Even though one Israel’s most powerful criticisms of Hamas during the latest Gaza Strip operation condemned the terror group for using human shields during the operation, thereby increasing the civilian death toll, it appears the Israeli military may have done the exact same. to add to the recent stir of alleged human rights violations, a […]
Haed al Ghwell, professor at the Dubai School of Government, argues that the financial crisis should force Dubai toward greater transparency in governance and operations, ultimately situating it for greater success in the future. If the government of the cosmopolitan emirate chooses to heighten its secrecy and under-the-table atmosphere as a response to the tough […]
Michael Slackman of the NYT attempts to explain the phenomenon of Muammar Qaddafi, whose stock is only rising as Libya slowly works its way back into the good graces of the international community and uses its formidable cash reserves to forge relationships with private equity firms. At least we can look forward to more photos […]
Egyptian female bloggers use the internet as a forum to voice their frustrations with both politics and men. Not just their boyfriends … the patriarchy more broadly. As well as their boyfriends. This way, they can discuss taboo subjects without running afoul of government censors or offending anyone’s sensibilities. At least Islamists and the government […]
The financial crisis that is gripping the rest of the world seems to be seeping into Lebanon. A country once thought to be insulated from the economic issues seen everywhere from New York to London to Dubai to Moscow is now beginning to see problems of its own. One of the main concerns is Lebanon’s […]
While claim that President Barack Obama’s efforts to include both Hamas and Iran in dialogue only legitimizes their extreme positions, this approach has at least one fan in the region. Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal praised the approach as a “new lexicon” for U.S. dealings in the region. In an interview with La Repubblica, Meshaal stated that the “big powers” […]
The coalition for a Likud-led government nears completion with Shas officially joining Yisrael Beiteinu in signing onto the government. The coalition now needs only a handful of additional signatories to top the 60-seats needed to form a government that President Shimon Peres would validate. In a striking turn of events, Labor may join the coalition, […]
Even though the Israeli government effectively ended talks for the return of abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, Hamas declared its desire to re-initiate the negotiations. The talks may resume by the end of the week in Cairo as the next Israeli government prepares to take over. It seems that also Palestinians are exerting the same […]
… this time from the Washington Post‘s Anthony Shadid, author of Night Draws Near (among other things) about the American presence in Iraq. In Shadid’s estimation, nationalism is the new sectarianism; politicians of different confessional or ethnic groups are crossing previously rigid boundaries in the hopes of forming a viable governing coalition, with Maliki leading […]
Israelis face a far greater price negotiation than merely arguing over the cost of a bushel of tomatoes at the shuk (market) on Friday morning. The end of this week marked the 1000th day since the abduction of Israeli Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit by Hamas in a cross-border raid into Israel. With Hamas demanding […]
The biggest story rocking Israel over the last few days focuses on the treatment of Palestinians by some IDF soldiers in the recent Gaza operation. The latest brouhaha resulted from the publication of t-shirt slogans worn by some IDF soldiers. The slogans exemplify blatant disregard for Palestinian lives with pictures of a sniper shooting a […]
More than most countries, Lebanon exists at a perpetual crossroads. Crisis and conflict seem to wait around every corner. Powerful foreign entities weigh in with their own agendas, sometimes with guns, sometimes with money, and sometimes with both. At the time of this writing, less than three months before the parliamentary elections, the country is […]
Even though the possibility of the return of abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit lost significant momentum this week, some Egyptian sources indicate that a deal may still be possible before PM Ehud Olmert leaves office. His term may last longer than expected, seeing that Likud Chairman Binyamin Netanyahu intends to request additional time to form […]
… of thinking about Iraq, Reidar Vissar argues for a. continued international and U.S. attention to the security and political development of the country, even as focus shifts to Afghanistan, b. a disaggregation of Sunni/Shia issues from Arab/Kurd issues, thus taking the idea of three-chunk partition off the table, and c. constitutional reform, hopefully with […]