Foreign Policy Blogs

Middle East & North Africa

The Shiite Crescent: the Middle East’s Arc of Crisis

The Shiite Crescent: the Middle East’s Arc of Crisis

Backed by Russia’s President Putin and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, the Assad regime has recently made a bloodbath of Eastern Ghouta in Syria. During the past week, in the attacks on the rebel-held enclave near Damascus, upwards of 500 were killed, among them more than 120 children. On February 24, the UN Security Council finally managed […]

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Abadi verses Barzani: Who is the true hero?    

Abadi verses Barzani: Who is the true hero?    

  Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi has been hailed in many western circles as the unifier of Iraq but in reality, he is merely another sectarian leader, who murders and threatens his own people in order to hold a failed state together utilizing brute force.  To the contrary, Kurdistan’s Prime Minister Nichervan Barzani is […]

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The Ailing Muslim Conscience: It’s time to reclaim the Islam of inclusivity

The Ailing Muslim Conscience: It’s time to reclaim the Islam of inclusivity

Volcanic schism dominates the landscape in the Islamic world. Sectarian civil wars rage in Syria, Iraq, and Libya. Yemen is the worst humanitarian disaster in the world as a result of a ruthless war campaign spearheaded by Saudi Arabia—a nation that, ironically, carries the Islamic declaration of faith on its flag and is the site […]

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Swarm drone attack in Syria points to new kind of warfare

Swarm drone attack in Syria points to new kind of warfare

On 5 January, 2018, Russian forces stationed in Syria suffered what appears to be the first case of swarm drones attack in history. Despite the UAVs being of a rather crude nature, this episode constitutes a further development in non-state actors’ use of UAVs. Additionally, allegations about the involvement of an external state actor spark […]

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How Can America Bring Iran Back to the West?

How Can America Bring Iran Back to the West?

The recent Russian rejection of an American initiative at the UN Security Council for the world community to express solidarity with the Iranian protesters in the face of the Islamist regime’s brutalities did not come as a surprise. In fact, given the history of Russia’s imperialistic behavior towards Iran, the rejection came as a natural […]

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Abadi is a dictator and not one of the most prominent thinkers

Abadi is a dictator and not one of the most prominent thinkers

Foreign Policy Magazine has listed Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi as one of the most prominent thinkers of 2017. He is number 65 on Foreign Policy’s list. In the article, Foreign Policy alleges that Abadi has fought to keep Iraq united, extended an olive branch to the Kurds and has even ordered Iran out […]

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Why the US won’t lose Middle East allies over Trump’s Jerusalem move

Why the US won’t lose Middle East allies over Trump’s Jerusalem move

US allies in the Middle East now see Iran as the primary threat in the region, and might be willing to accept a lesser deal on Palestine in order to gain Israeli support. The announcement this month by the Trump administration that the United States would recognise Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, and eventually move […]

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Bibi and Bibi-ism Victorious on Jerusalem

Bibi and Bibi-ism Victorious on Jerusalem

By Shahar Golan. Trump’s declaration bolsters Bibi’s claim that he can overlook Palestinian issue and avoid international isolation

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Kurdistan’s Prime Minister seeks dialogue to end the present crisis

Kurdistan’s Prime Minister seeks dialogue to end the present crisis

The Kurdistan Regional Government is presently calling upon the international community including the United States, the EU and the UN to intervene in order to bring the Central Government in Baghdad to the negotiating table: “The restrictive policies adopted by Baghdad against Erbil are in violation of Iraq’s obligations and responsibilities under international and humanitarian […]

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Time for Reckoning a Long Hidden Massacre

Time for Reckoning a Long Hidden Massacre

  This week, Tehran announced it would continue a missile development program that defense analysts say could allow Iran to launch nuclear weapons. It was a public threat that has understandably stirred strong response from the US and the west: the risk of nuclear proliferation by a fanatical regime is indeed a threat to millions […]

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The End of ISIS is in Sight. What is Next?

The End of ISIS is in Sight. What is Next?

Given that the last strongholds for ISIS (known as Daesh in the region) in Raqaa, Syria and Mosul, Iraq have fallen, it is likely the group in its current territory-based form will gone by the end of 2017.  Only weeks ago, Daesh was allowed to leave central Syria before the Syrian Army closed the 5-kilometer gap […]

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Does Trump’s foreign policy enable Iranian aggression in the Middle East?

Does Trump’s foreign policy enable Iranian aggression in the Middle East?

From Syria to Iraq, Trump’s Middle East policy enables Iran to spread its tentacles across the region. During the elections, Donald Trump was highly critical of former US President Barack Obama’s foreign policy to the Middle East. From Obama refusing to follow his own red line policy on Syria to the Iranian nuclear deal, Trump […]

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How Innovation Can Drive Stability in the Middle East

How Innovation Can Drive Stability in the Middle East

When Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt instituted a blockade against Qatar this summer, many in Qatar and the broader international community feared it would greatly disrupt Qatari society by breaking supply chains, limiting access to food and other resources, and preventing free travel across the region. However, Qatar has defied the […]

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Another War in the Middle East?

Another War in the Middle East?

The sudden resignation of Lebanese Prime Minister Sa’ad al-Hariri on October 4, 2017 from Riyadh appears to have taken by surprise just about everyone in the Middle East.  The significance of Hariri’s announcement taking place not in his own capital but rather in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia was lost on virtually no one. As speculation that […]

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The Middle East’s Cold War Is Not Going Well for the Saudi’s

The Middle East’s Cold War Is Not Going Well for the Saudi’s

On Saturday afternoon November 4th from the Saudi capital of Riyadh, now former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri declared he resigned due to threat of assassination, saying, “I have sensed what is being plotted covertly to target my life.” The BBC reported that Hariri made multiple trips to Saudi Arabia (KSA) over the couple of […]

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