Foreign Policy Blogs

Middle East & North Africa

The Limit of Clooney’s Satellite Spy Project in Sudan

The Limit of Clooney’s Satellite Spy Project in Sudan

The current fighting between North Sudan and South Sudan in the disputed border oil town of Heglig provides a litmus test on the success of actor George Clooney’s, goal of “deterring a return to full-scale civil war” between the two sides. Clooney has even recently met with President Obama to drive home his Sudan cause, […]

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Book Review: The Crisis of Zionism

Book Review:  The Crisis of Zionism

The following was taken from Jspace.com.  The article was written by Jspace Foreign Affairs Correspondent, Rob Lattin, who also blogs about Israeli and Middle Eastern foreign policy for Foreign Policy Blogs.  Daily Beast writer Peter Beinart recently released his newest book, The Crisis of Zionism, and it is making serious waves in the American Jewish and […]

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The Art of Public Diplomacy

The Art of Public Diplomacy

      Some days, as ordinary as they may seem, become revolutionary in our personal and professional life.  June 20, 2009 was such a day for me; and perhaps for many other Iranians. It was the day that a girl was shot to death in the streets of Tehran allegedly by forces of the […]

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A New Challenger Emerges: Yair Lapid

A New Challenger Emerges: Yair Lapid

The following was taken from Jspace.com.  The article was written by Jspace Foreign Affairs Correspondent, Rob Lattin, who also blogs about Israeli and Middle Eastern foreign policy for Foreign Policy Blogs.  Israel’s political system is notorious for its recycling of politicians. However, a new force is emerging, Yair Lapid, the former head anchor of Israeli television station […]

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Human Rights and Graffiti

Human Rights and Graffiti

Creating awareness for and showing solidarity with those who have and continue to be persecuted and permanently silenced by the Iranian Government, the Mad Graffiti Campaign for Human Rights in Iran was a seven-day international event aimed at raising awareness about social injustice in the Islamic Republic.  Part of the United For Iran Campaign, which […]

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The Donkeys’ Party Enters Kurdistan’s Political Bray

The Donkeys’ Party Enters Kurdistan’s Political Bray

The Donkeys’ Party of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region unveiled an aptly wrought statue of its four-legged namesake today. Cast in bronze by famed Kurdish sculptor Zerak Mire, the officious fellow is buttoned up in a suit, collared shirt and tie. The political m’ass’cot stands five feet tall (I believe that’s ‘15 hands’ in ‘Equinese’), and […]

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Dancing With Wolves

Dancing With Wolves

You hear many words of wisdom traveling through the Mideast, all which offer insightful pondering to events past and present.  Watching the tragic escalation of events in Syria and the failing efforts to bring the fighting to a close bring to mind words often spoken by the Kurds of the region, who are well-versed in […]

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Will 1980 coup trial heal Turkey’s wounds? A skeptic’s perspective

Will 1980 coup trial heal Turkey’s wounds? A skeptic’s perspective

Yesterday, I joined Al-Jazeera’s ‘Inside Story’ for a panel discussion on Turkey’s 1980 coup trial. The program offers an introduction to the coup as well as the coup case, so I will not mention them here. Apart from what I had mentioned in my brief comments, I want to expand on my arguments in this blog […]

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Iraqi Political Tensions Alarm Arab Neighbors

Iraqi Political Tensions Alarm Arab Neighbors

Iraq’s fugitive vice president, Tariq al-Hashemi, initially fled Baghdad to Kurdistan to avoid capture at the hands of Shi’a forces loyal to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Rumors spread that the vice president’s body-guard had been slaughtered in a bloody attempt to seize the Sunni VP on trumped-up charges of “terrorism.” It is now being reported […]

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The Resurgence of the Syrian National Council

The Resurgence of the Syrian National Council

A few weeks ago the Syrian National Council (SNC) appeared to be losing traction in its efforts to gain recognition as the legitimate political representative of the Syrian people. Dogged by a few high-profile resignations and accusations that it was undemocratic and unrepresentative, critics dismissed the SNC as a collection of European-based diaspora Syrians who were […]

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Iran’s Kurds, A Sad State(less)

Iran’s Kurds, A Sad State(less)

Kurds continue efforts to realize unfulfilled international promises for the creation of a Kurdish state. Geographically straddled among the borders of countries created in the 20th century whose regions collectively form the historic land of Kurdistan, Kurds have and continue to operate political groups and resistance movements with the goal of achieving recognition of their […]

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A Middle East Spring Love

A Middle East Spring Love

Love is in the air, and it is between the two most unlikely suspects: Iran and Israel. Two countries whose governments are known for their hostile rhetoric and unwavering political stances are making waves for something other than talk of a potential nuclear war. Refusing to rely on elected and appointed officials to adequately represent […]

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Syrian American Council Urges a Crackdown on Assad’s Regime

Syrian American Council Urges a Crackdown on Assad’s Regime

  Since the reign of terror from President Bashar-al Assad’s regime began the UN estimates that over 9,000 innocent Syrian civilians have died at his hands. The local coordination committees estimate that the number of those killed is upwards of 11,000 in addition to those who are injured or incarcerated. Syria has accepted a peace plan from […]

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Shaima Alawadi and the Fickle Discourse of Instant Obsession

Shaima Alawadi and the Fickle Discourse of Instant Obsession

America is in a state of public mourning for a young man by the name of Trayvon Martin, whose death at the hands of an over-zealous neighborhood watch volunteer – and under suspicions of racial profiling – has sparked a national dialogue on race. His shooting death has prompted outrage across with country, with dozens […]

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Revolution in Cairo/The Brothers (2011)

Revolution in Cairo/The Brothers (2011)

These two short pieces are Frontline mini-documentaries about the situation in Cairo during the Arab Spring, where youth movements used social media to coordinate demonstrations against the government of then-President Hosni Mubarak. The April 6 Youth Movement started in 2008 when it fought for textile workers who were on strike. It’s leaders, all around 30 […]

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