Kurdish integration with Syria’s central government remains far from complete

Libya analyst Jalel Harchaoui explains how Turkey's courting of Libya's eastern warlord has cemented Turkish influence in North Africa and beyond.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Syria-based American researcher Alexander McKeever, author of the This Week in Northern Syria Substack, says recent violence between Arabs and Kurds has exposed cracks in the integration process, despite Kurdish and Syrian government officials’ claims that it is proceeding successfully.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Israeli analyst Danny Citrinowicz says that while the US blockade and sanctions on Iran have been effective, these don’t change Tehran’s calculations and there is a still a high risk of further escalation. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Leading Turkish LGBTQ activist Yildiz Tar explains why Turkey's authoritarian government is escalating repression of their community. The crackdown has less to do with public morals than an effort to divert public attention away from soaring inflation, poverty and joblessness, Tar notes.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Banu Guven, a widely respected TV presenter, became the first Turkish journalist to host Kurdish leader Mazlum Kobane on national TV in Turkey. Until recently, interviewing the former commander of the now dissolved Syrian Democratic Forces was a punishable offense. But with Kurdish peace talks underway in Turkey and the integration of Kurdish structures in Syria's northeast advancing, the mood has shifted.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Many Kurds across the region feel angered by the Aug. 25 announcement by Syrian Democratic Forces commander-in-chief Mazlum Kobane that the force has been formally dissolved. Ibrahim Hamidi, a veteran Syrian journalist and editor-in-chief of Al Majalla, argues that the push for Kurdish rights is by no means over, and that Kobane's new role as an advisor to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa will present the Kurds with fresh opportunities.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Tensions between Turkey and Israel have been spiraling over Gaza, the Eastern Mediterranean, the Horn of Africa and above all in Syria. Fears of a confrontation between the US allies grew this week after Israel bombed a military airport near the Turkish border, saying Turkish forces were about to move in. Israeli analyst Danny Citrinowicz believes that with no active deconfliction mechanism in place a hot clash is imminent if not inevitable.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The mutual defense pact signed between the regional Muslim powers comes against the backdrop of the Iran war, which has hurt Gulf countries more than any others.Saudi Arabia's oil sales have plummeted. Its energy infrastructure is badly damaged. It hopes Turkey and Pakistan's help will deter further attacks from the Iran-backed Houthis as well. Iran scholar Hamidreza Azizi discusses what the pact means for Tehran and the region.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The withdrawal of the last US troops from Erbil marks the end of an era in which the Kurds were the United States' closest ally in Iraq, says Victoria Taylor, former deputy assistant secretary of state for Iraq and Iran affairs.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Former Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri says Pakistan welcomes Saudi Arabia's nuclear agreement with the United States and says Pakistan is bound by its treaty obligations to defend the Kingdom should it come under attack.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.