Middle East

American interests in Yemen are currently centered around limiting Iranian influence, ensuring safe oil transit, and maintaining the security of Saudi Arabia. Secondary interests include counterterrorism, human rights, and overall stability in the Middle East. A brief look at the history of US-Yemeni relations will show how these interests have evolved.

Government of Pakistan: Information Report

The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, also known as Afghanistan, is located in South Central Asia. The government of Afghanistan consists of the President, council of ministers, provincial governors and the national assembly. According to the 2004 constitution, “Afghanistan shall be an Islamic Republic, independent, unitary and indivisible state” (Olam). To fulfill this constitution, Afghanistan’s government has three branches comprising of the Executive, Judicial, and Legislative branches.

ISIS affiliates flourish in regions plagued by weak governance, porous borders, and inept security force (Intel Brief, 2019). Affiliates are geographically dispersed and vary in capability; some are akin to terrorist groups, while others behave like insurgent groups (Intel Brief, 2019).

The Islamic State’s use of social media has evolved over the past few years to attract more members. ISIS quickly built a brand on social media with tens of thousands of followers (DiResta, 2018). The organization’s strategic use of social media demonstrates the resourcefulness of the terrorist organization (Ward, 2018). Over time, ISIS maximized its reach through several social media platforms (Koerner, 2017). ISIS has been repeatedly the most adept terrorist group at using Internet and social media propaganda to recruit new members (Alfifi, Kaghazgaran, Morstatter). As ISIS continues to lose territory, they have adapted their use of social media to maintain power (Ward, 2018). Rather than calling followers to the front lines, ISIS’s social media strategy cultivates them at home in the United States, Europe, Africa, and Asia (Singer, Emerson, 2015). Social media has given terrorists the ability to directly come into contact with their target audience and either spread terror or recruit (Alfifi, Kaghazgaran, Morstatter).

Background of US-EU Relations Regarding Iran

In 2013, under the leadership of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, ISIS began to study the West’s media so they could understand how best to mimic its methods of persuasion (Koerner, 2017). About a year later, in 2014, ISIS’s use of social media started, when they systematically leveraged technology and operated like a digital marketing team (DiResta, 2018). ISIS quickly built a brand on social media with tens of thousands of followers (How ISIS). Abu Musab al-Zarqawai, an ISIS leader, believed that they were “…in a media battle in a race for the hearts and minds of our Umma [Muslim people]” (Koerner, 2017). The organization’s strategic use of social media demonstrates the resourcefulness of the terrorist organization, which recruited an estimated 40,000 foreign nationals from 110 countries (Ward, 2018).

One of the most persistent threats facing the world in the 21st century is the rise of human trafficking as a major form of criminal exploitation. Not only is this issue found worldwide, it is also a growing problem in the Middle East, especially as it combines with the impact of conflict and the rising refugee streams trying to reach Europe.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s plan to stabilize Syria’s Idlib province against Hay’et Tahrir al-Sham’s (HTS) growing aggression and territorial expansion struggles to be implemented (Russia: Deal 2019; Russia, Turkey 2019). Turkey and Russia planned for a de-escalation zone in Syria’s Idlib, where aggression is prohibited, so Syrian displaced peoples are allowed to return home. However HTS filled the power vacuum in the absence of state aggression. HTS now attempts to penetrate Aleppo from the Idlib province, which threatens the demilitarization deal between Turkey and Russia (Karaspan 2018).

Syrian Islamist terrorist group Hay’et Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) continues to push its territorial expansion campaign from the Idlib province into Aleppo and the surrounding area controlled by the Turkish-backed National Liberation Front (NLF). Increasing aggression from HTS warns of more conflict not only for civilians and Turkey, but also challenges the Idlibdemilitarization deal between Turkey, Iran, the Syrian government, and Russia.

Hudayda

Fighting between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip this past week is culminating in a series of Israeli political changes that could produce another major conflict between the two sides.

Syria is an incredibly strategic theater for the United States and the international community, but recent events threaten to create interstate conflict, disunity among US allies, and major humanitarian crises (Agence France-Presse 2018).

The already turbulent politics of the Arab Gulf are being wracked by the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, allegedly after being tortured (Kempe 2018; Alsharif et al. 2018). Responsibility for the murder may reach all the way up to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, also referred to as MbS (Riedel 2018; Kirkpatrick, Malachy, Hubbard, and Botti 2018; El-Ghobashy and Fahim 2018). Different countries are experiencing diverse effects of the situation.

Power grabs, political strife, proxy wars, and pride have all contributed to the most recent crisis to hit the historically unstable Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) (Adams 2018; Stratfor 2017; Hassan 2018). This time it features the so-called “Quartet” of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, and Egypt facing off against Qatar, and to an extent Turkey and Iran (The Economist 2018; Al-Jazeera 2017; Haaretz and Reuters 2018). The ongoing instability from the conflict, which was almost fought with armies instead of PR companies, creates friction between US allies and prevents a united front against Iran (Stratfor 2017; Yousef et al. 2018, Pfeffer 2018; Emmons 2018).