All Middle East
- As Obama seeks allies against Islamic State, Lebanon is already in the fight
The Lebanese army and Hezbollah militiamen are mired in a sporadic war with militants from the Islamic State along the country's Syrian border, where two abducted hostages have been beheaded.
- How the world responded to Obama's Islamic State speech
President Obama's plan to defeat the self-styled Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has sparked global reactions on the legalities and consequences of American military power in the Middle East.
- Why Obama faces tough task leading regional coalition against Islamic State
While some allies in the Middle East appear ready to support US airstrikes in Syria, their agendas differ from Washington's. Secretary of State John Kerry is in Baghdad today.
- Amid epic destruction, weary Gaza struggles to rebuild
Israel's summer confrontation with Hamas inflicted more damage to homes and infrastructure in the Gaza Strip than at any time since 1967. But the reconstruction so far has been piecemeal.
- A brush with death in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq
A member of Iraq's Methboub family, which the Monitor has tracked since 2002, nearly lost his life in the fight against the so-called Islamic State in central Iraq.
- Iran's supreme leader said to approve military cooperation with US
The BBC reports that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has approved joint military efforts with the US to contain Sunni militants in Iraq. The unconfirmed report comes amid signs of de facto US-Iranian cooperation.
- Few gains for Gaza after Hamas 'victory' over Israel
Hamas promised it would break the Israeli-led economic blockade of the Gaza Strip as a result of the latest war with Israel. So far, it isn't working out that way.
- Gaza fishermen see shrimp-sized gains from Israel-Hamas cease-fire
The only change on the ground under the current cease-fire is the doubling of the fishing zone to six miles. But the daily catch is already less than half what it was last week.
- After Gaza war Hamas on a high – but for how long?
Hamas has seen a short-term surge in support from Palestinians following its recent war with Israel. But with the massive needs of the Gaza Strip still to be met, support may falter.
- Potential splits between Islamic State and other militant groups in Syria
A UK-based professor who tracks radicalization and militant Islamist movements says the brutality and prominence of foreign fighters within the ranks of the Islamic State is a source of contention with other militant groups in Syria.
- Aid to Sunni Arabs in Kurdistan comes with a side of suspicion
Sunni Arabs have found shelter from Iraq's spreading war in Kurdish controlled camps. But ethnic hostility is close to the surface.
- Erdogan's first term as Turkish president: 4 things to watch for
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's first directly elected president, faces civil wars on his borders, a possible economic slowing, and accusations of authoritarianism.
- Israel believes it's developing regional support for hurting Hamas
The Israel-Gaza cease-fire agreed yesterday appears to be holding. Many in Israel are optimistic they're going to get the support of Arab states in weakening Hamas.
- Finally a real cease-fire between Hamas and Israel?
An agreement to stop the fighting was apparently reached in Cairo. But there are differences between the claims that Hamas and Israel are making for the contents of the agreement.
- Will US work with Syria's Assad as Islamic State makes gains?
Many say the US needs to spread its airstrikes campaign from Iraq into Syria in order to check IS. That could mean working with a regime the US sees as a pariah.
- Israel says no difference between Hamas and Islamic State: True?
The Israeli government has been working hard to convince the world that Hamas and the Islamic State, the jihadi group in Iraq and Syria, are cut from the same cloth.
- In northern Iraq, Islamic State switching to terror tactics
Terror attacks in the Kurdish city of Erbil and the city of Kirkuk over the weekend show that the so-called Islamic State has the ability to strike in areas it doesn't hold.
- After Foley murder, more jihadi threats to murder hostages
Lebanese hostages held by Al Qaeda's affiliate in Syria and the so-called Islamic State were threatened with death in a video yesterday unless Lebanon's Hezbollah withdraws its support for Bashar al-Assad.
- Terrorist or ally? A Kurdish militia joins the fight against the Islamic State
The PKK is fighting to defend Iraqi Kurdistan from the so-called Islamic State. The group, focused on Kurdish rights in Turkey, is categorized by the US as a terrorist organization.
- How the Founding Fathers grappled with hostage ransom demands
The debate over the US government refusal to pay ransoms to kidnappers, including the captors of James Foley, has a long history. In the late 1700s, the US fought Barbary pirates who demanded ransoms and tributes.