Allow me to make two observations before I turn to my remarks. The Mission statement of the Forum’s website asks that we be honest and direct. And so, although I do not wish to appear overly harsh in my observations, nevertheless I am obliged to be frank and open. Otherwise, why have a conference such […]
On 5 January, 2018, Russian forces stationed in Syria suffered what appears to be the first case of swarm drones attack in history. Despite the UAVs being of a rather crude nature, this episode constitutes a further development in non-state actors’ use of UAVs. Additionally, allegations about the involvement of an external state actor spark […]
A large policy discussion is taking place between the US government and the UN, refocusing, and in many cases slashing US contributions to UN agencies to adjust closer to current US foreign policy approaches. One example of an extensive refocus is with a new policy to put funding and attention towards religious minorities in Iraq. […]
Joint Defence Facility Pine Gap, or “the base” as its known by locals of the surrounding township of Alice Springs in central Australia, was established in the late 1960s as a key site for US intelligence gathering. The largest part of its operations is to serve as a signals intelligence ground station for satellites in […]
The reality of conflict in this New Year is that there must be a reckoning to remember the forgotten from the last few years and honour those lost to human rights atrocities. What is worse than fake news, is no news, and with so little attention being paid to some of the most mutilated and […]
In the past few weeks, forces fighting to completely liberate Syria and Iraq from ISIS have claimed that their mission is accomplished in ousting the fascist army from their countries.
In the last week there have been mass graves discovered in Iraq. There is little detail on who the 400 people found buried are, why they were executed or what group they belonged to, but just that they were victims of ISIS and their location. This story and many linked to the atrocities in Iraq […]
As heavy fighting in the city of Hama reminds us of the seemingly endless misery in Syria, a hopeful breakthrough has been overlooked in the media.
This week conflict between the United States and its allies in Syria against the Syrian regime, Russia, and Iran heated up.
Approaches to create safe zones are being sought by Russia, Turkey and Iran in an effort to reverse the mass migration out of Syria.
Trump’s interventionism while staying the course on his approach to immigrants and refugees reveals the fundamental incoherence of his worldview.
Neither a Putin-Assad hegemony nor an inclusive transitional government of a united Syria are solutions after Aleppo. Partition is the solution.
Saudi Arabia and Iran project influence using their interpretations of Islam and the politicization of sectarian identities as instruments of foreign policy.
After almost a century of marching in lockstep with the secular ideas of Ataturk and the Kemalists, Erdogan is taking a hammer to the entire edifice.
The current Turkish struggle with IS is a complete reversal from the early years of the Syrian civil war, when Turkey supported opposition against Assad.