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George Papasimakis

Sep 22, 2026, 12:55 PM

The Syrian Trap: Why Israel Must Block a Turkish A2/AD Umbrella

Israeli Air Force F-35I Adir stealth multi-role fighter. (Photo: Maj. Ofer / Israeli Air Force)

For decades, Israel’s deterrence model and national survival have rested upon a single, undeniable operational reality: qualitative military edge (QME), manifested primarily through absolute air superiority. While surrounding regional actors often commanded massive standing armies and extensive conventional hardware,...

Alexander Lutsenko

Sep 22, 2026, 1:36 AM

Russia Fought Nuclear Pressure on Syria. Now It Is Doing the Same on Iran

Russia Fought Nuclear Pressure on Syria. Now It Is Doing the Same on Iran. The image was created using AI.

In September 2026, the IAEA finally resolved the Assad-era Syrian nuclear case while escalating its dispute with Iran. Russia had opposed international pressure in both files at crucial stages. The Syrian case now offers a rare chance to see...

Sep 21, 2026, 6:45 PM

Security Is a Shared Interest

The war in Gaza has left enormous pain and anger across the Arab world and far beyond it. Yet only days ago, Morocco and Israel agreed to take another step in the opposite direction: upgrading their diplomatic representation to...

Sep 17, 2026, 2:23 PM

September 17: The Day the Equation Changed

Two years ago today, on September 17, 2024, at 3:30 p.m., beeping sounds began to emerge from the pockets of thousands of Hezbollah operatives across Lebanon. Seconds later, the pagers began to explode. The following day came the second wave:...

Sep 15, 2026, 9:11 PM

Washington’s Syria referee has a conflict

A deconfliction cell requires both sides to believe the operator does not care which of them is right. Illustrative image. (Mitzpe Institute)

Tom Barrack is building the mechanism meant to keep Israeli and Turkish aircraft from shooting at each other over Syria — a standing deconfliction cell, staffed around the clock in Hebrew, Arabic, English and Turkish. He is also the...

Purna Lal Chakma

Sep 12, 2026, 11:29 AM

Could Saudi Arabia Collapse and Would Islamists Fill the Vacuum?

$Saudi Arabia under growing regional pressure, with the empty throne symbolizing the question of who could fill the vacuum if the monarchy ever fractured. AI-created by the author.$

Could Saudi Arabia collapse? At the moment, the answer appears to be no. The kingdom still has enormous financial resources, powerful security institutions, substantial oil wealth and a ruling family that retains firm control of the state. But history suggests...

Purna Lal Chakma

Sep 11, 2026, 6:49 PM

Why Do Islamists Rise After Governments Fall in Muslim-Majority Countries?

From left: Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi of Iran, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia, Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan, Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh, and Bashar al-Assad of Syria — leaders who left their countries during major political upheavals that ended their rule.

When a powerful government falls in a Muslim-majority country, the first question is usually who will govern next. But perhaps a more important question is this: who is still organised enough to compete for power when the old political...

Alexander Lutsenko

Sep 10, 2026, 4:45 AM

Russia Is Losing Its Syrian Leverage – and the Threat to Israel Is Fading

Russia Is Losing Its Syrian Leverage - and the Threat to Israel Is Fading. The image was created using AI.

On August 9, 2026, Syria and Russia reached an agreement that may matter to Israel far more than the simple question of whether Russian soldiers remain on Syrian soil. After roughly 18 months of negotiations, Damascus and Moscow agreed that...

Purna Lal Chakma

Aug 29, 2026, 12:00 PM

Could Bangladesh Become South Asia’s Next Ukraine?

Bangladesh is depicted inside a transparent shield associated with Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan, raising the central question: would the Makkah Pact provide real protection or only a political promise? (AI-assisted illustration created by the author for editorial purposes.)

The possibility of Bangladesh becoming South Asia’s next Ukraine may sound extreme, but two major security developments have made the question harder to dismiss. Dhaka is considering the Makkah Pact while preparing to buy Chinese J-10CE fighter jets. India...

Aug 28, 2026, 6:21 PM

Article 5 Has a Map. Turkey Does Not Get to Redraw It.

An Israel–Turkey clash would be extraordinarily costly to both. But the decisive variables are not platform counts: who is attacked, where, which legal basis is activated, and who is obliged - or chooses - to enter. Cyprus sits at...

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