Omphalos takes an interdisciplinary look at the contemporary Middle East, and is published jointly with two key partners: Academic Exchange, an educational non-profit that seeks to deepen understanding of Israel in the international academic community, and the Brookings Center for Middle East Policy and its blog, Markaz. Turmoil in today's Middle East today implicates a wide array of legal questions, bears huge costs for civilian populations, and poses diverse challenges to policymakers, activists, lawyers, and reformers. For the issues that Lawfare treats, the Middle East is a kind of omphalos.
President Trump’s unexpected announcement of U.S. withdrawal from Syria holds special significance for Washington’s Syrian- Kurdish partners, who have been essential in the fight against Islamic State.
The 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran has proved one of the most consequential events in the history of modern terrorism.
As the United States pulls back from the Middle East, China and the Gulf states are competing for and cooperating on development projects.
The Syria deployment was never well thought out. But it is both tragic and dangerous that the U.S. deployment is ending in an even less coherent way.
Yemen peace talks make progress on key issues, Turkey’s foreign minister says the Trump administration is considering expelling Fethullah Gulen and Turkish troops threaten to push into territory held by U.S.-backed forces.
Yemeni delegates agree to a prisoner exchange, MBS’ lobbying has left him with friends in the White House but not much else, and new attention is given to the perils of academic research in the Middle East.
An end to the Saudi intervention is a good first step to ending suffering in Yemen, but by itself it will not be enough.
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