CENTRAL COMMAND: CENTCOM & THE LONG WAR

TRUMP'S IRAN POLICY IS WORKING: HERE'S WHY; a look at the afghan crossroads & trump's pla deal

2/6/2020

AEI’s Michael Rubin: The Kurdish leadership capitalizes on tragedy while it ignores its victims

Crossroads Afghanistan: Alternatives to a Forlorn Deal
By Karl Nicolas Lindenlaub, Strategy Bridge: “In Afghanistan, the United States has reached a strategic crossroads."

AFPC’s Ilan I. Berman: Trump’s plan forces Palestinian choices

Alex Vatanka writes: Whether or not it will be the regime’s “Chernobyl moment” remains to be seen but some realities are irrefutable. Khamenei’s instinct so far has not been to engage in any discernible introspection. Instead, he has simply overseen the regime’s effort to do whatever is necessary to escape blame. Khamenei is no Gorbachev and is not yet ready or able to accept the inevitability of political reform. – Middle East Institute

Oula A. Alrifai writes: Since mid-January, shop owners, government employees, students, and even children have been gathering in the streets of various Syrian communities to express their frustration with the Assad regime’s economic policies and untruths. Although the protests remain small for now, the fact that they have persistently carried on in the middle of regime-controlled territory highlights Bashar al-Assad’s potential vulnerability on these issues. – Washington Institute

Iran’s Tasnim media emphasized an explosion it says targeted a “US military vehicle south of Baghdad.” It used an image of the Popular Mobilization Units or Shi’ite militias in Iraq to emphasize an Iranian connection to the attack. The PMU are part of Iraq’s paramilitary forces and have opposed the US presence in Iraq. – Jerusalem Post

Protesters rally against Iraq's new prime minister
Iraqi President Barham Salih nominated a new prime minister on Saturday after squabbling rival parties failed to find a successor for Adel Abdul Mahdi since his resignation in November. Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi, a former communications minister in the pro-Shiite government of Nouri al-Maliki, pledged in a televised address to help create a “state of freedom and justice.” But anti-government protesters gathered by the thousands in Baghdad and southern cities to reject him for his ties to the ruling elite. Hours before Allawi's appointment, supporters of populist cleric Muqtada al-Sadr attacked protesters and demanded quick action on setting up a new government. Sadr later said Allawi had been “chosen by the people” and that his appointment was a “good step” for Iraq.
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reuters.com

Pletka recommends that the US increase pressure on Iran politically, militarily, and diplomatically. Warning that Iran will employ proxies to retaliate against the US and its allies, the US needs a more consistent Middle East policy that works with Iranian opponents and dissidents. Read the full testimony here.

Before the killing of Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani, most Americans, and even many politicians, probably never even heard his name. But the events leading the US and Iran to this point were decades in the making. In a new Washington Examiner Magazine article, Michael Rubin notes the rise of Soleimani and debunks critics who claim that his death destroyed any possibility of détente with Tehran. Vowing to stop “endless war” is a noble goal, but it was not the US that was waging a unilateral goal against Iran, but rather Iran, in the guise of Gen. Soleimani, that was waging an endless war against the US. Read it here.

Occupied Elsewhere: Selective Policies on Occupations, Protracted Conflicts, and Territorial Disputes
Svante Cornell and Brenda Shaffer — FDD Report
Setting policies toward territories involved in protracted conflicts poses an ongoing challenge for governments, companies, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Since there are multiple zones of disputed territories and occupation around the globe, setting policy toward one conflict raises the question of whether similar policies will be enacted toward others. Where different policies are implemented, the question arises: On what principle or toward what goal are the differences based? Read More

Iran is increasingly using missiles in its military operations — that’s a problem
Behnam Ben Taleblu — The Hill
“More important than a military strike, it was a serious blow to dignity, a blow to the dignity of the U.S. as a superpower.” That’s how Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, described recent missile strikes against bases in Iraq housing American troops during a rare Friday prayer sermon in Tehran last week. Earlier, Khamenei likened the strikes to a “slap” against America. While Iranian officials are no stranger to bombast and invective against the U.S., Iran’s broadcasting of the missile strike, and Khamenei’s repeated touting of it, does not neatly comport with Tehran’s long-established preference for proxy warfare and deniability. Read More

Iran can obtain nuclear weapons far quicker than widely recognized
Andrea Stricker — Al Arabiya

Hafsa Halawa writes: The region is no stranger to social movements, nor is Iraq immune from instability. […]But whether this social change can morph into a coherent political movement that can prove itself ready and able to take on power is a question that remains unanswered. It is a question for the movement, but also for those current leaders that can find the political courage to stand up from within. In supporting the movement to develop a more egalitarian, transparent, and accountable political system, they can avert another conflict in the country and begin building a durable and strong society that governs its people in a fair, just, and equitable manner. – Middle East Institute

R. David Harden writes: The Middle East will remain a strategic interest for the indefinite future. Yet, there is a growing demand for a foreign policy reset where the U.S. minimizes the blood and treasure of war but projects power through economic diplomacy and statecraft. In this reset, the U.S. will be better positioned to seize the enormous opportunities in energy, water, agriculture, and health technologies that will re-shape society. As a less militarized but more robust economic power, America can support the aspirations of the next generation by leveraging capital and technology to drive enduring hope. – The Hill

Eric R. Mandel writes: Since the elimination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, leader of its Quds Force, the U.S. has regained leverage with its sanctions campaign against Iran. Iran might not agree to make any significant concessions, but America needs to continue the pressure. The Iranian strategy has a set date: November 2020. If Trump wins a second term, the negotiations begin. – The Hill

Seth J. Frantzman writes: In this view, Iran is the great leader of a mass of fighters across the regional all arrayed against the US, Israel, Saudi Arabia and some other states. Iran’s rhetoric seeks to instill in a new generation this imperial impulse to dominate the Middle East via these factions and see them all as not only allies but directed from Tehran. – Jerusalem Post

Giorgio Cafiero writes: Looking ahead, there is a high probability that China and the West’s divergent positions on the Syrian conflict and questions regarding Assad’s (il)legitimacy will make Syria — in addition to other files ranging from Hong Kong and human rights to trade and technology — more of a hot-button issue in Sino-Western relations against the backdrop of a strengthening Beijing-Damascus partnership. – Middle East Institute

Michael Rubin writes: Perhaps the latest Kurdish tragedy, then, is that Kurds are saddled with a leadership that rather speak about justice for the Yezidis and buy mansions, apartments, and luxury cars, rather than spend a fraction of that cost on affecting freedom for those who still suffer under their kidnappers and tormentors. – 1001 Iraqi Thoughts

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THE TALIBAN ARE WINNING, TURKEY BLINKS & IRAQI'S RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE

2/5/2020

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The Classicist: Time To Leave The Middle East?
interview with Victor Davis Hanson via The Classicist
Would America be better off ignoring t

https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2020/01/un-al-qaeda-maintains-close-ties-to-taliban-despite-talks-with-u-s.php

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Escalation in Syria and Libya tests limits of Erdogan-Putin ties
The recent escalation in Libya and Syria has put on display the limits of the relationship between the Turkish and Russian presidents.
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What brought Iranian forces to Idlib front?
A number of developments, including Turkey's greater involvement in Syria and the US assassination of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, may be driving Iran's move to get more involved in Idlib battlefield operations.

Escalation in Syria and Libya tests limits of Erdogan-Putin ties
The recent escalation in Libya and Syria has put on display the limits of the relationship between the Turkish and Russian presidents.

Syrian mercenaries fight Turkey’s battles in Libya
Though the Free Syrian Army denies it has sent fighters to Libya, hundreds of Syrian fighters are now in Libya after being lured by high salaries.

Iraqi protests swell despite clash with Sadrist supporters
When their tents were burned, Iraqi protesters replaced them with concrete structures. And when influential cleric Muqtada al-Sadr withdrew his support, even more protesters turned out despite fears of a crackdown by security forces.

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u.s. central command
centcom & The long war

PAKISTANI REGIME WANTS ANOTHER SOCIAL CONTRACT & CHAOS REIGNS FOR TUNISIA

TRUMP'S IRAN POLICY IS WORKING: HERE'S WHY; a look at the afghan crossroads & trump's pla deal

THE TALIBAN ARE WINNING, TURKEY BLINKS & IRAQI'S RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE

REALISM OF TRUMP'S PEACE PLAN

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GLOBAL strike MEDIAu.s. central commandcentcom & The long war

PAKISTANI REGIME WANTS ANOTHER SOCIAL CONTRACT & CHAOS REIGNS FOR TUNISIA

TRUMP'S IRAN POLICY IS WORKING: HERE'S WHY; a look at the afghan crossroads & trump's pla deal

THE TALIBAN ARE WINNING, TURKEY BLINKS & IRAQI'S RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE

REALISM OF TRUMP'S PEACE PLAN

Archives

Categories

What Our Clients Are Saying

Contact Us

Subscribe Today!

GLOBAL strike MEDIA
u.s. central command
centcom & The long war