Common Ground News Service

The New Arab Diaspora: Having It Both Ways

The New Arab Diaspora: Having It Both Ways

NADA AKL: How to stay connected and yet integrate with your new community – it’s a balancing act that many young immigrants are successfully negotiating

 Juan Cole

Israel Apartheid, Avalon and the Smell of Fear

Israel Apartheid, Avalon and the Smell of Fear

JUAN COLE: Ayalon’s despererate and over-the-top rhetoric smells of fear, fear that when South Africa calls you on Apartheid policies, it legitimizes that critique of the Greater Israel project…

 Francis Matthew

Romney: A Return to a Black and White Foreign Policy

Romney: A Return to a Black and White Foreign Policy

FRANCIS MATTHEW: US Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is suggesting a dangerous return to a simplistic foreign policy in which foreigners are divided simply into friends and foes.

 Juan Cole

It’s US: Why Americans Should Support the Arab Spring

It’s US: Why Americans Should Support the Arab Spring

JUAN COLE: Americans have given up too soon on the Arab Spring. They have bought into overly large generalizations, some of them purveyed by right wing American pundits…

 Editor, MEP

Dubai Expo 2020: Worth Fighting For

Dubai Expo 2020: Worth Fighting For

Should Dubai win Expo 2020 it would be a significant, significant boost to the city – economically, socially and in terms of global recognition.

 Common Ground News Service

The U.S. and Muslim Brotherhood: A Match Made in Heaven?

The U.S. and Muslim Brotherhood: A Match Made in Heaven?

MOHAMED EL-SAYED, CGNEWS: A very unlikely relationship indeed is beginning to take shape.

 James M. Dorsey

Qatar World Cup 2022: Sponsorship versus Principle – To Serve or not to Serve?

Qatar World Cup 2022: Sponsorship versus Principle – To Serve or not to Serve?

JAMES M. DORSEY: The outcome of FIFA’s dispute with Brazil and Russia is certain to shape the soccer body’s certainly forthcoming debate with Qatar.

 James M. Dorsey

Qatar Alcohol Ban Underlines Internal Tensions

Qatar Alcohol Ban Underlines Internal Tensions

JAMES M. DORSEY: Alcohol has been banned on the Pearl Qatar, dubbed the ‘Arab Riviera’. It’s the latest manifestation of internal discord.

 Crossroads Arabia

Nuclear Weapons: The Only Route to Success?

Nuclear Weapons: The Only Route to Success?

CROSSROADS ARABIA: A Saudi commentator suggests the only way to gain respect in international relations is via nuclear weapons. Is he right?

 James M. Dorsey

Syrian Regime Looks to Soccer for Support

Syrian Regime Looks to Soccer for Support

JAMES M. DORSEY: ‘Bread and circuses’ are what the Roman emperors offered the people. ‘Bullets and soccer’ are what the Syrian regime appear to be offering today.

 Juan Cole

The Inevitably Brutal End of Qaddafi’s ‘Cult’

The Inevitably Brutal End of Qaddafi’s ‘Cult’

JUAN COLE: The demise of Qaddafi means there’s a contiguous bloc of 100 million Arabs who’ve thrown off dictatorship. The violent end was inevitable.

 Naseem Tarawnah

Film Review: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold

Film Review: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold

NASEEM TARAWNAH: While those of us in the Middle East may not necessarily face the exact same problems with advertising, we are facing very similar issues.

 James M. Dorsey

Damage limitation: China and Russia’s Options

Damage limitation: China and Russia’s Options

JAMES M. DORSEY: China and Russia could quietly establish relations with Syrian protesters if and when Mr. Assad is forced to relinquish power.

 Rob L. Wagner

Kick It: Women’s Football On the Rise in Kingdom

Kick It: Women’s Football On the Rise in Kingdom

ROB L. WAGNER: ‘Unseemly’, ‘undignified’ and ‘a threat to players’ virginity’ in the eyes of religious conservatives but women’s football is making major strides in Saudi Arabia.

 Juan Cole

Aqaba: To Boldly Go Where No King Has Gone Before

Aqaba: To Boldly Go Where No King Has Gone Before

JUAN COLE: Klingons and Romulans wandering through the souk in Aqaba? Could be sooner than you think if King Abdullah’s ambitious plans come to fruition.

 Juan Cole

Top Ten Mistakes of the Libyan ‘Intervention’

Top Ten Mistakes of the Libyan ‘Intervention’

JUAN COLE: I believe it’s legal but that doesn’t mean that the West’s military intervention in Libya has been wisely handled.

 David Roberts

Life Isn’t Fair – But It’s Fairer in Some Countries…

Life Isn’t Fair – But It’s Fairer in Some Countries…

DAVID ROBERTS: The lower the difference between the richest and poorest people in a country is a mark of a developed nation. Clearly China, India and Brazil have some way to go.

 James M. Dorsey

Strauss-Kahn Arrest puts European control of IMF at risk

Strauss-Kahn Arrest puts European control of IMF at risk

JAMES M. DORSEY: Emerging markets are demanding that the heads of major international institutions be chosen on the basis of merit…

 Mishaal Al Gergawi

Saying No to An ‘Open Sesame’ Welfare Agenda

Saying No to An ‘Open Sesame’ Welfare Agenda

MISHAAL AL GERGAWI: That the GCC is able to cooperate and function so well is both comforting and alarming. Comforting because it confirms the council still functions, alarming because it only does so in self-preservation mode.

 James M. Dorsey

Is Turkey the Role Model for the Arab World?

Is Turkey the Role Model for the Arab World?

JAMES M. DORSEY: For the first time in its history, Turkey is emerging as a true bridge between East and West. Unrest elsewhere however puts Turkish aspirations to the test.