The Israeli government is set to revise text books used in the bulk of state-run schools for being overly critical, sparking questions as to the freedom and broader role of public educational institutions. Governments have notoriously — whether in Israel, the Arab world, or the United States — shaped the historical narrative to their advantage. […]
The topic of Lebanese arms is in the news once again. Externally, the United States has put on hold $100 million in military aid for fear that the weapons may fall into the hands of Hizballah. Internally, Prime Minister Hariri is talking up elevated arms control in the wake of a sectarian altercation in Beirut […]
Terror Cops is the title of a new book by Harry Keeble that puts on display how terrorist cells are created, how terrorist training camps in the UK are used, and how security forces work with the Muslim community. Terror Cops is a white-knuckle ride into the battle against extremism. The book gives unprecedented insight […]
A run of coordinated attacks that spanned the length of the country killed at least 56 people today in assaults aimed at Iraqi army and police forces, one day after the U.S. announced that its combat troops had fallen below 50,000.
Palestinian Prime Minister Salaam Fayyad’s infrastructure development took another step forward today in the Gaza Strip to increase supplies of diesel to territory. The Gaza Electricity Distribution Company transferred $2 million to a Ramallah power company, which pays for 320,000 liters of diesel per day for the Strip. The fuel will help support Gaza’s electricity plant, which shut […]
We all know the broad strokes. The state of Iraq has been politically rudderless since March 7 elections for the Council of Representatives failed to produce a clear coalition winner. Although former PM Ayad Allawi’s Iraqiya slate won a two-seat victory over Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law coalition, they didn’t score with sufficient […]
President Barack Obama’s approval ratings continue to plummet and speculation swirls as to whether the 2012 GOP candidate has a near guaranteed ascent to the Oval Office. The economy is unlikely to substantially improve, the Democrats are expected to lose substantial seats in the upcoming congressional races and Obama may not be able convince voters to stick […]
Earlier this week, parliament voted to grant Lebanon’s Palestinian population wider employment rights. Previously, the jobs that they were aloud to do were mostly limited to manual labor, but the new legislation opens up every field that other “foreigners” are allowed to work in. This still excludes the areas of law, medicine, and engineering, which […]
Here’s a brief outline of news and views from some of the major news outlets regarding the end of the US combat mission…taken from major media both in the States and abroad.
One of the many criticisms of the Syrian government has been it’s Human Rights record. While the current regime is certainly more humane than that of the former president, questions remain regarding the abuse of citizens in a number of cases. One case that has hit the headlines recently has been that of Haitham al-Maleh, […]
More than 50 people were killed and some 115 wounded when a suicide bomber struck a Baghdad recruiting center for the Iraqi Army.
The Lebanese Government has recently called for all citizens and expatriats of Lebanon to donate money to its military. This move was prompted by the U.S. halt of a $100 Million aid package to the Lebanon military. Congress decided to reexamine its policy towards Lebanon after the now infamous tree cutting incident. The IDF has […]
So, I realize that when I set out to write this blog I intended to do a lot of writing about Syria’s international position. However, I also wanted to do pieces about domestic issues and things that shed light on what life was like here. Well I haven’t done nearly enough of that so far, […]
If it seems like the pace of events has been accelerating since Hassan Nasrallah announced that he expects Hizballah members to be indicted in the Hariri Tribunal, it has. Immediately, leaders from Saudi Arabia and Syria rushed to Beirut to calm the situation. Shortly after they left town, an Israeli commander was killed by the […]
Politicians generally like to hear themselves talks — and Israeli politicians are generally no different. Instead of cutting to the point (even the “Straight Talk Express” came in through a heavy fog), politicians often cloud what they mean with metaphors, references to local business leaders, allusions to past heroes and other tactics meant to beat […]