Reports of Charles Millon
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Opinion: The lost cause of Iraq and Syria, symbols of the West’s defeat
After over a decade of Western involvement in Syria and Iraq, the region remains unstable and vulnerable to Iranian interference. In Syria, the Kurdish conflict seems set to endure now that the U.S. military has been largely withdrawn from the area. Iraq is facing a wide-scale insurgency against its ruling ...
Opinion: Jihadists open a new front in West Africa
Since the mid-2010s, countries in the Gulf of Guinea have seen an increase in terrorist attacks. Lax border control allows jihadist violence to spread rapidly through preexisting criminal networks. National authorities are taking measures to counter the threat, but the issue will need to be addressed from a regional perspective ...
Russia in Africa: the ‘covert action’ strategy
While China has received much attention for its diplomatic and economic efforts in Africa, Russia has been quietly seeking a foothold in the Central African Republic. Years of chaos and a violent civil war have set the stage for Russia’s entrance in the country, where it is now plying security ...
Mali’s two wars
Mali, aided by France and several other countries in the region, is waging a war against jihadist terrorists based in the north of its territory. But Bamako is also conducting a political, social and economic war against ethnic populations in the north who want more autonomy. Though France’s involvement has ...
After Brexit, what is Europe?
Brexit can be a healing shock to the European Union. The United Kingdom’s decision to opt out forces Brussels to finally confront a central issue: what is Europe’s true identity. The European project can thrive only if it is democratically developed from the ground up, by its diverse and pragmatic ...
Saudi Arabia’s role in Middle East instability
Over the past two years, Saudi Arabia has rejoined the premier league of global geopolitics. But the kingdom is in conflict on all fronts. Economically, it is waging a “petro war,” starting a contest of wills with not just the United States, but also Canada, Iran and Russia. Militarily, the ...
Strategy needed as Islamic conflict zone widens
As war threatens to engulf a region stretching from Iraq to sub-Saharan Africa, the United States, Europe and their allies must come up with a coordinated strategy for intervening. A major international conference where a plan could be hashed out would be a good place to start. In any possible ...
Troubled Algeria faces three-pronged crisis, potential collapse
Algeria has not been in such dire straits since it declared independence from France in 1962. The challenges the country faces today make its “bloody decade” during the 1990s, when conflict with the Armed Islamic Group (AIG) killed tens of thousands, seem like a time of stability and prosperity. It ...
