Since 2012, the Week in Review keeps you ahead of the curve with in-depth analysis of the trends in the region, based on AL-MONITOR’s world class reporting.
Is Erdogan’s Syria policy slipping through his fingers?
Syrian Kurds may dash Turkish president’s expectations for US President Donald Trump.
Why did Russia offer autonomy for Syria’s Kurds?
Draft constitution from Russia seeks to decentralize Syrian state authority, limit presidential powers; Turkish forces struggle in two-front campaign against both the Islamic State and Syrian Kurds; Al-Monitor offers in-depth reporting on Syrian Kurdish region.
Is Turkey’s shift on Assad beginning of the end of Syria’s war?
Turkish deputy prime minister says "we just have to work with what we have"; no sectarian divide in Aleppo; the Syrian Kurdish fault line.
Syrians express 'deep anger' at Turkey for war
Al-Monitor reports from Damascus and Aleppo, where Russian Chechen troops stand guard; Iraqi prime minister seeks improved ties with neighbors.
Is Iran following Russia’s lead in Syria?
Russian diplomatic blitz on Syria includes building bridges between Iran and Turkey.
Is Erdogan trying to wreck US-Turkey relations?
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claims he has “evidence” of US support for the Islamic State; Iranian President Hassan Rouhani applauds valuable “victory” in Aleppo.
Christmas brings hope for peace for Aleppo’s Christians
Christians part of region’s DNA, said incoming UN secretary-general; Turkey’s “impossible war”; Erdogan backers blame Iran for Aleppo.
Obama’s Aleppo defense
US President Barack Obama says the brutality in Aleppo is solely the fault of "the Assad regime and its allies Russia and Iran." Does Israel benefit from Russia’s role in Syria? Bombings in Turkey spur an anti-Kurdish frenzy.
Turkey scrambles to cut its losses in Syria
Turkey’s Syria policies "lie in shreds"; Syrian Kurds coordinate with government forces in Aleppo; would Russia support federalism in Syria?
Erdogan’s Syria policy hits dead end in Aleppo
Ankara anticipates worst-case scenario as Syrian government forces appear close to victory in decisive battle.
Iran-linked militias seek to draw Iraq into regional war
“Iran’s logic is the logic of war,” a Gulf regional official tells Al-Monitor.
Zaidi’s test in Tehran
Less than 24 hours after Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi returned from Tehran on Thursday, Iraqi Kurdistan again came under attack.
Five explosive drones were intercepted over Erbil by US-led coalition air defenses, triggering explosions and smoke near the airport that hosts coalition forces and sits adjacent to the US consulate. While Iraq’s Kurdistan region is no stranger to attacks by Iran and its proxies, the timing was hard to ignore. For Tehran, despite the arrival of a new Iraqi prime minister promising a different path, it appears to be business as usual.
US banking on Iraqi turnaround with nomination of Zaidi as new PM
Trump signals hope for a "tremendous new chapter” in US-Iraq ties with the nomination of Ali Al-Zaidi as prime minister.
Iraq's Sudani: US troop withdrawal does not mean end of security relationship
At an event hosted by Al-Monitor and the US Chamber of Commerce, the prime minister discussed Iraq’s plan to achieve energy independence by 2030 and his desire to drawdown the US military presence in the country.
