by Anne Speckhard | May 5, 2018 | Commentary, Defence & Security, Fighting Organised Crime and Terrorism
A recent PBS series highlighted the case of an American mother, Samantha Elhassani, who took her two American children into the so-called Islamic State and had two more babies there with her Moroccan husband, who became a member of ISIS. Her two eldest children, now...
by Transatlantic Task Force | May 1, 2018 | Commentary, Defence & Security
NATO’s foreign ministers met on 27 April 2018 for the last time at the old NATO Headquaters as part of the preparations for the biennial NATO Summit to be held in July this year in Brussels. Russia, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Ukraine and Western Balkans were...
by Steven Blockmans* | Apr 23, 2018 | Commentary, Defence & Security, Geopolitics & Great Power Politics
In the theatrical style of a capricious reality-TV host, US President Donald Trump has been building up suspense over an American withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal. He has consistently called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — which was...
by Tom Peeters | Apr 21, 2018 | Commentary, Defence & Security, Geopolitics & Great Power Politics
United Kingdom (UK) voters have chosen to leave the European Union (EU) with the historic referendum on June 2016. As the countdown continues for the set date of 29 March 2019, there has been no deal in the negotiations yet, and it seems like a win-win deal is far...
by MENA Task Force | Mar 1, 2018 | Commentary, Defence & Security, Peace & Conflict Management
On 24 February 2018, United Nations Security Council (UNSC) released a resolution to cease hostilities without delay for at least 30 consecutive days, ensuring a “durable humanitarian pause” to enable humanitarian aid deliveries and medical evacuations of the...
by Onur Sultan | Feb 18, 2018 | Commentary, Defence & Security, Geopolitics & Great Power Politics
Amidst great political turbulence in the run-up to the legislative elections, International Conference for Reconstruction of Iraq was held in Kuwait between 12-14 February 2018. The venue is ironic because Kuwait had become subject to Iraqi aggression in 1990 and had...