In the months after the United States-backed government of Afghanistan first fell to the Taliban, international condemnation of the regime and support for Afghan refugees were swift and widespread. But now, the shifting tides of international immigration policy have definitively turned against Afghan refugees. As Iran, Pakistan, and the United States all begin to either […]
Tag: Iran
The Middle East’s New Great Game—and America’s Moment To Lead
History is a story of great power rivalries. In our time, the competitors are the United States, Russia, and China. As I’ve previously argued, the United States must pursue its interests pragmatically in order to retain global supremacy. However, abstract ideas and goals rarely ever translate to results. Actions are needed to bridge our vision of […]
Trump 2.0: Defining a New Era of American Power
Each generation has its “crossing the Rubicon” moment—the reelection of Donald Trump is ours. The post-Cold War order that began with the resignation of Mikhail Gorbachev is no more. Populism is on the rise across the globe. America’s adversaries—Russia, China, and Iran—feel emboldened after years of American decline. Make no mistake, Trump’s reelection marks a […]
The Limits of Israel’s Wars
The Prussian General Carl von Clausewitz famously said “War is merely the continuation of policy with other means.” A state sets a definable list of objectives, and when diplomatic or conventional political means do not suffice, it turns to military means to achieve its goal. War may be accompanied by violence, destruction, and chaos. However, […]
The West’s Antichrist: The Rise of Antagonizing Iran
Over the last four decades, the West, led by US administrations, has been antagonizing Iran and discouraging any cooperation with Tehran and the Ayatollah, Iran’s supreme leader. When asked who the “greatest adversary” is to the United States, for instance, Vice President Kamala Harris said that it was obviously Iran, surprising many that consider China […]
Israel and Iran at the Precipice
The Middle East is no stranger to armed conflict, but the month of April nearly saw the region embroiled in its most substantial war in decades as long-term enemies Israel and Iran exchanged blows. Despite their decades-long animosity, these exchanges marked the first time that either country initiated direct military strikes against one another’s territory […]
Armenia Is on The Precipice. What Will The World Do?
Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the South Caucasus has been at the crossroads of regional and great power geopolitics. For the past three decades, the most difficult to navigate of these flashpoints is Nagorno-Karabakh. The Armenian-majority enclave in Azerbaijan has long been at the center of a power struggle between Armenia and Azerbaijan. […]
Who Has Missiles, Who Buys Missiles, Who Decides
Jonah Hill and Miles Teller, according to friends I’ve spoken with, successfully romanticized the arms contracting business in the 2016 movie War Dogs. Guns, girls, excitement and fear all play into the fetishes in a boy’s mind should he be raised amidst American capitalism and the international military industrial complex. The film focuses on those […]
The Man Behind Al Masri In Life and Now Death
Osama bin Laden’s body slid into the North Arabian Seas from a US warship within twenty four hours of his assassination on May 2, 2011, in accordance with Islamic tradition. A broadcast by former President Obama announced the news late at night to US citizens and the world. The image of the White House Situation […]
The Fate of a Nation
In the span of three years, from 1986 to 1989, the Iraqi Military Force killed between 50,000 to 182,000 Kurds and destroyed 90 percent of all Kurdish villages in Northern Iraq. This dark episode in history is often referred to as the Anfal Genocide. As the persecutions against the Kurds continued in Iraq, many sought […]
Transitions: Transgender Rights in Pakistan and Iran
In May 2018, the Pakistani parliament passed the Transgender Person (Protection of Rights) Act, enacting strong protections for transgender rights. Pakistani society, as well as South Asian society more broadly, contains individuals of a third gender called Khwaja Sirah, who are born with male anatomy but wear clothing generally thought of as female. To the west of […]
Basra in Flames, with No Water to Put out the Fire
Basra is a city located in the southeast of Iraq, bordering the countries of Kuwait and Iran. Basra is known as the oil capital of Iraq, yet despite the abundance of wealth, the whole country, and especially Basra, has been suffering from a stagnant economy. Government corruption, financial mishandling, and high unemployment took the Basrawis […]
Legalizing Trafficking: Iran’s Unjust Organ Market and Why Legal Selling of Organs Should Not be The Resolve
Celeste Lee has been patiently waiting for a kidney for over 20 years. She was just 17 when an autoimmune disease wrecked her kidney Function, and since then has been relying on a transplanted kidney to keep her alive. Celeste’s story is not uncommon. Around 4,500 people die annually waiting for a kidney transplant. Along […]
Nothing is Fair, Sanctions or War
At the ripe age of 12, most American kids are concerned with making friends at school or convincing their parents to let them see R rated movies. When Joseph Kim was 12, he was solely concerned with survival. Joseph grew up at the height of North Korea’s decades’ long drought in the 1990s. Before even making […]
Iran’s Private Sector: Putting Up a Fight on an Uphill Battle
By the end of this year, you will likely see Tehran displayed on the departures list in the airports of many major European cities. With the passing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the official name of the Iran nuclear deal, Iran has had an influx of business inquiries from Western companies. Headlines […]
Yemen on the Brink of Civil War
Yemen is on the brink of civil war, after the Houthis, a well-organized group of Shia rebels, put current interim President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi under house arrest, leading to his resignation. Hadi fled the capital city Sana’a in late January and settled in his hometown of Aden, where he claimed the legitimate government resided. He […]
The Deal of the Decade
Many thought this day would never come. In an interesting turn of events, negotiations between the United States and Iran over a developing nuclear deal are currently underway. Secretary of State John Kerry has led negotiations with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif over a deal in which sanctions on Iran would be lifted on […]
Sectarian Strife in Yemen
February 10th, the U.S. Department of State announced a formal withdrawal from its embassy in Sana’a, Yemen, in response to mounting Houthi power in the capital. This departure marks a new political direction for Yemen, from the American-backed government of President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi to a new regime dominated by the Houthis, a Shiite […]
Apocalypse Tomorrow
Part 4 of a series on U.S. cybersecurity. Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones. -Albert Einstein The age of cyberwarfare is finally upon us. This transformation is irreversible; former Defense Secretary Chuck […]
The Great Game
Part 3 of a series on U.S. cybersecurity. Part1. Part2. Part 4. By 2010, the Iranian nuclear program was clearly behind schedule. Despite dire predictions from the world powers, Iran seemed little closer to acquiring the bomb. The reasons for the delay were somewhat puzzling: perhaps the IR-1 centrifuges used at the nuclear facility at […]
A New Reign in Saudi Arabia
On January 23rd, the global political sphere lost one of its longest standing participants when Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud passed away. King Abdullah, by the age of 90, had officially ruled the kingdom of Saudi Arabia since 2005, but since the nineties effectively managed domestic, security and foreign policy affairs in […]
An Enriched Iran?
The international hysteria regarding Iran’s nuclear ambitions has been a pervasive topic in foreign affairs since Iran went public with its program in 2002. Major players in the global community, such as the US and EU, have been hurling sanctions, embargos, and condemnations at Iran in an attempt to stymie the development of its nuclear […]
United American Emirates, The New UAE?
As recently as five years ago, energy analysts were in agreement the US would need to begin importing natural gas to keep up with rising consumption amidst depleting domestic reserves. Fast-forward half a decade and the US sits atop one of the largest natural gas reserves in the world, looking to break into the lucrative […]