The Arab Peace Corps – Why Now?
By Sami Jamil Jadallah.
It is in times of wars, conflicts, ciaos, terrorism and despair; investments in peace and development become more urgent.
Anyone with nominal understanding of international politics can see the Arab World is [...]
Israel’s culpable ‘settlement trajectory’
By Syed Qamar Rizvi.
Israel confirmed that it was planning to appropriate a large tract of 150 hectares fertile land in the occupied West Bank, close to Jordan, a move likely to exacerbate tensions with Western allies and already drawing [...]
Rivalry Between Saudi Arabia and Iran Not About the Victim but the Aggressor
By Hakim Khatib
Tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran have been increasing recently. Although the narrative developed to describe the execution of a Saudi Shiite cleric, Nimr Al-Nimr, as a sectarian dimension of the Kingdom’s policies towards [...]
Saudi Political Intolerance
By Hakim Khatib
Beheadings in public, including a prominent Saudi Shiite cleric, prompted reactions not only inside Saudi Arabia but also in Iran, Iraq and most recently in Bahrain.
Saudi Arabia’s death wedding in January 2016 signals the [...]
An international threat at the horizon
By Sebastian Sarbu.
Iran is the key to stability in the Middle East, the only state upon which depend regional security and peace. By taking into account the [...]
Iran frees five detained Americans – the good, the bad and the ugly
By Rick Francona.
Now that the initial euphoria of the release of five Americans from Iran is beginning to fade, the magnitude of just what the United States had to give the Iranians to secure their return is beginning to sink in.
For the [...]
The Middle East: China Venturing into the Maelstrom
By James M. Dorsey.
Synopsis
Chinese President Xi Jingping’s visit this month to Saudi Arabia, Iran and Egypt, the first by a Chinese leader to the Middle East in seven years, acknowledges growing Chinese concerns about instability [...]
Chartering a thaw in Turkey-Israel relations
By Syed Qamar Rizvi.
Recent developments in Turkey and Israel have led analysts to speculate that there is a possibility of a Turkish-Israeli rapprochement.
NATO member Turkey was a key regional ally of Israel until the [...]
The Frightening Prospect of a Nuclear War Is About to Become a Lot More Likely
By Lawrence Wittner.
“B-61 bomb rack” by United States Department of Defense (SSGT Phil Schmitten) – DefenseLINK Multimedia Gallery, asset DFST8712392.. Licensed under Public Domain via Commons.
A fight [...]
Iran’s economic resurrection
By Syed Qamar Azfal Rizvi.
International sanctions against Iran have been lifted after the UN atomic watchdog announced the country had complied with the terms of last July’s landmark deal aimed at scaling down its nuclear [...]
Pakistan’s Mideast policy dilemma and pragmatism
By Syed Qamar Rizvi.
While deeply caught in a dilemma regarding Iran- Saudi Arab tussle, Pakistan has decided to symbolically become a part of the Saudi-led coalition in the Mideast. Though this decision of the Pakistani government [...]
After Ramadi – the long road to Mosul
By Rick Francona.
Now that the Iraqi security forces have retaken the city of al-Ramadi (Ramadi) from the fighters of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the Iraqi leadership has set its sights on the liberation of al-Mawsil (Mosul), [...]
Saving civilization – Time & truth matter
By Robert David Steele.
The tide has clearly turned against the techno-financial paradigm that disregards natural capital costs and exploits the 99% in favor of the 1%. Even a few billionaires have figured this out.
Time, however, [...]
Understanding Moscow’s Mideast Policy
By Leon Hadar.
A spoof of a BBC promo has been circulating on the Internet: “Greece is Collapsing, Iranians are getting aggressive & Rome is disarray. Welcome back to 430 BC!”
But you don’t have to go back to antiquity [...]
The futility of reformism in Spain and Greece
By Jon Kofas.
Abstract
The thesis of this brief article is that reformism does not work and only leads to even greater sociopolitical conformity. This is as much the case today in Greece that has tried it, as in Spain endeavoring [...]
Iran-Saudi Arab rift poses challenge to peace and Muslim unity
By Syed Qamar Rizvi.
In three days, relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran have gone from tense to disastrous — and that may reverberate across the Middle East and worldwide.
Within hours, Bahrain and Sudan joined Saudi [...]
Ethnicity, Tribalism, and Pluralism in the Middle East and North Africa: Solutions to Conflict?
By James M. Dorsey.
Scholars, policy pundits, policymakers, and journalists have identified any number of reasons for a crisis in the Middle East and North Africa that, starting with the 2011 popular revolts, has swept the region; toppled [...]
Exporting inequality: American wealth concentration
By Jon Kofas.
According to the latest statistics, including the CIA, the US suffers the worst level of inequality of any advanced nation and ranks among some of the most unequal societies on the planet, while its politicians, business leaders, [...]
Syrian refugees’ resettlement in the West?
By Syed Qamar Rizvi.
In the immediate aftermath of the Paris attacks, many assumed, almost automatically, that Syrian refugees and/or ISIS recruits posing as Syrian refugees were behind the attacks. From a security perspective, [...]
Why the Sharia Law Is So Dangerous for Our World
By Abdur Rab and Hasan Mahmud.
Human oppression is part of the human legacy. Sadly, it’s often the State that acquiesces in, or even willfully partners with, such oppression. And all too often, such oppression [...]