Way back in February I expanded on a report in the Christian Science Monitor that suggested al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) had set up shop against the Assad regime, in Syria. Writing both here and for The American Spectator, I joined the chorus of analysts, academics and pundits who urged caution against arming Syrian rebels – precisely because it’s unthinkable to equip battle-hardened […]
The United Nations has a long history of, what some have called, anti-Israel bias. Many factors contributed to that, including several lop-sided human rights conferences that disproportionately condemned Israel and a high profile report on Israel’s operations against Hamas in the winter of 2008-2009. That report was subsequently delegitimized after its chief author, Richard Goldstone, admitted that […]
Farnaz Fassihi is the Senior Middle East Correspondent for the The Wall Street Journal . Through her first account coverage of the region, her ability to look at events with an astutuly critical look, Farnaz has proved to be one of the leading authorities in Middle East politics. A graduate of English Literature from Tehran University and a […]
Golnaz Esfandiari is a Senior Correspondent at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty‘s (RFE/RL) Central Newsroom. She is the editor of the Persian Letters blog. Golnaz has served previously as Chief Editor of RFE’s Persian-language service: Radio Farda. She also presides over the newsroom’s Asia Desk. Born in Tehran, Golnaz has traveled to Afghanistan several times to cover the country’s first parliamentary […]
The past weeks in Iraq have been marked by an alarming uptick in violence. A recent CNN tally suggested at least 180 people were killed during the month of June – most of them victims of frequent bombings and small arms attacks. Umpteen explosions in Baghdad, and high-profile assaults against Shi’a pilgrims occupied the […]
Understanding Israel is a video-interview series created by Rob Lattin for the Foreign Policy Blogs. By speaking to the people on the inside and on the ground, each episode seeks to intimately expose viewers to the important and controversial topics affecting Israel today. Evangelical Christians make up one of America’s largest sects of Israel […]
After years of relative quiet, 2011 was one of the bloodiest in the recent history of the Turkey-Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) conflict. Last week, eight Turkish soldiers and 10 PKK militants were killed following a cross-border attack by the PKK on an outpost in the eastern province of Hakkari. The recent clashes came at a time of growing national and […]
Her name is Neda Semnani. She writes for Roll Call‘s Heard on the Hill (HOH), one of the venerable and decades-old institutions in Washington. With 1300 followers on Twitter, she tweets on the latest on Capitol Hill in 140 characters or less. A product of the Iranian revolution by birth (1979) and London School of Economics […]
Last week, a photo was published that showed two male Israeli soldiers, in uniform, holding hands. The picture was taken from behind, thus the viewer only sees their backs. But the two look very comfortable together. It quickly came out that the photo was staged. One of the men was gay, the other was […]
Israel is one of the world’s science powerhouses. With ten Nobel Prize winners, more than 4,000 technology startups, and high-tech companies reportedly comprising 45% of Israel’s exports, Israel is undoubtedly a technology hub. Despite statistical data identifying the country’s technological superiority, Israel is faced with the threat of its scientists and startup mavens seeking educational […]
Born in the U.S. to Iranian parents and based in Washington D.C., Elahe Izadi is an emerging figure on the American journalism scene, whose work and firm belief in diversity have won her wide recognition in the industry. She has covered such issues as demographics, immigration, government, crime, and development. Until recently at DCentric, where she covered race and […]
Early Wednesday morning, nearly seventy people were killed and more than 100 wounded in a flurry of road-side bombings targeted against Shi’a pilgrims. A redoubtable Sunni insurgency launched the coordinated wave of attacks as tens of thousands of their countrymen participated in a religious festival marking the anniversary of the death of the eighth century […]
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