Open Dialogue Research Journal
After months of skirmishes and mutual accusations, the militants, formally structured into the Syrian armed forces and the Kurdish militia in the northeast of the country (Rojava region by the Kurdish definition), known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, turned to intense fighting that happened last weekend. Pretty quickly, the Kurds […]
Part I Regional backers (Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey) moved quickly to lobby for sanctions relief, portraying the new Syrian authorities as pragmatic partners. Washington, however, adopted a more transactional approach. Rather than offering relief as a reward for regime change, the United States sought to make Damascus “earn” normalization. […]
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 […]
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 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 […]
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 […]
11 April 2020 (but was removed without explanation, and so now is restored on 14 D On 4 March 2018, both Sergei Skripal and his daughter who was visiting from their shared home country of Russia, Yulia Skripal, were poisoned in Salisbury England, and — though both survived — neither […]
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