This map shows which groups dominate different parts of Syria, including the areas controlled by the Syrian government and the areas held by opposition groups, according to analysts at IHS Markit's Conflict Monitor.
The big picture: This gives the latest look at the conflict zones as President Trump considers military action in response to a suspected chemical attack on Douma, a town northeast of Damascus that's dominated by rebel groups.
Photo: Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Mike Pompeo, who looks set to be confirmed as Secretary of State today, is expected to arrive in Jerusalem next week as part of his first trip abroad in his new post, Israeli officials told me.
Why it matters: Pompeo's decision to include Israel in his first trip abroad as Secretary of State is important because his predecessor Rex Tillerson visited Israel only once when he accompanied President Trump in his May 2017 visit. Tillerson never came to Israel on his own and had a very minor role in the U.S.-Israel relations during his year in office.
The state of play: Axios' Jonathan Swan reported yesterday that Pompeo will fly to Brussels to participate in a NATO meeting. Israeli officials say that one of his next stops after Brussels will be Jerusalem, adding that Pompeo is expected to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior Israeli official to discuss regional issues. The State Department and the U.S. Embassy in Israel refrained from commenting.
Pompeo has been heavily involved with Israel during his tenure as CIA director. Israeli officials say he visited Israel three times during the first year of the Trump administration to meet with both Israeli and Palestinian intelligence chiefs. Pompeo had a very close relationship with Director of Mossad Yossi Cohen.
Pompeo also had a close relationship with the director of the Palestinian intelligence service, General Majed Faraj. During the early days of the Trump administration, Pompeo was sent by President Trump to establish dialogue with Palestinian leadership.
What we don't know: It is not clear if Pompeo will visit the Palestinian Authority or meet with Palestinian officials during his trip to the region. The Palestinian leadership has suspended all contacts with the White House since President Trump's December decision to move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. Pompeo's relationship with the Palestinian intelligence chief might provide an opening and an opportunity to renew U.S.-Palestinian dialogue.
It’s not just nukes: What the key players want from North Korea
Kim and Xi meet in Beijing. Photo: Xinhua/Ju Peng via Getty Images
With North Korea’s Kim Jong-un and South Korea’s Moon Jae-in sitting down for talks, and a summit between Kim and President Trump looming, denuclearization is at the top of mind in Washington — but it's not the only issue on the table.
Why it matters: Trump and Kim will have to balance a number of competing interests if they want to reach any sort of lasting accord.
South Korea
South Korea is pushing for a permanent peace deal to replace the current ceasefire, per Yonhap News.
Seoul also wants to work towards reunification, though they're not expecting to get there any time soon.
Japan
Japan is focused on the abduction of its citizens (which Trump has said he'll raise with Kim), and wary of the idea of winding down sanctions on the North Korean regime. "Japan wants to punish North Korea," Jim Walsh, an international security expert at MIT who has taken part in previous negotiations with North Korea.
If an eventual deal leaves intact the North’s short and medium-range missiles, which could target Japan, it “might show the U.S. sees its own homeland security as more important than its allies,” says Mira Rapp-Hooper, a senior research scholar at Yale Law School’s China Center.
Russia
“The Russians, above all, are interested in demonstrating that they are still a major global power, and that Russia’s opinion matters, including in the context of North Korea,” Dean Cheng of the Heritage Foundation says. The Russians, “as a matter of course, don’t like to be left out of anything,” says Rapp-Hooper.
Russia also doesn't like the idea of "the U.S. and China getting too close and cooperating on North Korea," Yuki Tatsumi of the Stimson Center told Axios, so they're willing to offer North Korea a lifeline if China squeezes too hard.
But beyond that, China, like Russia, also wants to make sure “no grand bargain with North Korea that leaves them out” is drawn up, Rapp-Hooper said. China also has an interest in rebuilding its relationship with North Korea along the way.
