Foreign Policy Blogs

Tag Archives: Middle East

Testimony at Congress Raises Awareness on the Persecution of Bahais in Iran

Testimony at Congress Raises Awareness  on the Persecution of Bahais in Iran

On Friday, March 15 Kenneth E. Bowers, Secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahais of the United States, testified at a hearing of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (TLHRC). The hearing featured testimony on the current state of religious freedom in Iran, and highlighted systematic human rights violations against Iran’s Bahai and Christian communities. […]

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A Coalition of the Unwilling

A Coalition of the Unwilling

After weeks of negotiation, and, predictably, right before his already-extended deadline was set to expire, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced the formation of a majority coalition in the Knesset (Israeli legislature).  The coalition, in addition to including the pre-election alliance between Likud, the main right-wing party, and Yisrael Beiteinu, the Russian immigrant-oriented party headed by […]

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Obama’s Moment to Make the Case for Middle East Peace

Obama’s Moment to Make the Case for Middle East Peace

If it were easy to do, an American president would have long ago shepherded Israelis and Palestinians into the negotiated two-state peace agreement that both peoples and their neighbors so clearly need — a peace that would greatly enhance U.S. interests.

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When Censorship Turns Against Itself: The Story of Artistic Resistance in Iran

When Censorship Turns Against Itself: The Story of Artistic Resistance in Iran

Strict censorship of arts and culture in Iran emerged shortly after the victory of the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Through various tactics, rules and regulations the Islamic Republic managed to successfully instill fear and control mainstream arts and culture in an attempt to “purify” the society of westernization and bring back Islamic and revolutionary values […]

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A Candid Discussion with David Crist

A Candid Discussion with David Crist

Dr. David Crist is the author of the book “The Twilight War: The Secret History of America’s Thirty-Year Conflict with Iran.” Dr. Crist currently serves as historian for the federal government. As an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, he saw first-hand the war against Al Qaeda and the confrontation with Iran. He served in the […]

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American Energy Independence Might Not Change Things Much

American Energy Independence Might Not Change Things Much

Thanks to fracking and the oil rush in North Dakota, many analysts predict energy independence for North America, and even for the U.S. itself. The most recent high-profile prediction came from Citigroup’ s global commodities research team, headed by Edward Morse. They issued an 85-page report, which sadly is not available for free, on the […]

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U.S. Embassy Bombing in Ankara: Why? Why now?

U.S. Embassy Bombing in Ankara: Why? Why now?

On February 1, U.S. Embassy in Ankara – in a calm, residential and business neighborhood — was bombed. At the time of writing this, police statements indicate that it is believed to be a suicide attack and the attacker(s) detonated the bomb inside the security checkpoint bunker, killing at least one security guard. Growing up […]

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A Candid Discussion on Iran’s Presidential Elections

A Candid Discussion on Iran’s Presidential Elections

The eleventh Iranian presidential election is scheduled to be held this June. Local council elections will also take place at the same time as presidential elections. To take an analytic look at this year’s Iranian elections from a number of relevant angles, the Foreign Policy Association (FPA) will be discussing the elections with leading observers and […]

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Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

This film is riveting. It is a fictional look at the hunt for and eventual killing of Osama bin Laden, the man who is believed to have masterminded the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. Jessica Chastain rightfully won the best actress in a drama at the Golden Globes. She has also […]

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Exclusive Interview: Yesh Atid’s Rabbi Dov Lipman

Exclusive Interview: Yesh Atid’s Rabbi Dov Lipman

The upcoming Israeli election, scheduled for the 22nd, has Jews, observers, and government officials all over the world nervous.  Polls suggest that the ultra-right wing is projected to be given a significant boost, in particular the new radical Habayit Hayehui party and its young charismatic leader Naftali Bennett.   But Rabbi Dov Lipman, the top activist […]

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A Candid Discussion with Siamak Dehghanpour of VOA

A Candid Discussion with Siamak Dehghanpour of VOA

Siamak Dehghanpour is an Iranian-American journalist and television personality. He is the host of the “OFOGH”, a news television talk show program on the Voice of America (VOA) television’s Persian News Network (PNN). OFOGH (Horizon) covers a wide range of issues in Iranian affairs as well as geopolitics of the Middle East. Mr. Dehghanpour is […]

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A Critical Look at Iran’s Out-of-Country Voting Program

A Critical Look at Iran’s Out-of-Country Voting Program

The upcoming presidential elections in Iran is scheduled for June 14, 2013. Iran’s 2009 presidential election was fraught with accusations of fraud and irregularities. While the elections inside Iran received significant international media attention, the results of Iran’s out-of-country voting (external vote) in 2009 did not receive a well-deserved scrutiny. With Iran’s preparations to hold […]

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Likud Openly Trying to Kill the Two-State Solution

Likud Openly Trying to Kill the Two-State Solution

Anyone trying to justify that Likud sincerely wants two states for two peoples, Israel for the Jews and Palestine for the Palestinians, is lying through their teeth. Several senior Likud ministers who attended the Jerusalem conference “Application of Israeli Sovereignty of Judea and Samaria” on Tuesday night openly called for the annexation of the West […]

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Iran in 2012: The Middle East and the Year of Turbo-Instability

Iran in 2012: The Middle East and the Year of Turbo-Instability

  Co-Authored by Azadeh Pourzand and Reza Akhlaghi The Region at A Glance 2012 was the year that the Middle East entered a period of turbo instability. This period accentuated itself in different parts of the region in different forms. Syria’s civil war reached a point of no-return-to-normalcy, ensuring only one outcome for Bashar Al-Assad’s […]

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Double-Edged Support

Double-Edged Support

Bill Kristol. Caroline Glick. Barry Rubin. Dennis Prager. Jennifer Rubin. Among many others. While not being names of terrorists dedicated solely to the destruction of Israel, these individuals could cause major damage to the Jewish state despite their every effort to protect that special relationship between the United States and its closest ally in the […]

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