The month of October were momentous for the Middle East, with the US withdrawal from Syria, Turkey’s invasion and protests in Iraq. Rising Israel-Iran tensions are also on the map. I wanted to step back and take a look at my work from this wild month. Just back from northern Iraq, I was in Rhodes on October 10-12 for the Rhodes Forum where I interviewed former Israeli PM Ehud Olmert and also saw the President of Niger discuss challenges in the Sahel. Then I flew to DC for several days in the middle of the month to speak about my new book After ISIS and hold meetings about US policies in the region.
Oct 2
ISIS makes Iraq resurgence, The Washington Times
Oct 4
Erdogan vows to invade northeast Syria (interview on CBN)
Oct. 5
US-Turkey conduct third ‘safe zone’ patrol The Jerusalem Post
Oct 6
Why did Iraq shoot protesters, The Jerusalem Post
Turkey pushes US to let it take over eastern Syria, The Jerusalem Post
Turkey pushes to re-write international law on ‘safe zone’ demand The Jerusalem Post
Oct. 7
Smoke signals of the next Middle East war: Abqaiq and Israel, Tablet
Attacks on media in Iraq, The Jerusalem Post
Trump gives green light to Turkey to displace US partners, The Jerusalem Post
Can Israel trust US after Syria withdrawal, The Jerusalem Post
Oct 8
America’s good intentions in Syria have led to this dismal outcome, National Review
Oct 9
Elbit sells 1,000 mini-drones to southeast Asian country, Defense News
Oct 10
Donald Trump’s shameful Syria withdrawal, Spectator
They fought alongside US to be bombed by NATO ally, The Jerusalem Post
Questions about Turkey’s invasion of Syria, The Jerusalem Post
Election monitors in Tunisia election (interview), The Jerusalem Post
Trump: We took the ‘Beatles’ from Syria, The Jerusalem Post
Oct 12
Crisis Group: ISIS could stage comeback
Oct 13
Turkey’s war in Syria was not inevitable, Book excerpt, Foreign Policy
Are West and liberal world order in decline?, The Jerusalem Post
Turkish-backed Jihadists murder Hevrin Khalaf and prisoners, The Jerusalem Post
Oct 14
Stand in the Gap, Podcast
Oct 15
ABC Australia interview
US secretly viewed Kurdish partners as ‘terrorists’, The Jerusalem Post
Former EU Parliament Pres Schulz on synagogues under attack, The Jerusalem Post
Six years of work destroyed in six days in Syria, The Jerusalem Post
Kosovo to Khmeimim: Putin’s road to Syria, The Jerusalem Post
Former PM Olmert slams Netanyahu on Iran failures (interview), The Jerusalem Post
The scramble for eastern Syria, The Jerusalem Post
Oct. 16
What’s next for US policy after Syria, The National Interest
On Chicago’s Morning Answer radio station, The Jerusalem Post
i24 Strictly Security interview
Book talk at Hudson
Book talk at FDD
Oct. 17
BBC interview The Briefing Room, BBC
Oct 18
Don’t let America First become America Last, The Hill
From Iran to Syria: US browbeaten by ‘war’ narrative, The Jerusalem Post
Oct 19
Fake news in era of new journalism, The Jerusalem Post
Oct 20
Refugees call on world to stop Turkish invasion, The Jerusalem Post
Oct 21
The Kurdistan Region of Iraq is struggling, The National Interest
Why Turkey got anti-Assad rebels to fight Kurds, The Jerusalem Post
US once stopped ethnic cleansing, now it excuses it, The Jerusalem Post
Obama-era politics overshadows Syria decision, The Jerusalem Post
Oct 22
US policy unravels as ceasefire doesn’t hold in Syria, The Jerusalem Post
US says it has no commitment to 100,000 SDF it trained, The Jerusalem Post
From Operation Inherent resolve to Operation secure the oil, The Jerusalem Post
Iraq trolls US Syria withdrawal, says troops can’t stay, The Jerusalem Post
Massive naval drill begins in the Gulf, The Jerusalem Post
Oct 23
Speaking at ICT about journalism and war, The Jerusalem Post
Oct 24
Can ISIS Return, Interview with BICOM
Syria marks an end to humanitarian interventions, Daily Beast
US envoy Jeffrey: I wasn’t consulted by Trump, The Jerusalem Post
Confusion, changing goals, arrogance led US Syria policy, The Jerusalem Post
Turkey-backed jihadists in Syria call women ‘whores,’ execute prisoners, The Jerusalem Post
Oct 25
US is consolidating forces in the Middle Euphrates River Valley, Defense Post
US ignores refugees in Syria withdrawal, The Jerusalem Post
Despite setback, Kurds ready for spotlight, The Jerusalem Post
Iran’s long arm sought to kill dissidents in Albania, The Jerusalem Post
US needs SDF to guard ISIS prisoners, The Jerusalem Post
Syrian Kurds and Jews connected through suffering, The Jerusalem Post
Oct 26
Iraq’s take to streets for mass protests, The Jerusalem Post
How NATO empowered Turkey’s Arab proxies to commit abuses, The Jerusalem Post
Oct 27
Iraq’s pro-Iranian politician Amiri blames US, Israel for protests, The Jerusalem Post
Overnight attack that killed Baghdadi raises questions, The Jerusalem Post
Eight takeaways from Baghdadi raid, The Jerusalem Post
Oct 28
On CNN’s The Lead with Jake Tapper, CNN (transcript) (video)
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, rapist, led genocidal ‘caliphate’, died in tunnel – obituary, The Jerusalem Post
Baghdadi is dead, what does future hold (interview oN CBN)
Oct 29
By withdrawing from Syria, Trump abdicated global responsibility, JTA
Unholy massacre in Karbala, The Jerusalem Post
Ahoy! Iran’s navy goes to sea, The Jerusalem Post
Iran’s regime rushes to fill vacuum left by US, The Jerusalem Post
Europe still doing nothing to deal with ISIS prisoners, The Jerusalem Post
Iran’s model: Smash protests in Iraq and Lebanon, The Jerusalem Post
Increasing evidence of Iran’s role in suppressing Iraq’s protests, Middle East Center for Reporting and Analysis
Oct 31
Trump may be preparing standoff with Iran in Syria, The National Interest
Protests in Iraq await ‘big Friday’ for change, The Jerusalem Post
Russia sends S-400 to Serbia for drill, The Jerusalem Post
Lost: American foreign policy in the age of Trump (Magazine), The Jerusalem Post
Nov. 1
From Bin Laden to Baghdadi, America’s troubled allies in Pakistan and Turkey, The Hill
Iraq unrest flares again, National Review
Nov. 2
With help and love: The volunteers helping Syrians (profile of FBR), The Jerusalem Post
Iran tells clerics to say US behind protests, strife, in Iraq and Lebanon, The Jerusalem Post
IRGC chief offers US advice on national security strategy, The Jerusalem Post
UN open to Turkish plan to re-settle Syrians and 300,000 forced out, The Jerusalem Post
Nov 3
Book discussion at Begin-Sadat Center
Nov 4
Why did Turkish intel fail to find Baghdadi, The Jerusalem Post
Iran army spokesman blames Israel for Yemen war, The Jerusalem Post
Volunteer medic killed in Syria, The Jerusalem Post
Protesters burn Iran consulate in Iraq’s Karbala, The Jerusalem Post
What did US know about Turkey’s invasion plans, The Jerusalem Post
Turkey pro-gov media urges Qatar to ‘weed out’ critical journalists, The Jerusalem Post
How Syria’s rebels are being destroyed in Turkey’s war, The Jerusalem Post