Middle East Ticker
Saudi-Backed Forces in Yemen Near Strategic Houthi City
J. Dana Stuster Wed, May 30, 2018, 1:20 PM
War in Yemen Approaches Critical Port for Aid Deliveries
Latest in Libya
Libya
All Politics Is Local—in Libya, That Could Be an Opportunity
Frederica Saini Fasanotti Thu, Apr 26, 2018, 8:00 AM
Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on Order from Chaos.
Middle East Ticker
Trump Launched a Punitive Strike on Syria. Now What?
J. Dana Stuster Tue, Apr 17, 2018, 10:00 AM
U.S. Launches Punitive Strikes on Assad Regime’s Chemical Weapons Facilities
Libya
Libya's Monetary Crisis
Jalel Harchaoui Wed, Jan 10, 2018, 9:00 AM
To many Libyan households, the top security threat plaguing their daily lives isn’t the risk of being caught in the crossfire between contending militias, falling victim to a jihadi group, or being kidnapped for ransom. A more unrelenting consequence of Libya’s dysfunctional politics is its monetary crisis. The principal manifestations—chronic shortage of dinar banknotes, along with a weak valuation of the Libyan currency in the black market—first emerged in 2014. Unlike the ongoing civil war, which also began in 2014, the monetary crisis has consistently intensified through the months.
Middle East Ticker
Kurdish Leader Resigns Under Pressure from Iraq, Benghazi Militant Captured, Saudi Arabia Gives Investors Futuristic Sales Pitch
J. Dana Stuster Tue, Oct 31, 2017, 10:21 AM
Vacuum Emerges in Kurdish Politics as Iraqi Forces Push North
Libya
European Interference in Libya Could Derail U.N. Efforts
Elissa Miller Fri, Sep 8, 2017, 11:00 AM
The United Nations is preparing a new diplomatic push to reconcile feuding parties in Libya. The war-torn country will be a major topic at the upcoming U.N. General Assembly this month and Secretary General Antonio Guterres is set to convene a high-level meeting at which he will present a new action plan on Libya. The new plan, though, could be sabotaged from the start. Political maneuvering by several European states focused on narrow national interests has undermined U.N. diplomacy in Libya in recent months. Absent European unity and support, the U.N. effort will likely falter.
Middle East Ticker
Temple Mount Protests Wind Down, New Ceasefire in Libya Complicates Peace Effort, Hajj Gets Caught in Gulf Crisis, and Lebanon’s PM Makes Pitch in DC
J. Dana Stuster Tue, Aug 1, 2017, 11:00 AM
Relative Calm Returns to Temple Mount
Middle East Ticker
U.S. and Iran Compete in Eastern Syria, Qatar and Saudi Arabia Renew Old Feud, and More Fighting in Libya after Attacks in Manchester and Minya
J. Dana Stuster Tue, May 30, 2017, 12:16 PM
Is the United States Trying to Hold a Sliver of Syria?
Foreign Policy Essay
Who Counts as al-Qaeda: Lessons from Libya
Alex Thurston Sun, May 7, 2017, 10:00 AM
Editor’s Note: Ties to a terrorist group are rightly a stigma. However, given the nebulous nature of many groups, such connections are often easy to overstate. Alex Thurston, my colleague at Georgetown, argues that in Libya the United States has set the bar too high regarding ties to al-Qaeda. Instead, the United States and its allies should try to disaggregate the threat, recognizing that "ties to al-Qaeda" is a description that is often so loose as to be meaningless in the Libyan context. Instead, there are actors the West can work with to bring peace and stability to Libya.
Foreign Policy Essay
Understanding Russia’s New Role in the Middle East
Yuri M. Zhukov Sun, Apr 23, 2017, 10:00 AM
Editor’s Note: Russia's return to prominence on the world stage is forcing security officials in the United States and Europe to rethink their postures. One of Russia's biggest moves is its renewed emphasis on the Middle East in general and its backing of the Assad regime in Syria in particular—a potentially transformative shift for the region. Yuri Zhukov of the University of Michigan explains the reasons for Russia's return to the region and points out the likely limits to Moscow's influence.
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