Editor, MEP

Iraq Death Row Torture Claims

VIDEO, AL JAZEERA: Dozens of families in Fallujah say their relatives sentenced to hang on anti-terrorism charges have been tortured. Most of the children of death-row prisoners in Fallujah were also jailed when their fathers were detained.

 Ramzy Baroud

A Lesson for Iraq: The Perseverance of Sinbad

A Lesson for Iraq: The Perseverance of Sinbad

RAMZY BAROUD: Ten years on from the onset of the Iraq invasion with all the horror and despair that has accumulated there is hope in the shape of a character from a children’s story

 Juan Cole

Obama’s Speech: Is Era of ‘Perpetual War’ Closing?

Obama’s Speech: Is Era of ‘Perpetual War’ Closing?

JUAN COLE: President Obama’s inauguration speech is sure to trigger panic among the ‘we must have war’ crowd. But does he really mean it?

 Editor, MEP

Video: UAE Wins Gulf Cup

Good times in the UAE, as the Gulf Country beats Iraq to take the Gulf Cup in 2013.

 Richard Silverstein

Ex-Shin Bet Directors ‘Stick It’ To Netanyahu in Movie

Ex-Shin Bet Directors ‘Stick It’ To Netanyahu in Movie

RICHARD SILVERSTEIN: When in office they’re ramrod straight security hawks but once they leave they suddenly become ‘seers’. But the criticism is unusual in its vehemence

 Tabsir

For ‘Tribal Areas’ Read ‘Wild West’: Myth and Reality

For ‘Tribal Areas’ Read ‘Wild West’: Myth and Reality

KHALED FATTAH, TABSIR: There is a lazy shorthand in much Western reporting on the Middle East, particularly when it comes to describing the influence of tribes

 Juan Cole

2012: Top 10 Developments in the Middle East

2012: Top 10 Developments in the Middle East

JUAN COLE: It’s been another extraordinary year across the Middle East. Here is my take on the most significant changes this year

 Steve Royston

2012: A Very Tough Year in the Middle East

STEVE ROYSTON: If you look around the Middle East today you’d have to say the region is at its most unstable in the last thirty years.

 James M. Dorsey

Syrian Football Victory ‘a Unifier’? Afraid Not

Syrian Football Victory ‘a Unifier’? Afraid Not

JAMES M. DORSEY: This weekend’s Syrian victory over Iraq in a soccer match is being seized by the regime as ‘a great national achievement’.

 M.-Lynx-Qualey

An Iraqi Icon: Fadhil Al-Azzawi Reviews His Career

An Iraqi Icon: Fadhil Al-Azzawi Reviews His Career

AMIRA ABD EL-KHALEK, CGNEWS: He is one of the Arab World’s most revered authors and recently looked back on his life of writing.

 Juan Cole

Flawed: Ten Reasons Why This Constitution Fails Egypt

Flawed: Ten Reasons Why This Constitution Fails Egypt

JUAN COLE: Some of the figures coming out of the constitutional referendum cause raised eyebrows at the least. But there are deeper problems.

 M.-Lynx-Qualey

‘Beauty of Arabic? No, the Violence of Events Is Vital’

‘Beauty of Arabic? No, the Violence of Events Is Vital’

SARAH IRVING, ARABLIT: An Iraqi refugee now based in Finland Hassan Blasim has firm views on language, violence and modern Iraq.

 M.-Lynx-Qualey

New Venue Highlights ‘Literary Potential of Dubai’

New Venue Highlights ‘Literary Potential of Dubai’

M. LYNX-QUALEY: The opening today of a new venue in Dubai which encourages artists and authors to meet is further evidence of the growing cultural scene in the city

 Juan Cole

The Ten ‘To Dos’ That Will Guarantee Gaza Ceasefire

The Ten ‘To Dos’ That Will Guarantee Gaza Ceasefire

JUAN COLE: Achieving a ceasefire is significant but if it’s to remain in place all parties must use the gap in hostilities to secure real progress.

 Juan Cole

Afghanistan vs Affair: What Should We Be Concerned About?

Afghanistan vs Affair: What Should We Be Concerned About?

JUAN COLE: It was David Petraeus’s conduct of counter insurgency in Afghanistan rather than his evening activities that I was interested in

 Tabsir

There’ll Never Be a ‘Right’ President for Palestine

There’ll Never Be a ‘Right’ President for Palestine

NADIA HIJAB, TABSIR: Palestinians have finally realised that they themselves will determine their own fate not some idealised notion of a U.S President.

 Naseem Tarawnah

Security: The Big, Fat ‘Red Line’ for Jordan

Security: The Big, Fat ‘Red Line’ for Jordan

NASEEM TARAWNAH: Jordan’s precarious position both geographically and politically means that security will always be a vital issue. But this concern stymies debate.

 Rob L. Wagner

The Malala Backlash: Conspiracy Theorists Go To Town

The Malala Backlash: Conspiracy Theorists Go To Town

ROB L. WAGNER: It didn’t take long for the moral relativists and conspiracy theorists to get to work on Malala Yousufzai. Inevitable but depressing.

 Jonathan Cook

Israel Opens New Front To Thwart Palestinian State

Israel Opens New Front To Thwart Palestinian State

JONATHAN COOK: A campaign initiated in 2009 now appears to be gathering strength namely equation of Palestinians with Jews who fled Arab countries.

 Juan Cole

A Brief Middle East History Lesson for Mitt Romney

A Brief Middle East History Lesson for Mitt Romney

JUAN COLE: The Presidential candidate appears to be entirely clueless about the recent history of US involvement in the region. Heres’ some help.