Week in Review - AL-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Week in Review

The Erbil International Airport is seen in Erbil, Iraq September 29, 2017. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari - RC19D0FD09E0

Iraqi Kurdistan’s not so friendly skies opening again soon

Week in Review

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sits in the audience ahead of a planned address at the Muni World 2018 conference in Tel Aviv, Israel February 14, 2018. REUTERS/Nir Elias - RC1B832C7E70

How could Bibi lose by offering 'ultimate deal' with Iran?

Week in Review

Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil meets with Acting Assistant U.S. Secretary of State David Satterfield and U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Elizabeth Richard in Beirut, Lebanon February 21, 2018. REUTERS/Aziz Taher - RC1C36783760

Satterfield’s shuttle diplomacy may offer diplomatic opening for Syria

Week in Review

Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army fighter stands near stacked sandbags in Eastern Afrin, Syria, February 13, 2018. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RC1A6D3C0CA0

Turkey’s assault adds to 'climate of repression and decline' in northern Syria

Week in Review

A man walks on rubble at a damaged site after an airstrike in the besieged town of Douma, Eastern Ghouta, Damascus, Syria February 9, 2018. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh - RC18866F2CF0

Despite defeat of IS, Syria war risks major power conflict

Week in Review

Sochi conference casualty of Turkey’s military offensive in Syria

Week in Review

A fighter from Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) sits on a curb as he holds his weapon in Raqqa, Syria September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RC17FB8BC0B0

Is US bailing on Syrian Kurds?

Week in Review

Turkish artillerys shell the People's Protection Units (YPG) positions near the Syrian border on January 21, 2018 near Hassa, in the Turkish province of Hatay, as Turk's ground troops entered Syria today to push an offensive against Kurdish militia as rocket fire hit a border town in apparent retaliation.
Turkey on January 20 launched operation "Olive Branch" seeking to oust from the Afrin region of northern Syria the YPG which Ankara considers a terror group.
/ AFP PHOTO / BULENT KILIC (Photo credi

Turkey upends US Syria strategy with attack on YPG

Week in Review

Turkish army tanks and military personal are stationed in Karkamis on the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern Gaziantep province, Turkey, August 25, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - S1BETXLBLSAE

Is Turkey aligned with al-Qaeda affiliate in Idlib?

Week in Review

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (bottom) delivers a speech to parliament before presenting the proposed annual budget in Tehran on December 7, 2014. Iran's parliament has adopted a law on December 4, to tax religious foundations and military-linked companies, a first for the Islamic republic that could generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenues, media reported. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Rouhani on defense after attack on hard-line 'fraudulent institutions'

Week in Review

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) meets with Saudi Arabia's King Salman in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia October 5, 2017. Sputnik/Alexei Nikolsky/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC1C4DF4B090

Russia 'consulted, heard and feared' in the Middle East

Week in Review

Syrians gather around a Christmas tree in Aleppo's government controlled Aziziyah neighbourhood on December 31, 2016. / AFP / George OURFALIAN (Photo credit should read GEORGE OURFALIAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Christmas trees in Aleppo?

Week in Review