عرب و اسلام سیاسی

The strategically important Syrian Druze will not be won over unless they are cut off from Damascus, and even then they would need concrete assurances that international forces will protect them from hostile jihadists.

Repartitioning Yemen into separate northern and southern entities may be the only way to resolve its brutal war and beat back its al-Qaeda franchise.

Whether the popular Shiite cleric's motivations are ideological or political, Washington should make sure that neither his loyal militias nor any rogue splinter groups are tempted into further acts of violence against American personnel and interests.

But kicking out the Islamic State and keeping the peace are two very different things, so longer-term coalition support will be needed.

Absent effective support from the United States and Saudi Arabia, Lebanon's traditionally pro-Western but increasingly fractured Sunni bloc stands little chance of preventing further gains by the Hezbollah-Syria-Iran axis.

از سال ۱۹۸۹ که آیت‌الله علی خامنه‌ای رهبری انقلاب را عهده‌دار شد، نهاد روحانیت به تمامی دگرگون شده و هم در شبکه‌های داخلی و بین‌المللی و هم از نظر مالی و شمار کارکنان رشد بی‌سابقه‌ای را تجربه‌ کرده است. هم‌زمان با این رشد، خامنه‌ای کنترل تندروها بر مدیریت نهاد روحانیت شیعه را شدت بخشیده است. اصل راهنمای جمهوری اسلامی پس از مرگ خامنه‌ای هم عوض نخواهد شد: یک رژیم روحانی نیازمند دیوانسالاران روحانی است تا حاکمیت و صدور ایدئولوژی‌اش را تضمین کنند.

The last remaining Islamic State stronghold in eastern Syria is poised to fall, and given the potentially major strategic implications for the Kurds, Turkey, the rebels, and other actors, one of them may act quickly to determine its fate.

Internal political bickering and public discontent over economic problems could complicate the upcoming Mosul campaign and the KRG's long-term unity.

The House of Saud is probably not headed for a serious crash, but its growing domestic tensions make a fender-bender increasingly likely.