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’.

 M.-Lynx-Qualey

‘If Only’: A Young, Syrian Poet’s Searing Words

‘If Only’: A Young, Syrian Poet’s Searing Words

M. LYNX-QUALEY: A young Syrian poet writes about the horror that she has witnessed in her homeland.

 Mich Cafe

Polio: The Latest Disaster to Befall Assad’s Syria

Polio: The Latest Disaster to Befall Assad’s Syria

MICH CAFE: Prior to the civil war its prevalence in Syria was very low indeed but the conflict has seen a spike in polio in the country

 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 […]

 Naseem Tarawnah

Melancholy Meets Impotence: Being An Arab In the Middle East

Melancholy Meets Impotence: Being An Arab In the Middle East

NASEEM TARAWNAH: It’s curious watching while other countries decide what to do with the place where you live.

 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

 Mondoweiss

The Poison of ‘Exceptionalism’: Putin and Obama Compete

The Poison of ‘Exceptionalism’: Putin and Obama Compete

MONDOWEISS: It’s come to something when Barack Obama has to take a lecture on the evils of ‘exceptionalism’ from, of all people, Vladimir Putin

 Juan Cole

“Thank You, Vladimir.” What Obama Should Say to Putin

“Thank You, Vladimir.” What Obama Should Say to Putin

JUAN COLE: By taking the words of John Kerry and quickly formulating a new policy on Syria Putin has saved Obama from a major political embarrassment

 Mondoweiss

Strike on Syria: The Lobby’s In Overdrive

Strike on Syria: The Lobby’s In Overdrive

MONDOWEISS: As the vote in Congress nears there is one group of ‘cheerleaders for war’ who are working particularly hard.

 Mondoweiss

So What Exactly Does Barack Obama Stand For?

So What Exactly Does Barack Obama Stand For?

MONDOWEISS: Is he about extracting the U.S from costly and involved foreign conflict or in favour of same? Maybe he’s the Drone Strike President?

 Crossroads Arabia

‘Stop Dithering’. Saudi’s Message to Obama on Syria

‘Stop Dithering’. Saudi’s Message to Obama on Syria

CROSSROADS ARABIA: It’s clear that impatience with Barack Obama’s position on Syria is growing within the Kingdom. So what next?

 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.

 Mich Cafe

This Ramadan ‘A Miserable, Painful Time’ For Syrian Families

This Ramadan ‘A Miserable, Painful Time’ For Syrian Families

MICH CAFE: This is the third Ramadan where conflict has wracked Syria and it’s the toughest one yet for many families there

 Tabsir

‘The Blood’ and ‘The Bang-Bang’: A Freelancer in Syria

‘The Blood’ and ‘The Bang-Bang’: A Freelancer in Syria

FRANCESCA BORRI, TABSIR: The demands of the editors are depressingly obvious and there is little interest in explaining context.

 Tabsir

Democracy and Revolutions: Drawing a Line Is Not Easy

Democracy and Revolutions: Drawing a Line Is Not Easy

HANI SHURKALLAH, TABSIR: How could the people of Egypt support the parody of democracy that the Muslim Brotherhood had established?

 Ramzy Baroud

Scratch, Scratch: The Western Itch To Intervene Is Insatiable

Scratch, Scratch: The Western Itch To Intervene Is Insatiable

RAMZY BAROUD: You can be sure that whatever turmoil is happening in the Middle East the hands of the West will be present

 Tabsir

Satire in the Arab World: Getting to the Crux of Issues

Satire in the Arab World: Getting to the Crux of Issues

TABSIR: Jon Stewart’s recent appearance on Bassem Youssef’s Egyptian show underscores the power that satirists have to unsettle holders of power

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