All Backchannels
Syrian 'safe' zone: What does that really mean?Even as the US and Turkey agree on trying to drive the Islamic State away from the Syrian side of the border with Turkey, there are as many agendas as there are players trying to shape the conflict.
Is the Iran nuclear deal like Munich 1938? Not really.Such comparisons not only make little historical sense, they also demonstrate how minor the Iranian 'threat' is compared to Nazi Germany.- Israel's Netanyahu is pushing hard against Iran nuclear deal. But others are pushing back.For now, the Obama administration is sticking to its guns.
As Yemen's civil war grinds on, fears of a potential breakupA secure, stable and united Yemen anytime soon looks sadly unlikely.
Iran deadline blown again: why the arms embargo is tough to solveWhatever the merits of Tehran's case, lifting the 2007 UN embargo on the sale of conventional arms to Iran is just not going to fly in the United States.
Europe asks Greece to climb Mount Everest. By Wednesday.Greece has been handed politically difficult, and technically complex, choices on a very short timeline.
For Greece and the EU, now it really is crunch timeWith bankruptcy looming, Greece has issued only vague – and contradictory – proposals. And Europe seems unwilling to budge.
Yemen's civil war isn't as bad as Iraq and Syria. Yet.The humanitarian crisis is deepening and the chances of a political solution soon seem very slim.
The Greece 'no' vote. No money, few options, and a lot more problems.With about half of the votes counted, a referendum defeat for a European bailout plan for Greece looks certain. While the news touched off partying in Athens, the hangover will prove painful.
On the management and expansion of savageryWhile the jihadis of the Islamic State hope their reputation for brutality will deter their enemies, another group's snuff video shows that what has happened instead is an expansion of viciousness and cruelty.
Islamic State's strikes in Egypt: Is this a full-blown insurgency?Terrorism is nothing new in the Sinai. But it has evolved in a more dangerous direction for Egypt, and President Sisi's tactics don't seem to be working.
With Cairo assassination, Egypt's cycle of violence turns darkerA wave of repression by the Sisi regime the past two years has been matched by a rise in Islamist attacks. Following the car bomb in Cairo Monday, both sides are likely to up the ante.
Friend or foe? US lines up with Shiite militias and former Sunni rebels in IraqOverlap with such forces shouldn't be a surprise: America's wars in Iraq have required painful compromises all along.
New US rules on ransom payments unlikely to trigger windfall for militantsThe US has never prosecuted a citizen for trying to obtain the release of an abductee by making payments. But official policy remains that no concessions will be given to hostage-takers.
As refugee numbers soar, Australia touts a controversial responseThe world hasn't seen a refugee crisis on this scale since 1945. Australia's hard-hearted policy of offshore internment camps is criticized by human rights groups, but popular with voters.
Will Greece's euro fate be sealed today?Probably not. But an amicable agreement between the IMF, Germany, Greece and others on handling the country's massive debt is likely to take more time.
Beyond Rhodesia, Dylann Roof's manifesto and the website that radicalized himThe alleged killer of nine parishioners at a black church in Charleston, SC, appears to have been inspired by a website dedicated to framing white Americans as victims of African-Americans.
Why would an American white supremacist be fond of Rhodesia?For neo-Nazis and white supremacists, a Rhodesian flag is more than just decoration.
Did Obama 'abandon' Israel? If so, he's not alone among US presidents.Michael Oren, a former Israeli ambassador to the US, has launched a broadside against the Obama administration.
US airpower takes out a bunch of Al Qaeda leaders. Effective warfare?US airstrikes appear to have killed Al Qaeda's number two in Yemen and over a dozen jihadis near the Libyan city of Benghazi. The question is whether the Pentagon's ongoing assassination campaign is doing any good.
