INTELBRIEFS
February 09, 2026
U.S.-Iran Talks Ease Tensions, but Achieve Few Tangible Gains
Negotiators for the U.S. and Iran convened in Muscat, Oman on Friday, eight months after talks broke off following the U.S. military operation (Operation Midnight Hammer) that, ......
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February 06, 2026
Lakurawa’s Growing Presence in Nigeria and the Crime-Terror Nexus
Lakurawa, a vigilante group initially welcomed in 2017 by rural communities in Northwest Nigeria to protect them from escalating bandit violence, has since transformed into a se......
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February 05, 2026
Central Asia and the South Caucasus Become Stakeholders in the Middle East
For much of the decade after the collapse of the Soviet Union in late 1991, the newly independent states of Central Asia and the South Caucasus were viewed by Washington policym......
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February 04, 2026
Is Afghanistan a Strategic Blind Spot for the West?
Since the disastrous U.S. withdrawal in August 2021 and the ensuing Taliban takeover of the country, Afghanistan has remained a strategic blind spot for Washington and for the W......
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February 03, 2026
Islamic State in the Sahel and the Dangers of Continued Regional Upheaval
The Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for last week’s coordinated attack on Diori Hamani International Airport and the adjacent Air Base 101 in Niamey, Niger’s capit......
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