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

 Juan Cole

Every Day is ‘Sandy Day’ For Gaza’s Citizens

Every Day is ‘Sandy Day’ For Gaza’s Citizens

JUAN COLE: The evacuation of a hospital in the face of ‘Superstorm Sandy’ drew understandably heartfelt headlines. But this is a daily reality for Gaza hospital patients.

 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.

 James M. Dorsey

The $750,000 Guantanamo ‘Pitch’ to Cooperate

The $750,000 Guantanamo ‘Pitch’ to Cooperate

JAMES M. DORSEY: The $744,000 pitch outside a $39 million penitentiary-style building is intended to reward the most cooperative of the 120,171 inmates.

 Common Ground News Service

Detangling the Holocaust from Politics

Detangling the Holocaust from Politics

MORIEL ROTHMAN, CGNEWS: I found my recent visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial deeply troubling.

 Juan Cole

The Top Five Foreign Policy Changes That Face the United States in 2012

The Top Five Foreign Policy Changes That Face the United States in 2012

JUAN COLE: Many of the dangers to which I pointed in last year’s list still exist, of course, but a whole host of new difficulties has emerged.

 Ramzy Baroud

The American Threat to Syria’s Revolution

The American Threat to Syria’s Revolution

RAMZY BAROUD: The American ambassador to Syria has established an ‘up and at ’em’ reputation. But what is the bigger picture for the United States in Syria at the moment?

 mai abdul rahman

Palestinians Chart Own Path to Self Determination

Palestinians Chart Own Path to Self Determination

MAI ABDUL RAHMAN: The consistent failure of American intervention to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli issue has led Palestinians to take matters into their own hands. This strategy is paying off.

 Steve Royston

Where is the ‘Arab Lobby’ in the United States?

Where is the ‘Arab Lobby’ in the United States?

STEVE ROYSTON: There are many reasons why the ‘Arab Voice’ is so weak in the United States. But that doesn’t give leaders and opinion formers an excuse.

 Mondoweiss

Democracy: U.S. Speaks With a ‘Forked Tongue’

Democracy: U.S. Speaks With a ‘Forked Tongue’

PHILIP WEISS, MONDOWEISS: Fine words in Cairo almost two years ago are forgotten when the Israeli lobby makes a call for a vote on illegal West Bank settlements…

 Mondoweiss

Frustration with U.S on Palestine Catalysing More Direct Measures

Frustration with U.S on Palestine Catalysing More Direct Measures

DAVID SCHWARTZMAN, MAI ABDUL, MONDOWEISS: The Middle East peace process is going nowhere fast and interested parties are giving up on the U.S.

 Jonathan Cook

Publish it Not – Israel and the Sultans of Spin

Publish it Not – Israel and the Sultans of Spin

JONATHAN COOK: Most freelancers forced into this position would either have learned to tailor their reporting to what was expected by the news desks or have headed off to another conflict zone. I stayed…

 Ramzy Baroud

Obama – Surrendering Palestinian Rights

Obama – Surrendering Palestinian Rights

RAMZY BAROUD: It looks like President Obama will finish his term having secured no advance in Arab-Israeli negotiations. The Israelis do the talking, Washington does the listening. And the giving…

 James M. Dorsey

Why the U.S. Should Push for Democracy in Egypt

Why the U.S. Should Push for Democracy in Egypt

JAMES M. DORSEY: Repression of the opposition, intimidation of the media and electoral restrictions may guarantee Mubarak’s win. But for the U.S., the perception it is perpetuating authoritarian rule may outweigh any benefits.