Open Dialogue Research Journal
One year after the fall of Syria’s old regime, the country remains shrouded in what military theorists once called the “fog of war” – a condition of uncertainty, incomplete information, and contradictory interpretations. External observers, diplomats, journalists, and analysts offer sharply divergent assessments of what has emerged in Damascus since […]
The images and reports emerging from Iran are grim and unsettling. Hundreds killed, thousands arrested, the internet cut, and streets filled with fear and anger. It is both morally necessary and human to feel concern for ordinary Iranians caught between economic hardship, political repression, and geopolitical confrontation. But concern must […]
The protests unfolding in Iran have triggered a familiar cycle of headlines, speculation, and political projection in Western media. Claims of imminent regime collapse, dramatic comparisons to 1979, and confident predictions of a “new Iran” circulate widely. Yet beneath this noise lies a far more complex and uncertain reality. Disinformation […]
For decades, Europeans fought against the spread of Islam. The fiercest struggle unfolded after September 11, 2001, when the Twin Towers in New York were blown up. From that moment on, Europeans, Americans, and Canadians became convinced that Islam was synonymous with terrorism. This led to widespread persecution of Muslims […]
Tensions are growing between Turkiye-Pakistan and Israel-Cyprus-Greece. Stability in the Eastern Mediterranean can no longer be taken for granted as a result of three recent developments: 1) the growing Turkish-Israeli rivalry in post-Assad Syria; 2) Israel’s reported plans to establish a rapid response force with Cyprus and Greece; and 3) Turkish ally Pakistan’s new military […]
The Trump administration is increasingly resembling a government previously abominated by the current US president as entangling, bumbling, and prone to fantasies. President George W. Bush was well versed in baseless existential threats stemming from Mesopotamia, supposedly directed by the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. There was a critical problem in […]
The great investigative journalist Max Blumenthal has extensive personal experience and contacts in Venezuela (including with top figures in its Government), and provides in the following video interview of Blumenthal by Mario Nawfal, a breathtaking backgrounder for Trump’s current efforts to grab Venezuela for the benefit of America’s billionaires. It’s […]
Peter Haenseler (whom I normally don’t even mention because he doesn’t link to or otherwise cite any sources) presented a fascinating hypothesis to explain why Trump stole Venezuela: The world is selling US bonds and America is running out of money – it’s as simple as that. With the oil that the […]
Is Somaliland Not a Country? [Editor’s Note: Shoshana Bryen is Senior Director of The Jewish Policy Center in Washington and Editor of inFOCUS Quarterly magazine.] Israel is on the hot seat. Not for Gaza, or Iran, or even for attacks on Syria or Lebanon. No, Israel is on the hot […]
As of December 31, 2025, Syria and Israel have not signed a peace treaty following the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024. While negotiations for a security agreement advanced significantly earlier in the year, with U.S. mediation under President Trump playing a key role, talks have stalled due […]
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