Foreign Policy

Editor’s note: The South Asia Channel will not publish a daily brief on Monday, May 25th in honor of Memorial Day. Regular publication will resume on Tuesday, May 26th. Afghanistan Deal with Pakistan causes controversy Reports of dissatisfaction and disagreement over an intelligence deal that Afghanistan signed with neighboring Pakistan have surfaced (RFE/RL, Pajhwok).  It ...

Why, from Syria to the two-state solution, the Obama administration should channel a little California.

By Paul McLeary with Ariel Robinson BREAKING: The U.S. Central Command announced this morning that Iraqi forces have broken through the Islamic State’s months-long siege of the Baiji oil refinery and are now resupplying the beleaguered Iraqi troops inside the facility. “In the past 72 hours, we have seen the ISF make steady, measured progress ...

The Islamic State is consolidating its hold on Palmyra after seizing the city this week. Militants have used the speakers at mosques used for the call to prayer to tell residents to turn in soldiers and government employees, and people remaining in the city have reported dozens of public executions. The Syrian government is reportedly ...

A powerful group of lawmakers is asking Defense Secretary Ashton Carter to reconsider the Pentagon’s recent decision to eliminate funding for Vets4Warriors.

With Thailand’s ailing monarch fading from the scene, Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha is positioning himself to rule indefinitely — by silencing all dissent.

A member of a pro-Islamic State forum has chipped in a rather out-of-the-box idea for jihad: turn Americans consumers off of salty snacks by associating them with beheadings -- a scheme he says will destroy the American economy.

A U.S.-led coalition is grappling over how to fight the Islamic State’s self-proclaimed allies in Libya and beyond without taking its eyes off Iraq and Syria.

An unlikely alliance of lawmakers, labor union, and the Tea Party could sink Obama's Asia trade bill in the House.

The NATO Resolute Support Mission’s (RSM’s) mandate to “train, advise, and assist,” but a better prerogative would be to “assess, train, advice, and assist.”

Like the families of the 1,400 U.S. Marines killed in action in recent years, Andrea and Jim Hug of Phoenix, Arizona planned to travel to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware this month to receive their son’s coffin after getting news that he died in a helicopter crash in Nepal.

When China declares an Air Defense Identification Zone in the South China Sea, the United States will have only itself to blame.

Want to build democracy in Venezuela? Start by luring expatriates back.

On the eve of a national referendum on gay marriage, queer Ireland finds its voice, and a Catholic stronghold looks toward the future.

Even in the self-declared caliphate, it’s hard to shake the yoke of nepotism.

A controversial left-wing sociologist says that last January's show of unity was more about racism than patriotism. And the French are pissed.

Blaming India and failed domestic policies for insecurity in Pakistan has become a habit. Instead, constructive criticism of current operations against militants needs to bring about true reform.

And Beijing should stop perpetuating the self-serving notion that it is.

Palmyra is home to some of the world's best-preserved ruins.

The Grammy-winning DJ partnered with Google to send a satellite into space.