HODEIDA, YEMEN — Representatives from Yemen’s Houthis and the Saudi-led Coalition have agreed on Phase 1 of a mutual redeployment of forces under a UN-sponsored deal that would see both sides leave Yemen’s port city of Hodeida after months of failed attempts to implement previous agreements in the Red Sea city. The UN spokesman’s office said…

DAMASCUS, SYRIA — Despite having touted his plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria as recently as Sunday, the U.S. military appears to be doing the complete opposite and is instead dramatically increasing the number of U.S. troops illegally stationed in northeastern Syria. According to a report in Turkish media outlet Anadolu News, a convoy…

The Republican Senator from South Carolina uttered his remarks following a series of curiously timed developments in Syria, including a terror attack in the northern city of Manbij that reportedly left four Americans dead, and ongoing Israeli attacks on Syrian territory. Graham, an outspoken critic of Donald Trump’s plan to withdraw some 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria,…

DAMASCUS, SYRIA — On Friday, the Trump administration’s Syria policy, specifically regarding the withdrawal of U.S. troops illegally occupying part of the country, experienced what appears to be yet another drastic reversal just days after top administration officials National Security Adviser John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the de facto cancellation of…

WASHINGTON — Since it was announced a few weeks ago, President Donald Trump’s plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria has now — unsurprisingly – morphed from an “America First” policy move into yet another “Israel First” and neoconservative-supported initiative likely to continue the U.S.’ illegal occupation Syrian territory for the foreseeable future. Indeed, according…

On January 4th, al-Monitor published an analysis into a possible conflict in the Turkish army’s top brass over the operation in Syria. According to the author, Fehim Tastekin, while Turkey was negotiating with the US over the roadmap for the area east of the Euphrates River and Manbij, while also coordinating with Russia to get their approval…

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw US troops from Syria last month has been met with no shortage of condemnation over the perception that America would be abandoning its Kurdish partners on the ground in the country. The move would open them up to an incursion from NATO ally Turkey, which has…

Leave it to liberals to pin their hopes on the oddest things. In particular, they seemed to find post-Trump solace in the strange combination of the two-year-old Mueller investigation and the good judgment of certain Trump appointees, the proverbial “adults in the room.” Remember that crew? It once included Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the…

The full-court press on Iran that President Donald Trump has put into play has not yet resulted in changes to Tehran’s regional strategy. Iran’s influence in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen is growing, and now Tehran intends to outplay Trump in Afghanistan. Admiral Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (NSC), spoke in…

President Donald Trump’s announcement of an imminent withdrawal of US troops from northeastern Syria summoned a predictable paroxysm of outrage from Washington’s foreign policy establishment. Former Secretary of State and self-described “hair icon” Hillary Clinton perfectly distilled the bipartisan freakout into a single tweet, accusing Trump of “isolationism” and “playing into Russia and Iran’s hands.” Actions…

WASHINGTON — On Thursday, President Donald Trump announced via Twitter that Secretary of Defense James “Mad Dog” Mattis would be “retiring” in February and that a replacement for Mattis would soon be named. Mattis’ departure had been the subject of speculation since late June, when it was reported that Mattis was already being kept out…

WASHINGTON — In what is being characterized by some as a “drastic reversal,” reports in both the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post have claimed that the Trump administration is set to rapidly withdraw U.S. military forces from northeastern Syria, where the U.S. has occupied around 30 percent of Syrian territory since mid-2016. The…