Russia has long treated relations with Kurds as a bargaining chip as it pursues broader objectives. Today in Syria, things are no different. A Kurdish girl in front of a poster of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Afrin, Syria, 24 January 2018 (AP Photo/Petros...
The Kurds are the world’s largest nation without a state. Yet, when thrust onto the world agenda, questions over the group’s identity invariably arise. Supporters of Pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party dance during Nowruz, the Kurdish New Year, in Istanbul,...
When the Cold War ended, many thought international relations had entered a new era. Now, resurgent nationalism is fanning old animosities. Indian Hindu nationalists at a training camp in Ahmadabad, India, 1 June 2019 (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki) After the collapse of the...
Foreign policy hawk John Bolton is no longer in the White House. Can Donald Trump, with one eye on 2020 elections, now cut a deal with Iran? An Iranian speedboat circles a British-flagged oil tanker that was seized by Iranian forces, Bandar Abbas, Iran, 21 July 2019...
The world’s worst humanitarian disaster is unfolding in Yemen, where outside powers stoke a civil war. Peace remains a distant dream. A Red Crescent staffer tries to pull a body from rubble at a detention center after it was hit by airstrikes in Dhamar, Yemen, 1...
Why are the U.S. and Iran at daggers drawn while Donald Trump has vowed to pull troops out of foreign wars? Mutual antagonism goes way back. Demonstrators protest against Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in Tehran, Iran, 9 October 1979. The effects of the 1979 revolution...
I used to associate the Middle East with violence, devastation and instability. On a trip to Israel, I discovered hospitality and generosity. Artwork by Banksy in Bethlehem (Photo by Jasmine Li) Sitting in the shade, I touch the sand in my hand, cold and moist....
Women leaders in Jordan fighting for equal rights offer hope that feminism can be advanced without sacrificing our unique culture. Former U.S. First lady Laura Bush, center, meets Jordanian women leaders (from left) Dr. Amal Sabbagh, Malak Ghazal, Reem Abu Hassan,and...
For decades, Jordan has struggled to introduce reforms and prevent honor crimes — one of the uglier vestiges of colonialism. A Jordanian woman shows the name of her sister in a list of honor crime victims published by a human rights group in Amman, Jordan, 20 May 2000...
For decades, militant religious schools in Pakistan called madrassas taught students to kill non-believers. Now, Islamabad is taking them on. Zaman and Viqar Shah head to a madrassa in Islamabad, Pakistan, 22 May 2003. (EPA-PHOTO/EPA/Shabbir Hussain Iman) For 30...