Saudi Arabia is perhaps the only remaining country in the world that takes its name from a ruling family — the Al Saud. It has vast hydrocarbon resources that feed the world’s insatiable hunger for energy. It also is an absolute monarchy founded upon religious principles of Wahhabi Islam. The alliance of the Al Saud […]
Editor’s Note: The following is a guest opinion piece by Roz Rothstein and Roberta P. Seid. Roz Rothstein is the CEO of StandWithUs and Roberta P. Seid, PhD is Director of Research at StandWithUs. It is an op-ed response to Ms. Ayesha Vahidy’s recent op-ed piece. _____________________________________________________________ Ms. Vahidy’s outrage should be with Hamas, not Israel. […]
As most media outlets are reporting, over the last month several errant mortars have been fired into Israel’s Golan Heights from Syria. The IDF has determined many of them can be traced back to forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Showing restraint the Jewish state chose not to respond believing that the shells were […]
Gone are the days when avoidance of religious and political discussions was essential to retaining friendships. Today discussing these two topics in the public and private squares is essential to peace, coexistence, development and progress! At hand is the most misunderstood and indeed most abused moral concept of the 21st century: the doctrine of […]
Thanks to the hard work of several of our bloggers, Foreign Policy Association’s election guide and candidate selector is up! Focusing on the foreign policy views of incumbent President Barack Obama and the opposition challenger, Mitt Romney, the Foreign Policy Association’s bloggers provide readers with background and analysis on the five most-debated topics facing American […]
by Alireza Ahmadian Editor’s Note: Alireza Ahmadian is an Iranian-Canadian writer living in London. Mr. Ahmadian holds a history BA from the University of British Columbia and is currently completing his postgraduate studies at the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. Canada’s decision to […]
Hailemariam Desalegn was sworn in as Ethiopia’s new prime minister last week. He has some big shoes to fill. A cult of personality surrounds his predecessor, Meles Zenawi, who died last month.. Zenawi was a regional leader, fighting terrorism in Somalia and mediating the Sudan-South Sudan conflict. At home, he was the impetus behind Ethiopia’s […]
According to Turkish news agency NTV, the Kurdish militant group PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) has kidnapped a member of the parliament; this appeared as ‘breaking news’ in many other Turkish media outlets just about half an hour ago and the story in unfolding as I’m writing this post. According to news sources, Turkey’s opposition Republican […]
Like in wars between states and other organized groups, civil wars and other protracted domestic conflicts are seldom caused by a single factor. Over time, even those that prove to be the exception to the rule eventually evolve into a much more complex conflict- hence the entity known as Somaliland. A Brief History Only […]
In my last blog, I ended with a quote from a 2011 Foreign Affairs magazine article written by former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense William J. Lynn III. In the article he stated the Department of Defense has a five pillar strategy for operating in cyberspace: “…treating cyberspace as an operational domain, like land, air, […]
In the March/April 2012 issue of Foreign Policy Magazine, Thomas Rid wrote an article called Think Again: Cyberwar. The subtitle was: Don’t Fear the Digital Bogeyman Virtual Conflict is Still More Hype Than Reality. He states his premise up front: “Time for a reality check: Cyberwar is still more hype than hazard. Consider the definition […]
This article, appeared on the Political Reflections Magazine, vol.3, n.2, is the second part of my review of FPA’s Great Decisions episode on the Arab Spring: The first part, providing a general overview of the debate can be found here. ********************************** As the uncertainty of the Arab Spring continues, the debate on the future of […]
Al-Qaeda, the terrorist group that seeks to establish the return of the Islamic Caliphate over the Muslim world is believed to have grown way beyond “containment security parameters,” posing a very real threat to Yemen’s national hegemony within in its own territories. As Yemenis rose against President Ali Abdullah Saleh in the wake of Egyptian […]
21 February marked the deaths of a prominent foreign journalist and a foreign photographer covering the unrest in Homs, Syria: Marie Colvin of The Sunday Times and French photographer Remi Ochlik. Again, their deaths cast light upon the apparent crimes against humanity that are raging unabated in Syria. Colvin’s and Ochlik’s deaths in Baba Amr, […]
Sixty-six days. At this hour, that is how long Khader Adnan has gone without food to protest his detention without charge by the Israeli government. Unless you follow events in the Middle East closely, it is possible this is the first time you have heard of Adnan, or only heard of his in the last […]