Alexander McNabb

Ratings Agencies: The Emperor Has No Clothes

Ratings Agencies: The Emperor Has No Clothes

ALEXANDER MCNABB: I’m bewildered at the power that three ratings agencies wield in the world today.

 Mondoweiss

Israel’s Push for War with Iran is ‘Relentless’

Israel’s Push for War with Iran is ‘Relentless’

ALEX KANE, MONDOWEISS: The Israelis are doing all in their power to scuttle ‘back channel’ discussions to ease tension between the U.S and Iran.

 Syria News Wire

What Happens When Journalists Want War

What Happens When Journalists Want War

NEWS FROM SYRIA: Christopher Hitchens famously did it with Iraq and now his friend Nick Cohen is doing the same on Syria – advocating for war.

 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.

 Juan Cole

‘All Praise to George W. Bush’: The Top Ten Myths of the Arab Spring

‘All Praise to George W. Bush’: The Top Ten Myths of the Arab Spring

JUAN COLE: So much that is misinformed, over-hyped and simply plain wrong has been written about the Arab Spring. So let’s sort the wheat from the chaff.

 Jonathan Cook

Israel Backs Itself Into Dangerous Cul-De-Sac

Israel Backs Itself Into Dangerous Cul-De-Sac

JONATHAN COOK: 2011 marked the point at which the Palestinians called Israel’s bluff and revealed Oslo to be nothing more than a stalling tactic. What does the upcoming year hold?

 mai abdul rahman

Opinion Shift: Support Weakening for Once Unquestionable Israel Funding

Opinion Shift: Support Weakening for Once Unquestionable Israel Funding

MAI ABDUL RAHMAN: In the past, anyone who dared question military support for Israel would have been taken to task, labeled anti Semitic…

 David Roberts

Iran’s Capture of the U.S. Stealth RQ 170: Let Speculation Begin on the Fallout

Iran’s Capture of the U.S. Stealth RQ 170: Let Speculation Begin on the Fallout

DAVID ROBERTS: Certainly, this is a blow for the U.S. When grainy footage emerges from China of a wing shaped UAV taking off, we’ll know how much so.

 Mondoweiss

Panetta to Israel: “Get To the Damn Table”

Panetta to Israel: “Get To the Damn Table”

PHILIP WEISS, MONDOWEISS: In an exasperated tone the US Defence Secretary laid down the law to the Israeli government, but is anyone listening?

 Ismail Salami

A View From Iran: Syria and the Arab League

A View From Iran: Syria and the Arab League

ISMSAIL SALAMI: It’s time we made a choice. Either remain ignorant, or we need to open our eyes to the reality of things as they actually are.

 Juan Cole

Netanyahu: The ‘Mr Wrong’ of the Middle East

Netanyahu: The ‘Mr Wrong’ of the Middle East

JUAN COLE: If there’s one person you can count on to mis-read virtually every aspect of developments in the Middle East today it’s Binyamin Netanyahu.

 The View From Fez

Quixotic?: Morocco’s Bid for the Olympics

Quixotic?: Morocco’s Bid for the Olympics

IBN WARRAQ, THE VIEW FROM FEZ: As a Moroccan one always approaches articles written about the country with trepidation…

 Juan Cole

Gingrich’s Crusade: It’s not an ‘Arab Spring’, it’s ‘an anti-Christian Spring’

Gingrich’s Crusade: It’s not an ‘Arab Spring’, it’s ‘an anti-Christian Spring’

JUAN COLE: In their quest to find an ABM (‘Anyone But Mitt’), the American Right have hit upon Gingrich. Let’s hear what he has to say about the MidEast.

 James M. Dorsey

Arab Spring First Casualty in New Power Struggle

Arab Spring First Casualty in New Power Struggle

JAMES M. DORSEY: The people power movement has the most to lose and could find itself in the grinder as the United States, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Iran jockey for power.

 Mondoweiss

Some Questions About the ‘Iran Terror Plot’

Some Questions About the ‘Iran Terror Plot’

JASMIN RAMSEY, MONDOWEISS: The mainstream media has worked itself into a collective frenzy about the alleged plot to kill the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the U.S. Questions need to be asked, however.

 James M. Dorsey

Gulf States Seek to Tap Massive Sport Investments

Gulf States Seek to Tap Massive Sport Investments

JAMES M. DORSEY: Spain is rapidly emerging as a model for the offsets Qatar, Dubai and other energy-rich Gulf states hope to reap from their massive investments.

 Jonathan Cook

Netanyahu: ‘Israel is Jewish. Agree Or Else’

Netanyahu: ‘Israel is Jewish. Agree Or Else’

JONATHAN COOK: The demand has risen to the top of the Israeli agenda and if accepted will condemn Palestinians as ‘historic interlopers and trespassers’.

 Shelina Zahra Janmohamed

Dedicated – and Faithful – Followers of Fashion

Dedicated – and Faithful – Followers of Fashion

SHELINA ZAHRA JANMOHAMED: Bloomberg has estimated the global Muslim fashion market could be worth $96bn. For comparisons, the entire UK fashion industry is valued at £21bn.

 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?

 Rob L. Wagner

Saudi Education: The Power Struggle Heats Up

Saudi Education: The Power Struggle Heats Up

ROB L. WAGNER: A new secondary school textbook highlights the struggle between liberals and conservatives within the Saudi Ministry for Education.