After 13 rounds of talks in Kazakhstan, the parties are aiming small. Still, that’s a lot better than nothing.
Regions / Syria
New reports show an escalation in civilian casualties from U.S. operations in Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia — and a pattern of U.S. denial about the scale of the problem.
The group's caliphate may be crumbled, but the political conditions that gave rise to it haven't improved at all.
He's failed to deliver his promised withdrawals from Afghanistan and Syria, vetoed an order to get out of Yemen, and expanded the U.S. bombing of Somalia, all while eyeing Iran.
Islamic extremism gets all the press, but Trump is just one of a growing number of Christian extremists in positions of political power.
The forever war in the Middle East is far from over.
Kurds have established a democratic state in Syria. Can the United States help it survive?
A small detachment of U.S. troops won't protect the Kurds from Turkish aggression, but putting conditions on arms transfers might.
To keep U.S. troops in Syria now implies a forever war, with no realistic ending imaginable, and no authorization from Congress.
The war is winding down but very little progress has been made on addressing the underlying causes.