Naseem Tarawnah

The Fear Business: It’s Thriving in Jordan

The Fear Business: It’s Thriving in Jordan

NASEEM TARAWNAH: Look east, look north, look south, look west – everywhere around Jordan spells trouble with a capital ‘T’.

 mai abdul rahman

Invisible: The Plight of Arab-American Women

Invisible: The Plight of Arab-American Women

MAI ABDUL RAHMAN: They have played, and continue to play, a vital role in U.S society but their voices go unheard.

 Juan Cole

‘Too Extreme for Al Qaeda’: Al Zawahiri Disowns ISIL

‘Too Extreme for Al Qaeda’: Al Zawahiri Disowns ISIL

JUAN COLE: The insistence by many commentators in speaking about a single Al Qaeda entity in Iraq and Syria is plain wrong.

 Juan Cole

Why the U.S Should Stay Out of Iraq: Top Ten Reasons

Why the U.S Should Stay Out of Iraq: Top Ten Reasons

JUAN COLE: Nouri Al-Maliki is in Washington pushing for increased U.S involvement in his country’s affairs. I have one word of advice to President Obama – resist!

 Ramzy Baroud

Lines on the Map ‘Irrelevant’ in Shifting Middle East Map

Lines on the Map ‘Irrelevant’ in Shifting Middle East Map

RAMZY BAROUD: The sectarian genie that was released via the US invasion of Iraq is now running rampant around the Middle East

 Juan Cole

‘Bye Bye, America, Hello, Russia’: Arab World Turns

‘Bye Bye, America, Hello, Russia’: Arab World Turns

An Egyptian delegation heading to Moscow just after the United States cut $300 million out of its aid package to Cairo to punish the July 3 military coup there has raised speculation that Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s military junta is shopping for a new superpower patron. In the 1960s at the height of the Cold […]

 James M. Dorsey

Sectarian Divisions Being Played Out on the Football Field

Sectarian Divisions Being Played Out on the Football Field

Sectarian divisions fuelling conflict across the Middle East have spilt on to the soccer pitch with Iraq’s decision to boycott the Gulf Cup and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) warning the Iraqi government not to interfere in the game. It is hard to separate the divisions between Sunni and Shiite Muslims that governments in Bahrain […]

 Steve Royston

Why Are There So Few Good Books About Saudi Arabia?

Why Are There So Few Good Books About Saudi Arabia?

STEVE ROYSTON: A recently published book on the Kingdom seems to be designed to pander to all of the usual Western prejudices. Why so?

 Common Ground News Service

Shia vs Sunni: Lessons From The “Peace of Exhaustion”

Shia vs Sunni: Lessons From The “Peace of Exhaustion”

SHEIKH MUSTAFA CERIC: Protestants and Catholics fought each other for decades in Europe before they decided to sign a peace treaty. Let’s look at lessons learned

 Juan Cole

Ghost of Iraq Comes Back to Haunt US/UK Syria Plans

Ghost of Iraq Comes Back to Haunt US/UK Syria Plans

The heavy propaganda for an Iraq War waged by the Bush administration and the Blair government in 2002-2003 came back to haunt the Anglo-American alliance on Thursday when the British parliament voted 285 to 272 not to authorize a military strike on Syria.

JUAN COLE: The heavy propaganda for an Iraq War waged by Bush, Blair governments came back to haunt the alliance on Thursday when parliament voted not to authorize a military strike on Syria.

 M.-Lynx-Qualey

Reel Iraq: Poets Make Waves at Edinburgh Festival

Reel Iraq: Poets Make Waves at Edinburgh Festival

M. LYNX-QUALEY: Ryan Van Winkle, a Scottish poet, has been a key figure in an initiative called ‘Reel Iraq’ which has helped to give wider recognition to the country’s leading writers

 Ramzy Baroud

Welcome To the Media Circus Whose Name is ‘Negotiation’

Welcome To the Media Circus Whose Name is ‘Negotiation’

RAMZY BAROUD: Prepare yourself for cliche, ‘grin and grip’ photo opportunities and nothing of susbtance – here comes the so-called ‘Negotiation Process’

 Steve Royston

‘The Devil’s Fire’: Syria’s Unique Blend of Pure Horror

‘The Devil’s Fire’: Syria’s Unique Blend of Pure Horror

STEVE ROYSTON: The situation in Syria is so desperate, so serious and so wide-ranging that it has the potential to affect every individual living in the region

 Mich Cafe

‘Help Now’: Syrian Refugee Crisis ‘Unprecedented In Its Scope’

‘Help Now’: Syrian Refugee Crisis ‘Unprecedented In Its Scope’

MICH CAFE: If Americans diverted the money they spent in a month on ice-cream to the UN Syrian refugee fund the target would be met.

 Ramzy Baroud

Sunni vs Shia: This Sectarianism Is Destroying Arab Identity

Sunni vs Shia: This Sectarianism Is Destroying Arab Identity

RAMZY BAROUD: Any possibility of a Pan Arab national identity is being destroyed each day that people are being butchered in the name of a particular sect

 Ramzy Baroud

‘We Can Blow Things Up’: America’s Power in the Middle East

‘We Can Blow Things Up’: America’s Power in the Middle East

RAMZY BAROUD: America’s current role as impotent looker-on is unprecedented in recent Middle Eastern history. This situation won’t continue indefinitely

 M.-Lynx-Qualey

Arab Writers at PEN: It’s Not Just About Politics

Arab Writers at PEN: It’s Not Just About Politics

M. LYNX-QUALEY: At major international writer events there seems to be an overwhelming focus on the politics of the region. Understandable but we’re neglecting a fuller picture

 Mondoweiss

‘Sauce, Goose, Gander’: Political vs Family Ties in Public Debate

‘Sauce, Goose, Gander’: Political vs Family Ties in Public Debate

PHILIP WEISS, CGNEWS: Josh Landis’s marriage to a Syrian Alawite was judged fair game in a discussion on his views on the political situation. Why only him?

 Francis Matthew

Tangled: The CIA’s Confused Middle East Web

Tangled: The CIA’s Confused Middle East Web

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has got itself into the confused position of fighting Sunni fighters in Iraq, but supporting some of them in Syria.

FRANCIS MATTHEW: The CIA is in the position of fighting Sunni fighters in Iraq, but supporting them in Syria.

 Juan Cole

10 Ways the Iraq Conflict has Diminished America

10 Ways the Iraq Conflict has Diminished America

As the tenth anniversary of the launching of the Iraq War approaches, I’ll be making some comments about the episode on Informed Comment, which for the years 2003-2010 intensively covered events in Iraq. A decade is long enough for some things to become clear.

The first set of issues I want to discuss has to do with the harm the war did to the United States. Coming into 2003, the US enjoyed a great deal of sympathy and solidarity from the rest of the world (including Iran) over the al-Qaeda strikes of September 11, 2001. In the aftermath of […]

1 2 3 13