What started off as protests spurred on by the deteriorating economic conditions in Iran and the inflation in prices of basic necessities, escalated into a rebellion against the Islamic Republic itself. But to what extent are these protests threatening the theocratic regime, and could such an upheaval foreshadow a second Iranian revolution? The latest protests, […]
Neither a Putin-Assad hegemony nor an inclusive transitional government of a united Syria are solutions after Aleppo. Partition is the solution.
Decision makers in the Middle East love coming up with visions. They spend large sums of money on long-term strategic plans, with little regard for results.
Inflicting a series of defeats on ISIS, Kurds have emerged from obscurity to become a major force in the Syrian conflict.
In the past, scholars tended to believe that the internet was an effective tool to challenge authoritarian regimes and facilitate the development of civil society. However, as an expert that has been investigating the issue for a number of years, I disagree with this widely held belief.
ISIS’ growing activity has caught the attention of U.S. officials who see no other option than to address the Islamic State threat in Libya with military action.
Since the Egyptian military ousted former President Mohammed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood government in a coup in July 2013, a stricter and an increasingly oppressive rule governs Africa’s third most populous country, but one that may not be that unwelcome with the U.S. or its allies.
The Iran-Saudi “cold war” carries, for both countries, a dimension that raises particular security concerns: the presence of minority communities in their respective backyards that show sympathy to the other side due to domestic repression.
The Hashemites claim to be part of the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State, but evidence has emerged showing that the regime is tied to the Muslim Brotherhood, who supports Islamic State.
Eight Egyptian men were sentenced to three years in prison plus three years on probation for allegedly attending Egypt’s first same-sex wedding. The harsh sentence was condoned by Egyptian TV host Tamer Amin and the Egyptian Minister for Religious Endowment. Despite the high hopes that existed in the wake of the Arab Spring, the plight of homosexuals in Egypt and the Arab world has deteriorated.
Qatar’s financial habits have been the subject of a lot of media coverage lately due to the successes of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), and the setbacks the Syrian opposition actors the Gulf states were pinning their hopes on have suffered at the hands of ISIS. Kuwait, through its relative openness, plays a […]
The U.S. should not help Shia Islamists to the detriment of Sunni Islamists. The U.S. should support toleration and moderation in Iraq. Their current policies don’t do this. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently stated that it would be a serious mistake to ease pressure on Iran in the nuclear talks in exchange for help […]
Dr. Mordechai Kedar, a prominent Middle East scholar at Bar Ilan University, told an audience at the Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel that the United States made a great mistake by not dividing Iraq into three states, one Kurdish, one Sunni, and one Shia. He believes that this mistake led to a situation […]
Levana Zamir, the head of the International Association of Jews from Egypt, stressed that Sisi is bringing Egypt in a more cosmopolitan and less hateful direction. She believes that it is good for everyone that he is Egypt’s President. Levana Zamir, the head of the International Association of Jews from Egypt, told the Foreign Policy […]
The journalist who broke the story of the My Lai massacre and the Abu Ghraib prison scandal believes that the al Nusra Front backed by Turkey, not Assad, was responsible for the chemical weapons attack last August. Numerous Turkish commentators disagree with his assessment. Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, who broke the story of the My […]