Syria’s announcement of its first COVID-19 case highlights the public health threat posed by war zones that produce millions of refugees and displaced persons.
Middle East: Ever More Unstable

A review of seven Mideast conflicts, each one ever more intractable.
Turkey and the Kurds: What Goes Around Comes Around

Erdogan neglected alternative options that could have strengthened Turkey’s position — without sparking the ire of much of the international community.
Trump and the Kurds: An Act of Betrayal and Infamy

Trump abandoning the Kurds will damage the U.S. and embolden its foes. It amounts to nothing less than treason.
Trump’s New Year’s Gift to Putin, Rouhani and Erdogan

Trump’s decision to withdraw forces from Syria and Afghanistan points only to his abdication of the US’ moral responsibility.
Will There Be a Kurdish State?

Terrorism, oil, the crisis in Iraq, the Syrian civil war and geopolitics all weigh against the birth of a new Kurdish state.
Toward Kurdish Independence?

The Kurds’ quest for self-rule is potentially explosive. It puts them in the crosshairs of Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Russia and the United States.
What Trump’s Syria Bombing Really Means

With one military action, the new U.S. President has managed to thoroughly confound his fiercest supporters and critics.