View this email in your browser

Volume 18, Issue 36

“Today’s strike is a signal from the U.S. that it is not going to allow Iran to reverse the American gains in recent weeks over ensuring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.”

  ----Jason Brodsky, Policy Director of United Against Nuclear Iran, August 30, 2026

Upcoming EMET Webinar

Colonel Richard Kemp Discusses the Challenges Emanating from the Middle East

Date: Wednesday, September 2, 2026

Time: 12 o’clock Noon Eastern Standard Time, 5 o’clock p.m. London Time

Thinking back over the last three years that Israel has had to endure, including a Hamas-instigated war in  southern Israel and in Gaza, war on the Lebanese front, war on the Syrian front, war on the Iranian front, missiles coming into their cities from the Houthis, terrorism from Judea and Samaria, Captagon infiltration from Jordan, troop movements from Egypt in the Sinai peninsula, Turkish advancement into Syria, cross border attacks and missiles from Hezbollah, and more than 19,000 rockets and missiles from Hamas.

Throughout it all, there is one name that should be recognized as a hero: His name is Colonel Richard Kemp.

Colonel Kemp is a well-recognized public commentator, and a retired British military officer. He completed eight tours of duty in Northern Ireland, where he was wounded by a mortar attack. He later fought in the 1991 Gulf War and commanded a United Nations infantry war in Bosnia in 1994.  Kemp was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel in 1997  and commanded the 1^st Battalion of the Royal Anglian Regiment from 1998 to 2000. After this command, he was appointed commander of the Operational Training and Advisory Group and then spent six months as Counter Terrorism and Security Advisor to the Government of Macedonia. In 2003, Colonel Kemp was appointed Commander of the British Forces in Afghanistan, in Operation Fingal. From 2001 to 2006, Richard worked at the Cabinet Office for the United Kingdom.

He has received The Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE): Appointed in the 2006 New Year Honours for his work with the UK Government’s Joint Intelligence Committee regarding international terrorism, Iraq, and Afghanistan.  He is a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE): Appointed in April 1994 for intelligence work during his tours in Northern Ireland.

And received The Queen’s Commendation for Bravery: Awarded in 1994 for his service as an armored infantry company commander with the United Nations Protection Force in Bosnia. Kemp was involved in the “Honour the Brave” campaign led by the Daily Mirror in 2007 and 2008 to recognize the sacrifice of British troops killed or wounded in action by the award of a medal similar to the US Purple Heart.

His name was discovered as part of an Al Qaeda kill list in 2013.

Colonel Kemp has also co-written a book, together with Chris Hughes, entitled Code State Red, describing some of the experiences of the Royal Anglican Regiment in Afghanistan. He constantly writes for the Times,  The Telegraph, The Daily Mail, The Spectator, The Guardian, Gatestone, and JNS News.

In 2015, Colonel Kemp received an honorary doctorate from Bar-Ilan University.

Colonel Kemp has spent the greater part of the last three years, in and out of Gaza. He has often referred to the Israeli Defense Forces as “the most moral and disciplined army in the world.”

This Week’s Featured Article

The Roads to Damascus

Syria remains in the spotlight, yet this week brings positive news for a change. The SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces), the Kurdish militia group that fought hard to shake off the yoke of the Assad regime and create a free Kurdistan in the northern parts of the country throughout the civil war, has come to an agreement with the new Syrian government. In total, the SDF will integrate into the larger Syrian security forces, as well as being an equal part of the regional and national governance. The deal is the culmination of talks between the now-defunct SDF leadership and Al-Sharaa, which culminated in Damascus last week - the agreement was signed and the SDF officially dissolved.

As a quick background, the SDF was formed in 2015 with the help of the US, and has been instrumental in the help of defeating ISIS and cordoning off Russian influence in the north of the country throughout the civil war. As part of the larger mosaic of Kurdish groups in the region, they were affiliated with the PKK, the militant group that has been on the forefront of the Kurdish resistance against Turkey for almost half a century. The PKK unilaterally disarmed last summer, however escalating tensions with Turkey and Turkish-backed militias(as discussed last week) led to a suspected re-armament in the face of attacks and persecution around Idlib and Aleppo. The steps taken by the SDF promise to go a long way to lower the temperature between the Kurdish forces and the Turkish government as well.

Syria under Al-Sharaa’s provisional government has a long way to go in order to become the country they promised to create in January of 2025. Since the proclamation that Syria was to become a tolerant, equal democracy, sporadic violence and persecution against minority communities such as the Druze and aforementioned Kurds have yet to dissipate - in fact it has ballooned, pulling in the regional powers of Israel and Turkey and inviting worry from the international community. Yet these new steps go a long way to make good on that promise, and while we are in the very beginning stages of Kurdish integration, the current agreement gives hope that the Al-Sharaa government truly means what it says. The agreement will lead to the establishment of a Kurdish affairs advisor(the role filled by the former SDF head commander), Kurdish representation in the Syrian parliament, and the adoption of the Kurdish language as an official state language alongside Arabic - with the Syrian government putting out a statement welcoming these additions. The YPJ units, composed entirely of women fighters, will become a counter-terror force, as their expertise is sorely needed in this area, as well as the cooling of hostilities with the PKK.

Not only does this help the Kurdish Syrians and Damascus, but it greatly lowers the temperature of the burgeoning hostilities between Turkey and Israel. As noted last week, the Turkish adventure in Syria is directly tied to their desire to head off any sort of independent Kurdistan. With this agreement, the promise of a Syrian Kurdistan is effectively over for the time being. The full integration of Kurdish leadership to the Syrian government spells the end of the breakaway movement inside Syria, and with it the Turkish government’s fears should be assuaged. That is assuming rational and logical actions from the Erdogan regime. Kurdish integration, if successful, will provide a road map for the integration of other persecuted minority groups such as the Druze and Alawis, if they so desire.

Now is a time of hope in Syria, and cautious optimism. The Middle East is a place of rapid change, so this requires close monitoring to see if the deal is upheld and the integration runs smoothly, but this agreement represents a monumental first step towards the Syria of the future and a more peaceful Levant.

News