Middle East & Africa

The Cable

Iraqi Forces Carry Out Revenge Killings Against ISIS Suspects

An execution site has been discovered in the Iraqi city of Mosul, Human Rights Watch says, citing it as the latest evidence of retribution carried ...

The Cable

War in Yemen Kills or Wounds 4,000 Children

More than 90 civilians, including 25 children, died in a March 2016 Saudi airstrike on a market in Yemen. Months later, ten more children perished ...

The Cable

Can Trump Find a Better Deal Than the U.S. Air Base in Qatar?

President Donald Trump recently boasted that he could shutter a critical U.S. air base in the tiny Gulf kingdom of Qatar, and “ten countries” in ...

The Cable

SitRep: Trump ends CIA program in Syria; Turkey Exposes U.S. Special Operations in Syria

With Adam Rawnsley “Putin won in Syria.” In a move with huge implications for the war in Syria, President Trump has decided to shut ...

The Cable

Tensions Rise in Jerusalem After Israel Installs Metal Detectors at Mosque

Protests are breaking out in the occupied old city of Jerusalem after Israeli authorities introduced metal detectors and turnstiles at the entrance of al-Aqsa mosque. ...

The Cable

Hot Mic Catches a Fiery Bibi in Budapest

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was caught on a hot mic in Budapest today, landing him in hot water. Speaking in the Hungarian capital during ...

The Cable

SitRep: Trump’s Secret Putin Meeting; Pentagon Gets New No. 2; NATO, Russia Square Off in War Games

With Adam Rawnsley Trump, Putin, alone: The White House failed to disclose a second, hour-long private meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President ...

The Cable

Iraqi Kurds Want America as Their Divorce Lawyer

Iraqi Kurds are mounting a campaign in Washington this week to rally U.S. government support for an independence bid before a referendum in September. But Baghdad ...

The Cable

The Afghan Vice President Was Just Denied Entry to Afghanistan

A plane carrying General Abdul Rashid Dostum, Afghan vice president and former warlord, was turned away after trying to land in the northern city of ...

The Cable

Trump Slaps Sanctions on Iran While Keeping Nuclear Deal in Place — for Now

The Trump administration levied new sanctions on 18 Iranian entities Tuesday as it grappled with how to follow through on campaign promises to shut down ...

Shadow Government

Trump’s Incoherent Iran Policy Could End the Nuke Deal on the Worst Possible Terms

President Donald Trump’s decision on Monday to certify that Iran is still abiding by the terms of the nuclear deal, or Joint Comprehensive Plan of ...

Argument

Regime Change in Iran Would Be a Disaster for Everyone

On June 14, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson testified before the House Foreign Relations Committee that the Donald Trump administration’s Iran policy was still under ...

Elephants in the Room

If Trump Is Serious About Curbing Iran, He’ll Kill Boeing’s Plan to Sell It Planes

You may have missed it, but there was big news on the Iran front earlier this month. After much hesitation, Total, the French energy giant, ...

The Cable

Situation Report: Trump Agrees to Keep Iran Deal; Tillerson Shuttering War Crimes Office; Marines Help in Afghan Fight

With Adam Rawnsley Iran deal. After weeks of internal battles, President Trump agreed on Monday to certify that Iran is complying with an international ...

Argument

Is It Racist to Say Africa Has ‘Civilizational’ Problems?

French President Emmanuel Macron should have known his comments about Africa at the G-20 summit this month would spark an angry backlash. Responding to a ...

The Cable

Jordanian Soldier Who Killed Three Green Berets Gets Life Sentence

A Jordanian soldier with no apparent ties to terrorist groups was sentenced Monday to life in prison with hard labor for killing three U.S. Army ...

The Cable

Situation Report: How Iran Won Iraq War; Secret Service Vs. Trump Team

With Adam Rawnsley Gulf hack. The hack of Qatari government Web sites earlier this year was carried out by the United Arab Emirates, and ...

Exclusive

Mosul, Before and After, in Satellite Images

Raging for nine months, the street-by-street fight to retake Mosul from the Islamic State outlasted the Battle of Verdun — the longest and largest conflict ...

The Cable

Rex Tillerson (Finally) Goes On the Record

Being America’s top diplomat means constantly being in the limelight, the nominal face of U.S. foreign policy around the globe. Some, like Hillary Clinton and ...

Voice

Is Treason Still Punishable in America Today?

There’s a word for what Donald Trump Jr. did when he met with an American adversary prepared to secretly help elect his father president in ...

Podcast

Is This the End of ISIS?

[protected-iframe id="58c6a10572b76f84525a812da678b1a8-71129472-123611325" info="https://player.megaphone.fm/PNP7895180411?" width="100%" height="200" scrolling="no"] On Monday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory, celebrating the retaking of Mosul from Islamic State fighters by Iraqi ...

French President Emmanuel Macron Receives U.S. President Donald Trump At Elysee Palace

The Cable

Situation Report: Trump Wraps Paris Trip; New U.S. Raid in Somalia

With Adam Rawnsley Bulls on parade. President Trump has wrapped up his gaffe-free trip to Paris, leaving the French capital directly after the massive ...

Argument

The Iran Nuclear Deal Has Been a Blessing for Israel

During my time as director of Israel’s General Security Service, the Shin Bet, I was among those responsible for maintaining my country’s security in a ...

Podcast

Rational Security on The E.R.: The “Looks Like I Picked the Wrong Week to Quit Sniffing Glue” Edition

[protected-iframe id="f1d994070debd9625965a8d6c7f3a7c8-71129472-123611325" info="https://player.megaphone.fm/PPY8250753005?" width="100%" height="200" scrolling="no"] On this week’s episode of Rational Security on the E.R., President Donald Trump’s eldest son met with a Kremlin-connected ...

The Cable

Situation Report: Trump in Paris; NATO’s Game of Chicken With Russia

With Adam Rawnsley Trump in France. President Donald Trump has landed in Paris, where he’ll meet French President Emmanuel Macron for talks on counterterrorism, ...

Report

Disorganized White House Blamed for Delay in Sudan Sanctions Decision

The White House announced this week it would put off any decision on Sudanese sanctions by an additional three months, a delay that former officials ...

The Cable

Danes Tout Family Planning Aid to Africa to ‘Limit Migration’ to Europe

Denmark, like plenty of other countries, is stepping up to fill in the funding gap in global family planning as the United States backs away ...

The Cable

Situation Report: EXCLUSIVE: Details on U.S.-Russian Ceasefire in Syria; China’s Navy Showing Up Everywhere

With Adam Rawnsley Details, doubt, and deliberations. A confidential U.S.-Russian cease-fire agreement for southwestern Syria that went into effect Sunday calls for barring Iranian-backed ...

The Cable

Qatar Pulls the Human Rights Card in Washington PR Blitz

While U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is in Doha this week, the Qataris have launched a public relations campaign in Washington to garner support ...

Exclusive

Secret Details of Trump-Putin Syria Cease-fire Focus on Iranian Proxies

A confidential U.S.-Russian cease-fire agreement for southwestern Syria that went into effect Sunday calls for barring Iranian-backed foreign fighters from a strategic stretch of Syrian ...

Shadow Government

The Problem Isn’t Just Who Trump Has Offended — It’s Who He Hasn’t

President Donald Trump’s opening moves on the world stage have left behind a trail of offended U.S. allies. From Germany (handshake and mutual defense commitment snubs) to South ...

House Committee Holds Hearing On Private Security Contractors

The Cable

SitRep: Bannon and Kushner’s Afghanistan Plan; Iran Claims Victory in Mosul

Paul McLeary with Adam Rawnsley Bannon’s war. President Donald Trump’s top advisor sought out Defense Secretary Jim Mattis recently with a bold proposal: replace ...

The Cable

Texas Feed Store Sparks Outrage with ‘Bomb Iran’ Message

A cattle feed store in Texas has caused international outrage by printing "bomb bomb bomb Iran" on a receipt. The phrase appeared at the bottom ...

The Cable

Mosul Back in Iraqi Hands, But Still ‘Tough Fight Ahead’

As airstrikes continue to shake the ground and small, sharp firefights pulse between Iraqi forces and the few dozen remaining Islamic State holdouts in a ...

The Cable

Tillerson Tries Hand at Shuttle Diplomacy to End Gulf Feud

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will spend this week shuffling between Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar in a bid to end a deepening diplomatic crisis ...

Argument

What Comes After ISIS?

The Islamic State stands on the brink of a twin defeat. Mosul, the largest city under its control, has almost entirely fallen from its grasp, ...

The Cable

SitRep: Another Tough Day For the Trumps; Iraq Reclaims the Rubble of Mosul

With Adam Rawnsley Oops. Presidential offspring Donald Trump Jr. admitted in a statement Sunday that he -- along with several members of the Trump ...

The Cable

Russia and U.S. Broker Another Ceasefire in Syria

The United States and Russia will announce a joint cease-fire in southwestern Syria on Sunday, according to the Associated Press, just as U.S. President Donald ...

Elephants in the Room

Saudi Arabia Is Weakening Itself and Strengthening Iran

President Donald Trump likely sees Mohammed bin Salman, who in June was named the new Saudi crown prince, as a Middle Eastern leader made in ...

Exclusive

Syria Stalls U.N. Investigation Into Chemical Weapons Attack

Syria is preventing a U.N. chemical weapons inspector from traveling to Damascus to begin the work of determining who carried out a deadly April 4 ...

The Cable

Japanese Retail Giant to Stop Selling Ivory

Another blow was struck to the illicit ivory trade this week, but it may still not be enough to reverse the decline in the elephant ...

Argument

Is It Still a Muslim Ban if Christian Refugees Are Punished?

The scene in Detroit’s U.S. District Court on June 21 was buzzing with anger and anxiety. Dozens of Iraqi nationals waited to hear whether their ...

Podcast

The Rocky Path Toward Kurdish Independence

[audio mp3="https://foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com/2017/07/170629_thebackstorycopy1_mixdown.mp3"][/audio] In this episode of The Backstory, FP’s Middle East editor David Kenner speaks with reporter Campbell MacDiarmid and former National Security Council Iraq Director Douglas ...

The Cable

Qatar Goes to Kuwait, Estonia Takes Over, Trump Tweets and Travels: The Weekend Behind, the Week Ahead

The deadline for Qatar to meet the list of demands set by those countries that broke diplomatic ties passed on Sunday -- but Qatar was ...

The Cable

The Bookshelf: FP Staffers Review the New Releases

We may well be living the age of video and short takes and 140-character word spasms. But you’d never know it from the flood of ...

The Cable

SitRep: U.S. Troops in the Thick of it in Mosul and Raqqa

With Adam Rawnsley Advise and assist. The days of U.S. troops advising Iraqi forces in Mosul remotely are long over. Col. Pat Work, commander ...

The Cable

South Africa’s Zuma May Have Finally Met The Scandal That Brings Him Down

South African President Jacob Zuma has managed to keep his job since 2009 despite constant controversy over his lifestyle as a polygamist, and allegations of ...

Argument

The Palace Intrigue at the Heart of the Qatar Crisis

Who is the real leader of Qatar? On paper, it is Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the 37-year-old son of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa ...

Argument

Can the Islamic State Survive If Baghdadi Is Dead?

If and when self-declared Caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is eventually killed, it will have little effect on the threat posed by the Islamic State to ...

The Cable

SitRep: Pentagon Outlines Russian Threat; U.S. Builds New Raqqa Militia; Trump Delivers Beijing One-Two Punch

With Adam Rawnsley Moscow, Washington and NATO, different threats from different perches. What constitutes a national security threat? It means very different things to ...

The Cable

Qatari Foreign Minister Says Looking Into Legal Action Against Other Gulf States

Qatar, currently isolated by a host of other Persian Gulf states, will pursue legal action as a way out of the diplomatic stalemate, Foreign Minister ...

Report

Seven Days, a Gun, and a Prayer: The Pentagon’s Plan to Pacify Raqqa

As the Islamic State crumbles, American special operations forces and their Arab and Kurdish allies have been working quietly to establish a force of about ...

Shadow Government

For U.S. Aid to the Palestinians, Don’t Use a Sledgehammer When a Scalpel Would Do

Taylor Force, a U.S. Army veteran who survived combat in Iraq, was murdered by a Palestinian terrorist in a knife attack in Tel Aviv last ...

The Cable

Surprise House Vote Rolls Back Authority for the ‘War on Terror’

In a surprising twist, the U.S. House Appropriations Committee passed an amendment to repeal a sweeping 2001 law that gives the president wide-ranging authority to ...

The Cable

Islamic State Revenues Down 80 Percent from 2015

The Islamic State’s self-proclaimed caliphate is no more, according to an Iraqi military spokesman, and a new report on the group’s shrinking revenue suggests he ...

Argument

There’s No Space for Qatar to Save Face

Last week, Saudi Arabia and its allies outlined their list of demands that Qatar would need to fulfill in order to end the worst crisis ...

The Cable

SitRep: Defense Budget Fight Teed Up; South Korean President Meets Trump; U.S. and Iran in Syria

With Adam Rawnsley Budget battle! The Senate uncorked a $700 billion defense authorization bill on Wednesday, a proposal that is tens of billions of ...

20 Years Since The Srebrenica Massacre More Victims Buried

The Cable

The Hague Just Reminded Us Why Safe Zones May Not Be Safe

Russia wants a safe zone in Syria where civilians caught up in war can flee to safety. Iran and Turkey support it. So, too, does ...

The Cable

Israeli Minister Plans a Floating Island Off the Coast of Gaza

A member of the Israeli government is floating a new, $5 billion plan for Gaza — an artificial island three miles off the coast that ...

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