President Obama has given formal assurances that U.S. forces in Iraq will drop to 50,000 by the end of the month – a reduction of 94,000 troops since he took office 18 months ago. The remaining troops will form a transitional force until a final U.S. withdrawal from the country by the end of 2011. […]
In an op-ed published this weekend in the New York Times, Middle East scholar Ephraim Karsh touts a recent poll that found that 71 percent of Arabs are disinterested in the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Karsh makes a great point– apathy towards the Palestinians has existed for decades and is only used by Arab leaders to strengthen […]
Israel is fighting wars on many fronts, waging diplomatic and political battles with its friends and enemies alike. This weekend, a series of Iran-made rockets landed in Israel’s foremost resort town, the Red Sea and the nearby Jordanian city of Aqaba. While no Israelis were injured, a Jordanian taxi driver was killed and several others […]
Apparently Saudi King Abdullah shares my wish for peace. The Saudi King has come to Damascus today in an effort to quell growing tensions over news that Hezbollah members could potentially be indicted by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL). King Abdullah will also be moving on to Beirut sometime friday. The trip is significant […]
I’d direct you all to read my fellow FPA blogger and global film critic, Sean Patrick Murphy, as he takes on the Iraqi war flick The Green Zone, based on Ray Chandresekaran’s excellent Imperial Life in the Emerald City. http://globalfilm.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2010/07/27/green-zone-2010/ Have a look before you catch it on the small-screen. Sounds like you might be better off […]
Nearly five months after national elections were held, Iraq is still without a government. Now, they may be without a football team.
When I was a young, bubbly lad my mom used to do something for me on my birthday every year. I was an only child, and she enjoyed indulging me I think. She would give me one wish. Her only rule was that my wish had to reasonable, something within the realm of possibility. Sometimes […]
Increasing ties between Syria and Turkey have been making headlines for sometime now, so that means it’s time to discuss the issue here. The process of rehabilitating relations has been ongoing for over a decade now, and over the past year the pace of rapprochement has quickened significantly. This powerful new friendship is multifaceted, with ties […]
The Muslim brotherhood in Egypt is mobilizing its grassroots campaigners to garner support for the upcoming legislative elections to be held in October. This would be the first election after Mohammed Al Baradei return to Egypt and his calls for political reform. And after President Hosni’s Mubarack clear signs of an ailing health. The Group […]
Yours truly has just returned from a rather exceptional concert here in Damascus. The Gorillaz played the Damascus citadel tonight, adjacent to famous Souk al-Hamediyeh, and put on a GREAT show. The band put on a memorable performance which featured soul legend Bobby Womack, two thirds of the landmark Hip Hop collective De La Soul, […]
In the past week the Syrian Government has banned the Niqab, or full face veil, from school campuses. While no formal announcement has been made, and enforcement has been spotty, word spread through Damascus as university employees wearing the full face veil were transferred out of the classroom. The ban would cover, or uncover in […]
Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah announced in a press conference Thursday that he expects Hizballah members to be charged in the investigation into the 2005 assassination of Rafik Hariri, and that as a result, Lebanon was now entering a “very serious phase”. Depending on who is charged within the group, the indictments could be extremely damaging […]
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