Michael Isikoff, who is really one of the best reporters out there, has a brief article on what is happening in Yemen now. The meat of it is Robert Mueller's recent visit, about which Isikoff says “did not go well, according to two sources who were briefed on the session but asked not to be […]
Walid Jumblatt was the first of the March 14 group to give one more chance to Nabih Berri's call for yet another round table discussion. They did not stop talking, mind you, just that they failed to agree on a solution. Walid Jumblatt did well for accepting Berri's call, which most likely is a bluff. […]
The so-called friend states of Lebanon (yes, the ministerial meeting was actually named "Friends of Lebanon") met earlier this week to find a solution for the Lebanese political crisis. They called for the “full implementation of the Taef agreement, all UN Security Council resolutions pertaining to Lebanon, including resolutions 1559, 1680, 1701, and 1757, as […]
Fred Kaplan at Slate has a great article about the relationship between Iraq and Iran, as well as Iran and the US, especailly relating to the battle of Basra. Here's the money quote. Since the start of the offensive in Basra, Sadr's Mahdi Army has resumed shooting at American soldiers in the Sadr City neighborhood […]
The story of Nojoud, the serial-raped 8-year-old forced bride in Yemen, has a happy ending. Someone paid her wretched husband for a divorce, and she is now free and something of a celebrity, taken care of and showered with affection. Unfortunately, many girls in similar situations still face the same problem. From the Yemen Times: […]
Because, between the PKK, both in-country and in Northern Iraq, the constant headscarf issue, the debate over its European or Islamist future, and debates, both philosophical and legal, over its Islamic-governed present, the last thing Turkey needs is al-Qaeda activity in the country. But there has been a lot of high-level chatter recently that such an event […]
Iraq awoke to a statement by the Multi National Forces that Al-Qaeda in Iraq is planning more and more suicide and car bombings, specifically stolen ambulances. The one district that is specifically mentioned is the Karakh district of Baghdad. The US military has announced that it has intelligence to this effect. This is the day […]
Gregory D Johnsen, despite his snide comment on the marriage post, has an excellent article in the new Sentinel, the journal of the Combating Terrorism Center, out of West Point. It is on Yemen, and provides an excellent overlook of what is happening in Yemen right now, and why. This is as good a piece […]
Self-promotion? No. An educational opportunity. Your author has a new article up on Yemen in the Jamestown Foundation's Terrorism Focus. Want a teaser? Why not? Yemen is running out of water. Its economy is one of the weakest in the world. Its second-most powerful and influential political figure, Shaykh Abdullah al-Ahmar, recently died, and Saleh […]
I hate being the guy who only publishes bad stories, and I promise to try and publish some things that are more uplifting, but I came across this story last week and it has bothered me ever since. I suppose there is a bit of inspiration in the story, but the overall arch is wildly […]
The New York Times has a great piece on the dismissal of 1,300 soldiers and policemen in the wake of the Basra offensive. Stephen Farrell writes that there have been revelations “more than 1,000 members of the security forces had laid down their weapons during the fight“. There were a multitude of reasons behind the […]
The Los Angeles Timeshas an excellent blog on the Middle East, Babylon and Beyond, and I am not just saying that because they have added this to their blogroll. I am reasonably sure the Times will do fine without my endorsement. I am linking it because of an interesting article on the death of Hezbollah […]
I’m going to quibble here with an article I really enjoyed and found useful. I hope you don't mind. I don't want to leave the impression that it was a bad article. It is one you should read, if you have the time. And time is the most important thing here. The Carnegie Endowment has […]