2011 June

Posted on Thu, June 30, 2011 at 23:35 pm CEST

Afghanistan: Deal With the Taliban The Basis for U.S. Withdrawal?

Ahmad Rashid is widely considered to be the best journalist on Afghan and related Pakistani issues… Continue reading

Posted on Thu, June 30, 2011 at 22:55 pm CEST

Another ticking bomb under Assad: Hariri “Special Tribunal for Lebanon” heads for Damascus

The Lebanese capital was not the only first stop for a delegation of the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon… Continue reading

Posted on Thu, June 30, 2011 at 22:14 pm CEST

A Major U.S. Policy Shift Toward the Muslim Brotherhood Disguised

And what are we told about the Brotherhood’s goals… Continue reading

Posted on Thu, June 30, 2011 at 00:26 am CEST

Fading Hopes, Rising Demands: Kurdish Problem Moves Closer To the Point of No Return

In the general election of June 12, 2011, candidates backed by the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) won 36 seats in Turkey… Continue reading

Posted on Wed, June 29, 2011 at 23:44 pm CEST

Israel’s Strategic Standpoint: Mid-2011 and Mid-“Arab Spring”

There are two types of strategic perspectives in Israel today. They aren’t contradictory but they have different priorities… Continue reading

Posted on Wed, June 29, 2011 at 18:48 pm CEST

Tunisia’s Morning After

Where does Tunisia, the unlikely igniter of the Middle Eastern upheavals, stand on the democratic transition scale… Continue reading

Posted on Wed, June 29, 2011 at 16:27 pm CEST

The invisible Palestinians

Sunday was the first day of Sgt. Gilad Schalit’s sixth year in captivity… Continue reading

Posted on Tue, June 28, 2011 at 22:04 pm CEST

Canadian and American Flotilla Activists Participated in a Workshop Centering on “Passive Resistance”

The Canadians and Americans about to set sail with the flotilla from Greece participated in… Continue reading

Posted on Tue, June 28, 2011 at 21:10 pm CEST

The Social Networking Revolution Meets Islamists with No Sense of Humor

Naguib Sawiris is an Egyptian business tycoon. He’s also the founder of the new, liberal Free Egyptians Party. He also tweets and… Continue reading

Posted on Tue, June 28, 2011 at 00:28 am CEST

NY Times “Scoop”: Israel Claims Media Coverage is Unfair

Sometimes when one of the better reporters around tries to be fair the result shows up the low quality of Middle East coverage generally… Continue reading

Posted on Mon, June 27, 2011 at 22:43 pm CEST

Poisoning the Well of Animal Welfare

For the first time in Western history, the physical as well as emotional pain felt by animals became a human concern three millennia ago in the Jewish Scriptures… Continue reading

Posted on Mon, June 27, 2011 at 22:00 pm CEST

Seinfeld’s Advice for Obama Administration Policy: Do the Opposite

Just your normal Middle East policy day in which every instinct the Obama administration has is wrong… Continue reading

Posted on Sun, June 26, 2011 at 22:52 pm CEST

Organizers of Freedom Flotilla 2 Face Difficulties

IHH head Bülent Yildirim recently announced that due to technical difficulties, the Mavi Marmara would not sail… Continue reading

Posted on Sat, June 25, 2011 at 23:17 pm CEST

Israel’s Unilateral Withdrawals from Lebanon and the Gaza Strip

In the last decade, Israel unilaterally withdrew from two areas: the security zone in southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip… Continue reading

Posted on Sat, June 25, 2011 at 13:06 pm CEST

Turkey renews strategic ties with Israel ahead of showdown with Syria

After more than a year of strained relations, Turkey has decided to restore military and intelligence collaboration in the eastern Mediterranean with Israel… Continue reading

Posted on Fri, June 24, 2011 at 00:30 am CEST

What Obama Didn’t-And What We Should-Learn From The War In Afghanistan

I am in favor of a U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, but I was fascinated with how President Barack Obama handled the issue… Continue reading

Posted on Thu, June 23, 2011 at 23:57 pm CEST

Three Russian designers of Iran’s nuclear plant die in plane crash

The three Russian nuclear scientists who planned, designed, built and put into operation Iran’s first nuclear reactor at Bushehr this year… Continue reading

Posted on Wed, June 22, 2011 at 23:37 pm CEST

Look Who Wants to lead the Middle East!

In the absence of U.S. leadership, others want to direct the Middle East… Continue reading

Posted on Tue, June 21, 2011 at 23:09 pm CEST

Why Did Fatah Expell Its Number-One Anti-Hamas Guy?

Muhammad Dahlan has been expelled from Fatah by that group’s Central Committee… Continue reading

Posted on Mon, June 20, 2011 at 20:40 pm CEST

Understanding Hamas, A Detailed Assessment

What do you have to do to be recognized as a revolutionary Islamist group using terrorism… Continue reading

Posted on Mon, June 20, 2011 at 19:58 pm CEST

Israel, Ireland and the peace of the aging

Sometimes, the best thing to do is nothing at all… Continue reading

Posted on Sun, June 19, 2011 at 23:29 pm CEST

The Unbearable Lightness of Mainstream Thinking on Israel-Palestinian Issues

An analysis of the Lying-for-Peace Movement and of how the main arguments on the… Continue reading

Posted on Sun, June 19, 2011 at 11:05 am CEST

Syria: Dissidents Unite to Oust Assad

Twenty years ago, I was a school kid chanting with my peers, “Our leader forever, the father, Hafez Assad!” Back then, I could not have imagined… Continue reading