Turkey is loving the limelight. Today, another Turkey-related story emerged, this time characterizing Ankara as the hero. Turkish news reported that Turkish authorities thwarted a terrorist plot against Israeli, NATO, and U.S. targets. An elite police squad from Istanbul arrested 32 individuals with terror links in eight different provinces throughout Turkey. Additional information has yet […]
[kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/gFc0zFUA9r0″ width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /] This Al-Jazeera video examines the strong trade relationship that exist between China and Iran. As the report shows, oil exports, which account for nearly half of Iran’s revenues , are being cut off from the West, they are being increasingly exported to Asian countries – and a big percentage […]
First, it was a dispute on the Gaza War between Israeli President Shimon Peres and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Then, an IDF General rebuked Turkish criticisms of Israel by conjuring images of the Armenian genocide. Now, the Turkish military ousted the IDF from a joint military exercise. But wait, its still going. A new Turkish […]
Last week as the world buzzed with discussions about whether President Obama deserved the Nobel Peace Price or not, a grave human rights injustice was taking place in Iran. Three protesters arrested for demonstrating against the disputed June reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have been given the death penalty. The Amnesty International has a press […]
The controversial Goldstone report on the Gaza War has ripple effects within Palestinian society, with some groups condemning Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for not taking a tougher, hard-line stance on condemning Israel for the findings in the report. Ghassan Khatib writes in his latest piece about the weight of the report within Palestinian society. […]
My last blog examined the public opinion in Iran, looking at how the Iranians felt about their nuclear program and their perception about the United States. Continuing with the theme of deciphering public opinion, this blog will examine the American public’s viewpoint. The Pew Center for the People and the Press has released a survey […]
While Turkey and Armenia seem to be mending their relationship, a growing rift is still developing between Turkey and Israel, largely over disagreements on the Gaza War earlier this year. The Turkish government ousted Israel from participating in an international joint military exercise scheduled to include the air forces of Turkey, Israel, the United States, […]
The prospects of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s “economic peace” leading to a comprehensive political two-state solution may actually result in another intifada. Sever Plocker’s latest op-ed in Ynet traces economic growth within the Palestinian Authority prior to the outbreak of the last two intifadas, in 1987 and 2000. Similarly, both intifadas erupted following specific […]
The WorldPublicOpinion.org (WPO) has released a new poll on how Iranians view their nuclear program. The poll has some interesting revelations; the most pertinent being that two-thirds of Iranians would favor their government precluding the development of nuclear weapons in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions against Iran. The poll also found that only […]
Anytime there is a Shia rebellion in the Arab world, Iran gets excoriated. Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have blamed Iran for fomenting Shia unrest in their country, and now Yemen is following the same footsteps. A leading Yemeni religious leader has accused Iran of inciting violence in the north of the country, where a predominantly […]
King Abdullah’s much anticipated visit to Damascus is expected to take place this week. Last month, Syrian President Bashar Assad traveled to Saudi Arabia to attend the opening ceremony of a new high-tech university, which had been a personal pet project of the King’s. There, President Assad extended an invitation for the King to come […]
An Israeli women won a prize much more important than being the champion of “More to Love” (see a previous blog post) Ada Yonath won this year’s Nobel Prize in chemistry for discoveries in the structures of ribosomes that help them function. The work has implications in developing antibiotics and preventing bacteria from becoming resistant to antibiotics. […]
This Al Jazeera program provides a very interesting discussion on the whether there has been a loss of legitimacy since the disputed election and if the escalation of protests will affect Iran’s regional role. The program also provides a background on the Iranian history and Iran’s influence in the region. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/k-F_9qV0AYE” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” […]
How difficult is it to be a blogger in Saudi Arabia? Not so hard, it turns out. According to “Saudi Jeans,” the nom de plume for 25-year-old Ahmed Al-Omran, many topics can be discussed by the more than 10,000 bloggers in Saudi Arabia without facing reprisals from local authorities. “I avoid writing about the royal […]
Imprisoned Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti maintains his position as a potential future Palestinian Authority President and likely increased support for him following a recent interview publicized on Sunday. Even though Barghouti remains a Fatah member, his advocacy of resistance grants him support from a broad swath of Palestinians, including Hamas members. Because of Barghouti’s popularity, […]