Executive Summary Starting in the 2010s, the use of “security for hire” and paramilitary, non-state actors has been on the rise. Given its expanding geo-economic and geopolitical ambitions—best expressed by the Belt and Road Initiative—China, akin to other actors, will need to ensure physical security... MORE

Iraq’s request to purchase Dassault Rafale fighter jets from France will raise some eyebrows in Washington. Paris is eyeing the Middle Eastern weapons market and has signed significant agreements with Egypt and the UAE—and now Iraq. In a time of growing competition in the 4.5th... MORE

Protesters loyal to Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr invaded the heavily fortified area in central Baghdad, known as the Green Zone, twice in one week in late July. They occupied the parliament building for days and blocked al-Sadr’s Iranian-backed rivals’ formation of a new government... MORE

Thai Military Continues Counter-Insurgency Operations Amid Peace Process Jacob Zenn Amid rising hopes for a more inclusive peace process in southern Thailand, the Thai military is continuing its counter-insurgency operations against ethnic Malay Muslim militants. This represents a strategy whereby the military is allowing talks... MORE

Three days after US President Joe Biden's trip to the Middle East, Tehran hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on July 19. This tripartite meeting was held within the framework of the seventh summit of the heads of states of... MORE

On July 11, US intelligence warned that Tehran was preparing to send hundreds of Iranian unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) to Moscow. Open sources in Washington claimed that, in early July, Tehran had showcased the Shahed-191 and Shahed-129 drones to a visiting Russian delegation. Commercial... MORE

In a video released on April 5, al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri praised an Indian Muslim female student for defying a local ban on students wearing hijab to school. Calling on Muslims to “stop being deceived by the mirage of the pagan Hindu democracy of India,"... MORE

The Islamic State (IS) province in Iraq (Wilayah Iraq) stabilized its operations in 2020 and increased them in 2021 (Jihad Analytics, January 24; Jihad Analytics, February 4). After the fall of IS as a territorial entity and the death of the previous caliph, Abubakar al-Baghdadi,... MORE

Is Myanmar’s Military Junta Quashing the Insurgency Through Domestic Crackdowns and Regional Outreach? Jacob Zenn Since Myanmar’s February 2021 military coup to overturn the democratically elected victory of Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, the junta has experienced widespread resistance from multiple regions of the country... MORE

On April 10, 2020, the U.S. treasury announced a $10 million award for information on Muhammad Kawtharani, a Lebanese Hezbollah commander (state.gov, April 10, 2020). Kawtharani is one of the founding members of Hezbollah and has been extensively involved in Iraqi affairs since the U.S.-led... MORE