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U.S. Syria Withdrawal Impact on Kurdish Partners
On Dec. 19, 2018, President Trump unexpectedly announced that U.S. would withdraw its troops from Syria. To date, the U.S. has deployed around 2,000 troops to Syria, many of them Special Forces members a... -
Climate Change and National Security, Part II: How Big a Threat is the Climate?
The U.S. national security establishment has been increasingly vocal that climate change is a national security threat—and the U.S. is not alone in this regard. But exactly how serious is this threat? Ho... -
Drawing the Line on U.S. Reassurance to Eastern Europe
Editor’s Note: The United States is considering deploying permanent forces to Poland to signal the U.S. security commitment to that country. Such a move would be a massive strategic shift and one that ra... -
The Iranian Revolution and Its Legacy of Terrorism
The 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran has proved one of the most consequential events in the history of modern terrorism. The revolution led to a surge in Iranian-backed terrorism that continues, albeit in... -
On Security, Mexico’s New President Brings Old Thinking
Mexico’s new president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador—nicknamed AMLO among the public and in the media—took the oath of office on Dec. 1. As the first representative of the political left to be elected pre... -
Water Wars: New Year’s Resolutions
In a cabinet meeting on Dec. 18, the government of Japan adopted new National Defense Program Guidelines that call for the “drastic strengthening of Japan’s defense capabilities.” The new guidelines adop... -
The Failure of the United States’ Chinese-Hacking Indictment Strategy
Just before Christmas, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment against two Chinese nationals who allegedly conducted a twelve-year “global campaign[] of computer intrusions” to steal sensit... -
A Primer on Syria’s Constitutional Committee
As new U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen prepares to assume his position on January 7, it is an opportune time to revisit the Syrian constitutional drafting effort and its role within the larger... -
Lifting of Treasury Sanctions on Deripaska Highlights Role for Congress in Foreign Affairs Decisions
On Dec. 19, the Trump administration notified Congress that in 30 days it would lift sanctions on several companies connected with sanctioned Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska: aluminum giant Rusal and two... -
The Mystery Grand Jury Case and Criminal Prosecutions of State-Owned Enterprises
A mysterious judgment in a case with purported ties to the Mueller investigation highlights a topic of growing significance: the criminal prosecution of foreign-state-owned enterprises. The judgment by t... -
Master Developers: The New Sino-Arab Gulf Visions of Economic Development
Editor’s Note: As the United States withdraws both from the Middle East and from its traditional global leadership role under President Trump, rising powers like China and regional players like Saudi Ara... -
Blackwater Guard Found Guilty of Murder
A federal jury in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday found former Blackwater guard Nicholas Slatten guilty of one count of first-degree murder for his role in a 2007 massacre in Iraq that left at least 31 Ir...
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