Middle East and North Africa

A review of Kim Ghattas, “Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran and the  Forty-Year Rivalry That Unraveled Culture, Religion, and Collective Memory in the Middle East” (Henry Holt & Co., 2020)

More than 10,000 European women and children affiliated with Islamic State fighters remain in local custody in northeastern Syria. So far, European governments have been reluctant to take large-scale action.

The U.S.-Taliban peace agreement technically conditions U.S. military withdrawal on the Taliban’s agreement to deny al-Qaeda the use of Afghanistan as a terrorist safe haven. But the agreement is lopsided.

Since a lethal airstrike against Turkish forces in Syria on Feb. 27, speculation has been rife as to whether Turkey could request military assistance under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty. At least for now, such speculation is misplaced.