Middle East & North Africa

See All Press
Congress Gets It, Why Can't Europe
June 25, 2010 9 min. read

Lawmakers get that Israel acted in its self defense by boarding the Gaza-bound flotilla of ships. AIPAC and J Street have been battling on whether lawmakers should use the incident to push for an end to the blockade (J Street’s position) or reaffirm the U.S.-Israel strategic alliance and American support for Israel’s security (AIPAC’s stance). […]

Read more
Another Israeli Moment
June 25, 2010 1 min. read

A recent New York Times article on disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff is worth a read, if for nothing else than a good chuckle. The former lobbyist, caught in a corruption scandal, is living in a halfway house and working at a Kosher pizza parlor in Baltimore. But, it appears the NYT reporter has never met […]

Read more
Happy To Be Back
June 24, 2010 1 min. read

Dear FPA Family, I am happy to announce my return to DC. I shall resume my weekly blogs soon. P.S: Thank you Derek Catsam for bringing the World Cup to us.

Read more
So Israeli
June 24, 2010 2 min. read

With all the problems that Israel has, ranging from terrorism to international bias to internal identity crises  you would think Israeli officials would have some sympathy for problems here in the United States. Well, if you thought that, you clearly have never met an Israeli. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak met today with Secretary of […]

Read more
Tensions Rise amid Power Failures
June 23, 2010 2 min. read

An early summer heat-wave has scorched the Gulf with record temperatures and terminal power-outages are leaving few Iraqis with any way to beat the heat, but plenty to complain about.

Read more
The Anti-Semitism Police
June 23, 2010 1 min. read

As has been well documented over the last few years, anti-semitism is on the rise in Europe, often masked as anti-Israel sentiments. However, the anti-semitic mentality also emerges on its own, with Europeans desecrating Jewish graves, spray painting swastikas in Jew-heavy areas, and other acts. Well, not everyone is taking it lying down. The Dutch […]

Read more
Political Deadlock Furthers Instability
June 22, 2010 2 min. read

Three months after international observers hailed Iraq’s parliamentary elections as a resounding success for sovereignty and civil society, the nation’s fragile democracy is suffering a withering swell of political violence.

Read more
Why is the Verdict Still Out?
June 18, 2010 1 min. read

And…. there’s more evidence that violence on the Gaza flotilla raid was premeditated by the activists. The organizer of the flotilla said: “If they board our ship, we will throw them into the sea, Allah willing!” This sentence is strikingly similar to Hamas and Iran’s claims that the Jews will be thrown into the sea, […]

Read more
Turkey Wants To Play Both Sides
June 18, 2010 2 min. read

Friday June 11, 2010 Turkey along with Brazil voted “No” to further sanctions on Iran. This decision illustrated Turkey’s precarious situation in the Middle East. Turkey has applied to join the EU and is now a member of NATO, long hailed to be one of the only Muslim countries with a democracy and a western […]

Read more
Flotilla Dispute Extends into the Israel Lobby
June 17, 2010 2 min. read

The largest pro-Israel lobby in the country, AIPAC, is trying to leverage is Capitol Hill supports to issue a steadfast expression of support for the Jewish state following last month’s highly controversial raid on an aid ship from Turkey. Even though the Israeli public and Israel supporters have come out backing Israel for defending its […]

Read more
Nasrallah to Turkey
June 16, 2010 2 min. read

The Kuwaiti newspaper As-Siyassah is reporting that Hizballah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has been invited to Ankara to meet with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Neither Hizballah nor the Turkish government have confirmed the story, but if it is true, it marks a significant deterioration in Turkey’s relationship with Israel in the wake […]

Read more
Forbes – "A Counterterrorism Ally In North Africa"
June 15, 2010 1 min. read

Present Dangers A Counterterrorism Ally In North Africa  Morocco’s remarkable soft-power strategy By Ilan Berman    Morocco can trace its contemporary approach back to the end of the Cold War. While many in the region saw the Soviet Union’s collapse as a destabilizing development–and consequently tightened domestic control–Morocco’s monarch did the opposite. The previously authoritarian […]

Read more

Popular from Press