Salman Rafi Sheikh

With China being the most powerful competitor of the US in the 21st century, it is but natural to see various US administrations and the more permanent US defense establishment obsessed with China’s rise and the question of maintaining the balance to their advantage. The US, under the Trump administration, decided to confront China...

Intense geo-political upheavals are taking place in the Middle East in the wake of the Trump administration’s exit from power. The Biden administration, therefore, will inherit a Middle East that is much more complex and changed than it was during the Obama administration. However, a lot of what is happening today in the Middle East---The Abraham Accords, an apparent...

While the killing of the Iranian nuclear scientist was always meant to sabotage the JCPOA and establish Israel as the ringleader in the Middle East against Iran, counter-productive moves from otherwise Israeli allies and Iran together are threatening to sabotage Israel’s own plans. Iran, instead of restoring to direct action, has chosen to respond to the matter...