in Europe unfolds since the guns last fell silent in May 1945. 1. Ukrainian resistance: This week…

The hammer and sickles checker the thick, green landscape along the border of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Written in the local languages, Malayalam and Tamil, many of the posters, billboards, and murals bear the same Latin letters: CPI-M, the Communist Party of India — Marxist. But how does the atheist…

The reaction to the Iraqi Kurdistan’s September 25th independence referendum was fast, collective and punishing. The remarkable scenes of flag waving and celebration gave way to bitter isolation and sporadic clashes with Iraq’s government forces. The Kurdish leadership, seemingly adrift and alone, has now offered to freeze the referendum results…

This article was originally posted on The Gulf International Forum on August 9, 2018: https://gulfif.com/60-years-after-iraqs-1958-july-14-revolution/ The black, white, and green tricolor flag emblazoned with the eight-point red star of Ishtar fluttered amongst the marchers. The flags waved by members of the Iraqi Communist Party (ICP) had previously flown over a…

Juliette El-Mir Saadeh, the wife of Syrian Social Nationalist Party founder Antoun Saadeh, set a trend for the political and social norms for gender politics in the Levant. The red five-pointed star on the yellow flag of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) evokes the symbolism of the Cold War…

Fifty years ago, an armed confrontation between Israel, Jordan, and Palestinian guerrillas created a new phase of Middle East diplomacy and conflicts. What does the battle’s legacy tell us about Jordan and its place in the troubled region today? In March 1968, a battle largely forgotten in the Western annals…

2017 has been a whirlwind year for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The military defeat of the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, Moqtada al-Sadr’s visit to Saudi Arabia, the Qatar crisis, the Iraqi Kurd’s independence referendum, the surprise resignation of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and…

There is an old saying in Persian: Mahtab hameeshe poshte abr nememooneh, meaning “The moon will not hide behind the clouds forever.” For Iranians, perhaps now more than ever this proverb rings true in regards to their view of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Since the year 1979, Iran and…