As unrest continues to grip Syria, and opposing viewpoints continue to battle it out over the airwaves, in the pages of newspapers and magazines, and over the interwebs, let’s try to take a look at some of what is going on; both in Syria, and in the battle to frame what is happening there, shall […]
The past few days have been telling in the ongoing struggle to determine Syria’s future. At this stage last week, momentum seemed to be building for the opposition as demonstrations gained numbers and force by the week. Certainly there are still significant elements working towards the downfall of the Assad regime, both in the streets and […]
A few days ago Egypt facilitated and hosted a meeting between Fatah and Hamas in Cairo. It was largely viewed as a public relations move to legitimize the Palestinian push for statehood through the United Nations, as well as boost Egyptian image. There is serious doubt about the sincerity of the unification attempt and many […]
The following piece was written by Reza Marashi, Director of Research at National Iranian American Council (NIAC) and a former Iran Desk Officer at the U.S. Department of State. The Iran Working Paper Series is supported by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Ploughshares Fund and the Norwegian Foreign Ministry. Against a backdrop of international internet freedom […]
AFGHANISTAN: ALREADY AT UNEASE FOR POST-WAR Afghanistan may be one place, where its people have legitimate worries after the elimination of one of the strongest points of the U.S. war on terror. Now that the “terrorist” is gone, the war might be shortened, making the Afghan lands abandoned once again. No surprise that there were […]
President Barack Obama’s statement today on Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom haShoah) references the Adolf Eichmann trial, which were central to the Israeli psyche’s grappling in the afternoon of the systematic slaughter of six million Jews. Prior to the Eichmann trial in Israel, Jews who emigrated to Israel did not often speak about their experiences in […]
During this so-called Arab Spring, Middle Eastern dictators have attempted to suppress revolutions by murdering demonstrators, prompting the Obama administration to condemn those actions in the “strongest possible terms.” It appears that Hamas, the Palestinian Authority’s new governing partner, has reserved that kind of condemnation for the U.S. attack that killed terrorist mastermind Osama bin […]
These are troubling times for Lebanon. Even for a country under the thumb of Damascus, things seem to be out of their control. The most anyone can do is just wait and see. Since 1963, Syria has been under control of the Baath party. Hafez Assad took power in 1970 and ruled the country with […]
The reconciliation between the Iran-backed terror group Hamas and the West Bank-governing Palestinian Authority will not result in an inherent repositioning of either group or the moderation of proposals to wipe Israel off the map and instill a government operated under the auspices of radical Islam. That inherent radicalization of the Palestinians could, though, benefit […]
The Following piece is written by a Yemeni-based journalist who writes for Foreign Policy Association (FPA) and, due to serious security concerns, remains anonymous. Following in the footsteps of the southern Port city of Aden, Yemeni residents have decided to implement a campaign of civil disobedience. This latest step in the Revolution is aimed at […]
This humble blogger suggests everyone simmer down a bit. Yes, the violence used by the Syrian government against its own citizens is deplorable. That violence could, of course, get worse. But let us try to keep some perspective on this.
The following piece was originally published in Washington Times on Wednesday, April 27, 2011 by Gary C. Gambill Gary C. Gambill is the former editor of Middle East Intelligence Bulletin and Mideast Monitor. Since the outbreak of the Syrian uprising five weeks ago, President Obama has declined to call for Bashar Assad to step down […]
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had a phone meeting last evening with Barack Obama over the growing violence in Syria. According to a White House statement, Turkey and the United States agreed on the necessity of Gaddafi’s departure from Libya, as well as condemning Syrian leader Assad’s ”violent acts against his own citizens”. Turkish […]
An envoy of officials from both the Yemeni government and the Opposition are said to be traveling to Riyadh on Wednesday in order to sign the agreement brokered by the GCC. Sultan al-Barakani who is the deputy secretary of the People’s Congress, the Presidential party, has said that the government had indeed “received an invitation […]