WORLD ROUNDUPWhy American Power Endures | Transition in Brazil | Terrorism in Africa, and more
··Inside the Growing Republican Fissure on Ukraine Aid
Opposition to sending more U.S. money to Ukraine accelerating within the GOP
··As Terrorists Claim New Ground, an African Strategy Is Vital
Al-Qaeda and ISIS have expanded and consolidated their African operations
··Saudi Arabia, U.S. on High Alert After Warning of Imminent Iranian Attack
Tehran wants to distract from local protests
··Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro Pledges to Respect Constitution After Election Loss
Without conceding defeat, Bolsonaro instructed his aides to start a transition of power
··Why American Power Endures
The U.S.-Led Order Isn’t in Decline
Inside the Growing Republican Fissure on Ukraine Aid (Yasmeen Abutaleb and John Hudson, Washington Post)
Republicans rallied behind aid to Kyiv after the invasion, but eight months later, some are threatening to cut it off
As Terrorists Claim New Ground, an African Strategy Is Vital (All Africa)
As Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda leaders have been targeted and eliminated internationally, the terrorist groups have expanded and consolidated their African operations. According to Jihad Analytics, half the attacks claimed by IS since the beginning of 2022 were carried out in 10 African countries. Among them were Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria - the four Boko Haram-affected countries of the Lake Chad Basin. Boko Haram factions are also expanding operations beyond the region. For a long time, the eight primary target areas of violent extremism in the Lake Chad Basin were North and Far North (Cameroon), Lac and Hadjer-Lamis (Chad), Diffa (Niger), and Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (Nigeria). However in 2022 the scope has expanded, particularly with the establishment of Ansaru and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) cells in other parts of Nigeria. This has complicated counter-insurgency operations, especially where national militaries are already overstretched. The extension of terrorist activities beyond the Lake Chad Basin also puts these groups beyond the reach of the region’s Multinational Joint Task Force - a military response to Boko Haram set up by Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria.
Saudi Arabia, U.S. on High Alert After Warning of Imminent Iranian Attack (Dion Nissenbaum, Wall Street Journal)
Saudi Arabia has shared intelligence with the U.S. warning of an imminent attack from Iran on targets in the kingdom, Saudi and U.S. officials have said. In response to the warning, Saudi Arabia, the U.S. and several other neighboring states have raised the level of alert for their military forces, the officials said. According to Saudi officials, Iran is poised to carry out attacks on both the kingdom and Erbil, Iraq. The White House National Security Council said it was concerned about the warnings and was ready to respond if Iran carried out an attack.
