On the surface, the Reopening of the Nassib Border Crossing, connecting Syria and Jordan, which has been closed since 2015 might give the impression that the situation in Syria has stabilized and that Bashar al Assad, the President of Syria, has restored his sovereignty and control over the country. However, zooming in and zooming out helps you understand that that…

Inside the Middle East – Intelligence Perspectives Intelligence Bulletin The Massacre in Syria Continues   February 25, 2018 Ghouta al-Sharkia (Ghouta East) is a massive urban area on the eastern outskirts of Damascus. It is controlled by Jaysh al Islam “Islam’s Army” one of the major Syrian rebel groups. The estimated current population is 350,000. Throughout the month of February…

Click Here To Download a PDF of this Article September 5, 2017 My Enemy is My Best Asset by Avi Melamed Former United States Secretary of State, Dr. Henry Kissinger, published an article on August 2, 2017 entitled “Chaos and Order in a Changing World.” In his piece, Dr. Kissinger provides analysis regarding different global arenas. He opens his section…

Inside the Middle East – Intelligence Perspectives Intelligence Bulletin     March 14, 2017   A Prediction Materialized: Iranian Proxy Vows to “Fight to liberate the Golan Heights”   Information: In my January 2017 article “A Growing Whirlpool of Violence: The Middle East Legacy of Barack Obama “ I made the following prediction regarding the growing direct and indirect Iranian…

In case you missed it….. Avi Melamed talking about Assad and the War in Syria   Click on Screen Shot below to See the Show…. 

August 23rd, 2016 Jabhat Al-Nusrah Disembarking from Al-Qaeda by Avi Melamed Background: Jabhat al-Nusrah li-Ahl al-Sham (The Front for the Support of the People of Sham) is Al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria. Like Al-Qaeda, Jabhat Al-Nusrah is a Sunni Salafi-Jihadist organization. The word “Salaf” means the past of something, its origin, its roots, its primal source. The origins of Salafi thought are deep in the sands of…

July 27, 2016 ******* Intelligence Bulletin Use of Surface-to-Surface Missiles by Syrian Rebels Expands (Following my July 23rd Twitter post and July 24th Intelligence Bulletin) Information Date: July 25th, 2016 Event Date: July 24th / 25th, 2016 Information Item: Syrian rebel group Jaysh Al-Islam launches two missiles in Aleppo Information Platform: Osint (Open Source Intelligence), Varied, Video Source:           Jaysh Al-Islam…

  July 24th, 2016 Intelligence Bulletin Do the Syrian Rebels in the Golan Heights have Surface-to-Surface Missiles? Background: Similar to other areas in Syria, the Syrian District of Quneitra, which borders the Israeli part of the Golan Heights is a stage for ongoing clashes, of varying levels of intensity and frequency, between different Syrian Rebel groups on the one side,…

PLEASE NOTE I EDITED THIS POST DUE TO AN ERROR IN THE TITLE July 20, 2016 by Avi Melamed A military coup in Turkey (July 15-16, 2016) was oppressed and failed. Though crushed, the attempted coup, which was apparently led by some factors within the Turkish army, indicates the deep and dangerous crisis which Turkey is experiencing that stems from serious…

July 1st, 2016 by Avi Melamed General Background: The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine, Harakat al-Jihād al-Islāmi fi Filastīn, most widely known as the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) is a Sunni Islamic group, established in the late 1970’s. The PIJ is a Palestinian organization inspired by Jihadi Islamist Militant ideology. The goal of Jihadi Islamist Militant ideology is to create,…

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January 25. 2015 Saudi Arabia: New King, Old Dance by Avi Melamed King Abdullah Bin Abd-Alaziz, the sixth king of Saudi Arabia, died on January 23, 2015 at age of 91. King Abdullah Bin Abd-Alaziz, ruled Saudi Arabia for ten years from 2005 to 2015. He was the twelfth son, out of 36 sons and an unknown number of daughters, of the founder of the Saudi Arabia Kingdom Abdul Aziz Al-Saud (1932-1953). Following King Abdullah’s death, Crown Prince Salman was announced the new King of Saudi Arabia. King Salman is 79 years old. He was appointed the Crown Prince following the death of two of his brothers – Prince Sultan who died in 2011 and Prince Nayef who died in…

May 7, 2014   The War in Syria – A Mutual Chokehold By Avi Melamed Pay attention to the Syrian town of Tfail. Tfail is a Lebanese enclave located in the Al-Kalmun mountain range in Syria about a mile away from the Lebanese border. It is a town of about 5,000 people – all Lebanese citizens (though the town is located inside Syria) – the majority of whom are Sunnis. Reportedly, following the recent battles in the region, dozens of thousands of Syrians fleeing the war in Syria found refuge on the outskirts of Tfail. Hezbollah argues that these refugees are not civilians, but rather Syrian rebels who fled following the recent fighting in the area of the Al-Kalmun. Reportedly,…

March 2, 2014 Navigating the Iraqi Labyrinth by Avi Melamed The Al-Anbar Province is the western part of Iraq. It begins in Bagdad and its borders are Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Area-wise it is the largest province in Iraq with a total population of about 2 million people – mostly Sunni, whose society is based upon large tribes. Clashes have been taking place in Al-Anbar since December 2013. The combat is mostly taking place in the district’s two major cities – Al-Ramadi, 70 miles southwest of Bagdad and Al-Fallujah, 40 miles southwest of Bagdad. In addition, sporadic fighting is also taking place in the area of the Al-Khalidiya Peninsula located in central Iraq, as well as on the northern…