Ankara plays favorites with Iraqi, Syrian Turkmens

Ankara could face a nationalist backlash at home for favoring the Kurds over the Turkmens in Iraq.

Iraq

Why the world questions Turkey's stance on Islamic State

Reasons are mounting to doubt Turkey's dedication to battling the Islamic State.

Iraq

Syrian endgame could begin with Aleppo

Aleppo could begin healing in Syria; Syrian armed group backed by US allies seeks caliphate; FSA leader says US “moving toward being a partner in crime” in Syria; Hagel says US Syria policy was paralyzed over "Assad must go."

Syria

Turkey's distractions make it vulnerable

Many questions still surround the recent suicide bombing in Istanbul, but it nevertheless points up Turkey's limited understanding of IS and the country's need to develop a strategy and assets to deal with terrorism.

Syria

Hagel says Obama 'paralyzed' Syria policy around Assad ouster

Former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel says President Barack Obama erred in calling for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to go and declaring a red line over Syria’s use of chemical weapons, and also compared Republican presidential candidates to a "mass gong show" and urged them to be less divisive.

Syria

FSA adviser: IS cannot be eliminated without us

In an Al-Monitor interview, Osama Abu Zeid, legal adviser for the Free Syrian Army, discusses the FSA's return to the forefront in light of Russia’s military intervention in the Syrian war.

Syria

Was Zahran Alloush really a moderate leader?

Some have described the late Jaish al-Islam leader Zahran Alloush as a moderate leader, although his fiery anti-Shiite and anti-democracy statements indicate otherwise.

Iraq

State of the Union highlights Jordan’s rift with Obama

The US president directly contradicts King Abdullah’s talking point that the campaign against IS is a “third world war.”

Palestine

What are the real goals behind local truces in Syria?

Opposition activists say the truces reached in several Syrian regions are a regime tool to rearrange the country's demographics.

Syria

Turkish-US ties face fresh turbulence over Iraq, Syria

Washington’s demand that Turkey withdraw troops from Iraq and the US alliance with Syrian Kurds are potential flashpoints in US-Turkish relations.

Iraq

US presidential candidates weigh in on Russia, Putin, Middle East

Al-Monitor takes the pulse of the US presidential candidates' varied stances on the Middle East crises and on Vladimir Putin and his role in international politics.

Syria

Why Syria will pay for Iran-Saudi rift

Despite UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura's assurances to the contrary, the breakdown in ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia appears set to impact the fragile talks on Syria.

Saudi Arabia