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Middle East The Hariri Investigation and the Politics of Perception
Gary C. Gambill - 8/27/2008
When the UN launched its investigation into the February 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, many in Lebanon and abroad were convinced that the perpetrators of this crime would eventually be brought to justice. Syria's control over security in Lebanon was so pervasive that an operation of this caliber and complexity would have been nearly impossible to pull off without some degree of involvement by some node of its intelligence services. After the withdrawal of Syrian forces the following April and the election of a new Lebanese gove... Outreach to Islamic Supremacist Groups
Jeffrey Imm - 8/27/2008
One of the most critical aspects of a strategic battle against the ideology behind Jihad, Islamic supremacism, is an honest definition of the term "civil rights and civil liberties." "Civil rights" are based on the American value of equality — that all men and women are created equal — a value that Islamic supremacism as an ideology does not embrace. So when federal government agencies claim to be making outreach efforts to organizations that espouse and/or support Islamic supremacist viewpoints, such outreach efforts are actually contrary to America values of "civil rights," not promoting "civil rights." Assad's Shopping List
Jonathan Spyer, Ph.D. - 8/27/2008
President Bashar Assad of Syria began a trip to Russia this week. Russian news agency RIA Novosti has quoted the Syrian Information Ministry as confirming that the trip will last two days. The destruction of another Sunni mosque in Iran and its consequences
Reza Hossein Borr - 8/27/2008
The security forces of Iran attacked a mosque and a religious school at three o'clock in the morning today, 27 August 2008, arrested the students and staff and destroyed the mosque and the religious school in the North East of Baluchistan, Iran. The security forces used several bulldozers and tractors to completely destroy the building of Imam Abu Hanifa Mosque in Azimabad, a suburb of the city of Zabol. Nobody knows what has happened to the students, teachers and staff of the school and the mosque. The people who witnessed this morning operations observed that the students and teachers wer... The Educated Dictators of Iran
Prof. Kazem Kazerounian - 8/26/2008
The fiasco of the clumsily forged Oxford doctoral diploma of the Iranian interior minister is comically tragic. Unfortunately for the interior Minister Ali Kordan, he will not be able to join the elite group of Dr. Ahmadinejad, Dr. Larijani, Dr. Khatami, Dr. Maleki, Dr. Rezaii, Dr. Motaki, Dr. Jajili and a thousand other officials with a PhD degree any time soon. However this debacle raises the question, why Tehran’s rulers feel the need to carry the title of “Doctor” to govern? Arab intransigence wil lead to a Jewish one-state solution
Ted Belman - 8/26/2008
Ahmad Qureia recently warned, “The Palestinian leadership has been working on establishing a Palestinian state within the ‘67 borders,” Dilemma of the Lebanese detainees in Syrian jails
Elias Bejjani - 8/26/2008
Like parrots, the Syrian Baathist regime's officials keep rhetorically insisting that there are no arbitrarily Lebanese detainees incarcerated in their notorious and Nazi like jails. Logically and legally these false allegations and big lies cannot be acceptable unless a United Nations team is formed to investigate the whole matter without any kind of involvement or pressure from both the Lebanese and Syrian authorities. Iranians rally outside Red Cross demanding protection of PMOI's rights in Ashraf city in Iraq
Nasser Razy - 8/26/2008
Hundreds of Iranians gathered outside the UK office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) urging the world humanitarian body to take action to ensure that Coalition forces continue to protect the members of Iran's main opposition force, the People's Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI), in Camp Ashraf in Iraq's Diyala Province. A Turkish Martin Luther?!
Elie Elhadj, Ph.D. - 8/26/2008
The BBC reported on February 26, 2008 that Turkey's Department of Religious Affairs has commissioned a team of theologians at Ankara University's School of Theology to carry out a fundamental revision of the Hadith, the sayings of the Prophet. An adviser to the project says some of the sayings can be shown to have been invented hundreds of years after the Prophet Muhammad died, to serve the purposes of contemporary society (BBC, February 26, 2008, The Bid For Dubai's Cyber-Rights
Naseem Javed - 8/26/2008
Under the latest ICANN's policy who would like to bid the highest amount for the exclusive global rights to the new domain suffix .dubai? Such a suffix will create a powerful domain root that will corner some 180 services underneath it, like go.dubai, hotel.dubai, job.dubai, cars.dubai or fly.dubai. Who would be the next global cyber-branding leader of this new millennium? Are auctions the right methods to sell such mega marketing channels? ICANN the Internet Authority is looking into auctioning off such popular name identities. A billion dollars going once? Billion dollars going twice…sold to the person from Russia with the diamond-studded cell phone. Iranian Mullahs’ Blame Game
Amil Imani - 8/18/2008
It is a fundamental human trait to locate the source of anything bad happening and try to neutralize it. There are, however, times that the source of the harm cannot be pinpointed or when successfully recognized it cannot be eliminated. Failure to recognize the source or neutralize it is frustrating. And frustration triggers a variety of emotions and reactions. The feeling of victimization is one possible reaction that frequently goes hand-in-hand with displaced aggression on a convenient safe target. The aggression can be verbal, physical, or a combination of the two. Labor in Kuwait
G.M. Solaiman - 8/18/2008
Last week in a rare development in Middle East, thousands of Bangladeshi workers went to strike protesting poor living conditions, serious abuse and human rights violation. I hope you were not surprised with the aftermath of this. Instead of addressing the human rights abuse issue that has been happening for Michel Aoun Falsifies History… again
Elias Bejjani - 8/15/2008
During his speech to the Lebanese parliament, which is meeting to discuss the new cabinet program and decide on granting confidence, Michel Aoun, a Hezbollah stooge and leader of the FPM parliamentary block, declared that the Palestinian tragedy is the fault of the United Nations among others. He stated: “It was a decision by the United Nations to create the state of Israel at the expense of the Palestinian people, and as a consequence to this decision, the Palestinians were forced into exile” (speech transcript on the Lebanese Canadian Coordination Council). Execution and mass arrest in Baluchistan
Reza Hossein Borr - 8/15/2008
Yaqoub Mehrnehad, the Baloch peaceful political activist, journalist and writer was executed today, the fourth of August 2008 along with another young Baluch human rights activist, Abdolreza Taheri Sadr. He was sentenced to death some time ago. When his family was allowed to meet after that he said that he was quite innocent and had no contact with any armed group. He said that he campaigned for equality and Justice and if death is the price for equality and Justice he would accept it with all his heart as accepting tyranny is giving the tyrants the opportunity to terrorise the innocent people. We'll take the dowry - you keep the bride
Jonathan Spyer, Ph.D. - 8/15/2008
A fourth round of indirect talks between Syrian and Israeli representatives was concluded in Istanbul this week and as the Turkish mediators kept themselves in shape conveying messages between the hotel rooms of the two countries' delegations, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was keen to stress the urgency of the hour. Livni’s fiasco
Ted Belman - 8/15/2008
Jpost has an editorial Lebanon tipping-point? in which it reviews the deteriating situation in Lebanon. I thought I would review how Livni sold Res 1701 to Israelis just as Olmert “sold” Israelis that the Lebanon War II was a success. The Best Defense Strategy for Lebanon is a Peace Treaty with Israel
Charles Jalkh - 8/13/2008
Hezbollah’s propaganda has been focusing the Lebanese people into a single argument of how can we defend Lebanon from “Israeli aggressions and designs” over Lebanese territory and resources. Lets us analyze Hezbollah’s premise in its 2 parts; the ”assumption” of Israeli aggression, and then the “designs/wants” of Lebanese territory and resources. Arab intransigence wil lead to a Jewish one-state solution
Ted Belman - 8/13/2008
Ahmed Qurei recently warned, “The Palestinian leadership has been working on establishing a Palestinian state within the ‘67 borders. If Israel continues to oppose making this a reality, then the Palestinian demand for the Palestinian people and its leadership one state, a binational state." AP Falsely Reports Israel Building New Settlement
Prof. Barry Rubin - 8/13/2008
The AP falsely reported that Israel is building a new settlement on the West Bank and linked this to a wrong-headed spin on an important national leader visiting Israel. Annihilatory Politics: How to Get the World To Hate Israel
Dr. Richard L. Cravatts, Ph.D. - 8/11/2008
As part of evaluating the competitive landscape of the popularity of nations, in a process referred to in marketing circles as ‘place branding,’ Israel, to no one’s great surprise, comes up short in brand likeability, ranking last out of 35 nations included in an August 2006 survey conducted by nation branding expert Simon Anholt, even less attractive to respondents than Indonesia, Estonia, and Turkey. Analysis: A Success for Hizbullah - and its Price
Jonathan Spyer, Ph.D. - 8/11/2008
The release of Samir Kuntar and his four colleagues, and the national jubilation that greeted their return to Lebanon, bring to a close a week of achievement for the regional bloc of which Hizbullah is a member. The events of the week, however, do not resolve any of the issues of which they form a part. Rather, they plant the seeds of further confrontation. Islamobil: Mosque on Wheels
Amil Imani - 8/11/2008
In one of my articles, Terrorists’ Bill of Rights, I described how America will be taken over by the Muslims. I warned that Muslims do it first by establishing Mosques in every town and city. These mosques range from the ostentatious, such as the one in Washington D.C., to the academically-cloaked university Islamic centers, to the innocuous storefront types and even prison chapels. One and all have the same aims: Hold the faithful in line, recruit as many new adherents by any and all means, and indoctrinate one and all in the imperative of Islamic conquest. Subtly and determinedly, Syria is taking over Lebanon
Jonathan Spyer, Ph.D. - 8/8/2008
Lebanese President Michel Suleiman is to visit Syria next week, to discuss the opening of diplomatic relations between the countries, a Lebanese official told reporters this week. French President Nicolas Sarkozy last month hailed President Bashar Assad's expression of willingness in principle to establish diplomatic relations with Lebanon as "historic progress." Fifty First Negotiations
Prof. Barry Rubin - 8/8/2008
For those who don't know, "Fifty First Dates" is a comedy film undistinguished except by its brilliant premise. It describes the dilemma of a man in love with a woman who has short-term memory loss. Each day she forgets she has ever met him and he must start the relationship all over again from the beginning. No matter how kind, funny, or romantic he is it doesn't really matter. Like Sisyphus in the legend, he has to roll the boulder up the mountain from the bottom and never--at least until the Hollywood-style happy ending--gets to the top. Big battle looming between Obama and Netanyahu, if both elected
Ted Belman - 8/4/2008
Let’s face it, there is going to be a Declaration of Principles agreed to, if not this year, early next year. The execution of two security men is not justified
Reza Hossein Borr - 8/4/2008
I have been informed that Al Arabia television has broadcast a video film of Peoples Resistance Movement of Iran, Jondollah, about the execution of two members of the revolutionary guards of Iran. I have been informed that the film shows quite clearly how two members of security guards have been executed. If this is the case, as a journalist and a human rights activist, I strongly express my protest about the execution of these officers and showing of the video of their execution. This act of violence is not justified by any means and is not acceptable by anybody who is campaigning for observation of human rights. Lebanon's Battle
Elie Elhadj, Ph.D. - 8/3/2008
The battle for Lebanon is a battle between a relatively rich minority among Lebanon’s four million people and a poor majority. The minority controls the political and economic fortunes of the country. The majority refuses to be dominated. The divide is political and economic, not religious or sectarian; though, Lebanon is home to 18 different religious sects, all recognized in the Lebanese constitution. Appeasement Business as Usual
Prof. Kazem Kazerounian - 8/3/2008
White House has announced that the Undersecretary of State William Burns will attend talks between the EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Iran’s negotiator Saeed Jalili. While Iran’s lobbyists in Washington are celebrating, many political observers are puzzled by the unexpected change of hearts of the Bush administration that had maintained that no talks would be held until Iran halted its uranium enrichment. A few hours after the US announcement, the Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei reiterated that Iran will not pass its read line (namely halting uranium enrichment), but ne... Acceptable defined goals and unacceptable hidden agendas
Reza Hossein Borr - 8/3/2008
The heaviness of the burden of Kurdish massacres in the last several decades has inflicted heavy pains on the conscience of many people in the world and specifically the Western intellectuals and leaders. The sufferings of the Kurds have caused enormous debate in the governments, think tanks, universities and media. Millions of people shared their sufferings but few people took their cause seriously. Prophets and Losses
Prof. Barry Rubin - 8/3/2008
Strike One. September 6, 2007. Israel bombs and destroys Syrian nuclear facility. Syria is powerless to retaliate. Self-Radicalization
Jonathan Spyer, Ph.D. - 8/3/2008
Over the last two months, Israeli security forces have arrested six young Arab men suspected of seeking to form an extreme Islamist cell for the purpose of carrying out high-profile terror attacks in the capital. Two of the six held Israeli citizenship, while the other four were residents of east Jerusalem. It appears that they were radicalized through involvement in an Islamic study circle and via the Internet. Two Arab Israeli citizens from the town of Rahat were arrested in recent weeks on similar suspicions. A Night on the Town in Jerusalem
Ted Belman - 8/3/2008
My “night on the town” started by attending a talk at 4:30 PM by Shuki Yashuv who was a master cabinetmaker and history graduate, before leaving Jerusalem with his wife and 2 daughters for Moshuv Agur in 1999 to set up his winery. Who Goes There? Friend or Foe?
Prof. Barry Rubin - 8/3/2008
Here's the most important thing I can tell you about the Middle East. Samir Kuntar is a Convicted Murderer and Not a Hero
Elias Bejjani - 7/29/2008
It is really sad, shocking and shameful when a convicted murderer is decorated as a hero. Shame on Lebanon's leaders, parties, dignitaries, politicians and officials who boldly and evilly distanced themselves from the hopes, aspirations, education, and culture of their own people and welcomed Samir Kuntar as a hero. By doing so they have alienated themselves from the majority of the Lebanese people and negated the deeply Lebanese rooted standards and criteria for what is wrong and what is right, and for what is good and what is evil. Iranian version of Shiism portrayed Ali as the Creator of Universe
Reza Hossein Borr - 7/29/2008
Two separate videos that were recently published showed how the Iranian version of Shiism has been diverted from the Islamic principles. One of them depicted Ali, the fourth Caliph, as the creator of the universe and skies and the giver of food to humanity. The second video portrayed Fatema, the daughter of the prophet, as Al Rahman wa Al Rahim, (2 names of God) and the owner of Day of Judgement. The Iran-Syria Alliance: The Economic Dimension
Nimrod Raphaeli and Bianca Gersten - 7/29/2008
An examination of Syrian-Iranian economic relations reveals that, beyond their propaganda value, these relations are of small benefit to Syria and of negligible benefit to Iran. The alliance between the two countries is driven first and foremost by political and strategic interests rather than by economic considerations. As neither Iran nor Syria is considered a reliable source of data, it is difficult to draw a clear picture on the nature and depth of these economic relations. Often distorted anecdotal figures create a misleading reality in order to serve political objectives. At times it see... Saudi Arabia's Agricultural Project: From Dust to Dust
Elie Elhadj, Ph.D. - 7/29/2008
Arid conditions have always prevented the development of any sizeable settled agricultural communities in the Arabian Desert. This article examines the events that led to and the lessons that may be drawn from a failed, politically determined economic and ecological policy created by poorly informed elite enjoying rentier economic circumstances. Beginning in the early 1980s, however, Saudi Arabia spent enormous amounts of money and exhausted massive volumes of water from mainly nonrenewable aquifers in an ostensible effort to achieve food self-sufficiency. On January 8, 2008, the Saudi governm... Lebanon Needs A Peace Treaty With Israel
Elias Bejjani - 7/28/2008
On Wednesday July 9th of this year, national news agencies reported that the Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Saniora had refused without any declared justifications, an Italian peace initiative presented to him by Italy’s Ambassador to Lebanon, Mr. Gabriel Kekya. News reports stated that the Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, who was on an official visit to Israel, had asked his country’s ambassador in Beirut to inform Mr. Saniora that he is willing to seriously mediate peace talks between Lebanon and Israel. Islamic Terror Breeds in Iran
Amil Imani - 7/28/2008
The Islamic Republic terror machine once again has taken off at the speed of light in Iran and exemplifies a depraved, clerical system of government, which legitimizes its depravity through terror, fear and intimidation of Iranian people. With the additional handpicking of the newly selected members of the Islamic "Majles," the clergy have intensified their terror against the people of Iran and their insatiable appetite for another holocaust against the Jewish State, at all cost. The leaders of the Islamic Republic have gone completely mad. Israelis and Fellow Travelers
Ted Belman - 7/28/2008
About thirty years ago, my how time flies, I was listening to a lecture by an Israeli law professor who had represented Israel in negotiations with the Syrians after the ’73 war. To illustrate the difference in style between negotiators, he informed that when a customer walks into an Arab store, the Arab asks him how he is, to please sit down, can I get you a glass of water, where are you from etc., etc. When the same customer walks into an Israeli store, the Israeli says “Hello, what do you want?.. The Israelis are anxious to get down to business whereas the Arabs have all the time in the world. Current day Israeli negotiators should take a lesson from this. The Baloch Movement is not supported by the US
Reza Hossein Borr - 7/17/2008
Dozens of different authors, Think tanks and web sites have claimed that the Baluch struggle for establishing democracy in Iran is somehow financed or supported by the United States of America, Western Europe or Arab countries. These claims are totally false and fabricated. These are either claims by the Islamic Republic of Iran or its lobbyists. Some uninformed journalists and boasting intelligence officers are involved too. The claims that they make are the copies of the false accusations of Islamic Republic of Iran that have been attributed to independent and popular Baluch resistance against the regime. Lebanon Needs A Peace Treaty With Israel
Elias Bejjani - 7/17/2008
On Wednesday July 9th of this year, national news agencies reported that the Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Saniora had refused without any declared justifications, an Italian peace initiative presented to him by Italy’s Ambassador to Lebanon, Mr. Gabriel Kekya. News reports stated that the Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, who was on an official visit to Israel, had asked his country’s ambassador in Beirut to inform Mr. Saniora that he is willing to seriously mediate peace talks between Lebanon and Israel. An Alternative to War or Surrender With Iran
Prof. Barry Rubin - 7/17/2008
Here's what Israel thinks: Since Iran's regime is thoroughly radical and deeply committed to its destruction, Israel can't accept Tehran having nuclear weapons. Unless sanctions and pressures can stop this program Israel must attack in order to defend itself. Collision Course
Jonathan Spyer, Ph.D. - 7/17/2008
Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak this week called the Iranian nuclear issue "a challenge not just for Israel but for the entire world." He added that "Israel is the strongest country in the region and we have proven in the past that we are not deterred from acting when our vital interests are at stake." What Drives Me Crazy
Ted Belman - 7/17/2008
When I attended High School in Galt, Ontario, a city of 14,000, in the early fifties I was as normal as any other kid except that I happened to be Jewish and proud of it. That singular fact of being a Jew permeated my entire life. My visit to Kibbutz Ein Harod
Ted Belman - 7/17/2008
Mike Packard, a longtime friend of Israpundit, invited me to spend Shabbat with him and his family in Kibbutz Ein Harod. I gratefully accepted. So on Friday I hopped on a bus in Jerusalem headed for Beit Shean. Homecoming for a Child-killer
Jonathan Spyer, Ph.D. - 7/17/2008
The deal for the return of convicted terrorist Samir Kuntar, four Hizbullah men captured in the 2006 Second Lebanon War and a number of corpses in return for the remains of kidnapped IDF soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser comes at an opportune moment for the Hizbullah leadership. They Hanged Her for Teaching Love
Amil Imani - 7/17/2008
She is called the Angel of Iran, because she lived her short life angelically. The demonic Islamist Mullahs, true to their nature, couldn’t bear an angel in their midst. On June 18, 1983, they hanged the young woman, barely past childhood, for refusing to renounce her belief: the belief in love, justice, and equality for all children of God. Trade or No Trade
Prof. Barry Rubin - 7/17/2008
The Israeli prisoner exchange with Hizballah is a psychological victory for both sides. Nevertheless, I don't like the decision, I understand both ends of the debate over it, and my job is to analyze them. So rather than make some simple conclusion, I want to think out loud with you about all the factors involved. Irreconcilable Enemy? Examining Hamas and Hezbollah
Nicholas M. Guariglia - 7/17/2008
It isn’t smart to walk alone late at night on the outskirts of Newark, New Jersey. I discovered this for myself last October, when I was returning home from a friend’s house. Just one hundred yards from my apartment, and ironically just two hundred yards from a police station, a man jumped out of some dark bushes near the side of the road and attacked me. Gullibility & Guile: the Ben-Ami – Parsi "Peace with Iran" Plan
Prof. Daniel M. Zucker - 7/17/2008
Humans have a strong desire to solve problems, especially when it is believed that the efforts will solve major international conflicts and bring regional—or possibly even world—peace. This characteristic within the human psyche may prove to be very beneficial for the long-term survival of this planet in an age of nuclear proliferation. But it is essential for any "problem solver" to know well his/her partners in a potential peace pact. The recent article[1] by Dr. Shlomo Ben-Ami—formerly Israel´s Minister of Foreign Affairs in the government of Ehud Barak and currently vice-president of the T... Lebanon's Militia Wars
Tony Badran - 7/17/2008
Lebanon's civil war was a complex, multisided battle whose implications still shape the country's politics today. This article analyzes the forces involved domestically and the course of the war, drawing lessons that apply to the contemporary situation in Lebanon. Radio Farda and Iranian opposition’s rally in Paris
Pooya Javid - 7/16/2008
On the morning of June 28, 2008, this news article appeared on Radio Farda’s Persian-language web page: “Polish Students in the rally of People’s Mojahedin Organization”. The Cyber Highway To Dubai
Naseem Javed - 7/16/2008
Right now, the global business community at large is very curious to discover the charm of Dubai, and what it is about its business community that works so well. The outside world wants to know who these people are, how they run their projects, and what they do exactly that is so grand and magical. The Security Council has no jurisdiction over settlement construction
Ted Belman - 7/16/2008
Saudi Arabia is making moves to put a resolution before the Security Council dealing with Israeli settlement construction. So far the exact resolution hasn’t been formulated let alone tabled but is expected to demand a cessation of building additional housing units. Arab Offense, Israeli Defense
Ted Belman - 7/16/2008
Arab's play offense while Israelis play defense. Nowhere is this more evident than in the field of propaganda. The Persian Empire in the Middle East is consolidated
Reza Hossein Borr - 7/11/2008
The shift of power to Hezbollah in Lebanon consolidated the Persian Empire in the Middle East. The Iranians always craved to reinstate their Empire after it was destroyed by the Arabs. Now by plotting, clandestine agreements, smart political manoeuvring and military strategies, the Persians have been able to reintroduce their Empire again in the Middle East. First it was Iraq which was the major barrier towards the advancement of Persians in the Middle East. The United States of America removed that formidable barrier for them and paved their way for further march in the heart of Arabs lands. MeK Deserves To Be Legalized
Ana K. Sami - 7/7/2008
This text is being written in response to the article written by Ahmad Baaran on June 1, 2008 entitled "Errors in UK Court Decision on MEK". Baaran heavily criticizes the "lack of sophistication" within the UK legal system in regards to a recent decision by their Court of Appeals to remove the PMOI (People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran) from their list of terrorist organizations. The author provides a grossly inaccurate and distorted view of the PMOI's positions and core ideology, in addition to a skewed definition and use of the word "terrorism." Iran's discredited Press TV Celebrates Anniversary of Propaganda
Paul Martin - 7/7/2008
According to reports, Iran 's state-run media known as "PressTV" is celebrating its anniversary. Though most people around the world find the media almost synonymous with propaganda, the Iran government continues to pay more than 27 million dollars to run it. Iran's 2008 Parliamentary Elections: A Triumph Of The System
Raz Zimmt, Ph.D. candidate - 7/7/2008
Over 24 million voters participated in the elections for the eighth Iranian parliament (Majlis), on March 14, 2008. Since the Islamic Revolution (1979), the Majlis has been one of the major pillars in Iranian politics. Under Iran's system of clerical rule, ultimate power lies not with the Majlis or even the president, but with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamene’i. The leadership qualities of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Reza Hossein Borr - 7/7/2008
The Islamic Republic of Iran has been rated as one of the most incompetent and most inefficient countries in the world. It had scored between 10 to 30 points from 100 in areas of accountability, corruption, political instability, quality of performance and government effectiveness. It has possibly wasted more human and financial resources than any other country in the last 29 years. Its performance has declined gradually and steadily and corruption and violence have increased dramatically over the last ten years. Hezbollah is Iran's Army In Lebanon
Elias Bejjani - 7/7/2008
Unfortunately, Lebanon is facing at the present time a crucial and fatal threat to the core and essence of its existence, its soul of coexistence and freedom. The free world is apparently turning a blind eye to the threat to Lebanon, the land of the historic cedars, the home of the great Phoenicians, and the unique mosaic and multi-cultural country of the Middle East. This tragedy has been unfolding without a decisive deterrent stance from the free world. Iraq's Future: The War and Beyond
Panel Discussion - 7/7/2008
On March 27, 2008, the U.S. Department of State's International Information Programs in Washington D.C., the Public Affairs Office at the U.S. Embassy in Israel, and the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center jointly held an international videoconference seminar focusing on Iraq. Brief biographies of the participants can be found at the end of the article. This seminar is part of the GLORIA Center's Experts Forum series. Tehran Tries to Throttle MEK Opposition Through Iraqi Allies
Prof. Daniel M. Zucker - 7/7/2008
On Saturday, June 14, 2008, the Solidarity Congress of the Iraqi Peoples[1] held its fourth annual meeting[2] at Camp Asraf in Diyala Province where it was hosted by the Iranian opposition group, the Mojahedin-e Khalq [MEK] (aka People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran/PMOI). At the meeting, a petition was presented with the signatures of over 3 million Iraqi Shiites calling for the expulsion of the Iranian regime and its agents from the territory of Iraq, as well as the removal of restrictions from the PMOI in Iraq. The petition stated the following: Ceasefire At Any Cost
Ted Belman - 7/7/2008
As I write, the “ceasefire”, lull” or whatever has been in place for an hour, but what are its terms? Nobody is saying at least not exactly. All responsible ministers are not to be seen and they are hiding behind the back of Maj Gen (ret’d), Amos Gilad who negotiated the deal under their orders. Mr. Obama: Don't Betray My People
Amil Imani - 7/7/2008
It looks like Mr. Obama may well be the next resident of the White House. It also looks like my people are going to be betrayed once again by a badly misguided American president. Jimmy Carter helped give birth to the virulent Shiite Islamism by forbidding the Shah of Iran to crush the bloodthirsty Ayatollah Khomeini and his band of rabid Islamists. Now, Mr. Obama intends to confer legitimacy on the illegitimate child, the Islamic Republic of Iran. Turkey and NATO: A winning combination in post-war Iraq
Leman Canturk - 7/6/2008
After 2 decades of fighting with the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party), 35 000 casualties, and the capture of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party leader Abdullah Ocalan in 1999, many Turks thought the PKK era would come to an end. Yet in 2004, against the backdrop of a new balance of power brought forward with the US invasion of Iraq, the PKK ended a 5 year ceasefire and began attacking Turkish soil from Northern Iraqi territory. Now the public is mounting pressure on Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government to do something to solve the PKK problem. Fighting To Win
Ted Belman - 7/3/2008
The other day, I met with MK Arieh Eldad to learn from his perspective what was going on, how the forces are lining up for the upcoming elections and how we can keep Judea and Samaria. They're Dictators and Terrorists But What Clean Streets!
Prof. Barry Rubin - 7/3/2008
Tamas celebrated its first anniversary of power in the Gaza Strip amidst massive misinterpretations regarding the situation there. Petulance and Pandemonium in Petra
David Singer - 7/3/2008
Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa must have had a brain explosion during a lunch time speech delivered by Israel's President Shimon Peres to Nobel Laureates attending a conference in Petra to discuss the global food crisis. The Idiocy of the Iraq War
Kyle Bristow - 7/3/2008
As of June 16, 2008, 4,101 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq since the war began on March 19, 2003, and at least 30,000 have been wounded—arguably for a cause that was not, is not, and will not ever be in America’s interest to have undertaken. Hizbullah Won't Stop at Shaba
Jonathan Spyer, Ph.D. - 7/2/2008
Israel's announcement of a willingness for peace talks with Lebanon is one of the early fruits of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's recent visit to the region and her unexpected visit to Lebanon. French President Nicolas Sarkozy's recent visit to Lebanon and upcoming visit to Israel is also crucial here. Livni is not the answer
Ted Belman - 7/2/2008
The Jerusalem Report has a major article, The Livni Beat, which attempts to explain Livni’s politics. In Livni’s view, the occupation of Palestinian territory must be wound up for two reasons: Iran's Future: Interview with Student Leader Amir Fakhravar
Dan Rabkin - 7/2/2008
Amir A. Fakhravar, an Iranian pro-democracy and student leader, joins me for an interview. He is the founder of the Iranian Freedom Movement, chairman of the Independent Student Movement, founder of the Confederation of Iranian Students, and president of the Iranian Enterprise Institute. Mr. Fakhravar is also an award winning author and journalist. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards have a shoot-on-sight order out against him. His website is located at www.fakhravar.com. Does Lebanon's House Speaker Head a Jihadist Militia?
Elias Bejjani - 7/1/2008
It was announced in Beirut on Monday June 30/08 that Lebanon's House Speaker, Mr. Nabih Berri will be paying Canada an official visit within the coming few days to participate in the Canadian French Quebec's province 400 years founding anniversary celebrations, and also to take part in the 34 Francophone Parliamentary General Assembly meetings IRI Mind Games with the Iranian Opposition
Ghazal Omid - 6/27/2008
For the past thirty years, the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) has cleverly come up with a series of layers of fake opposition created to ensure that when Iranians look for regime opposition, they will find a fake, designed to distract, right in front of their eyes. The fake opposition is well educated and equipped with money and knowledge of how to deal with American politicians. There are so skillful that even the most veteran Iranian journalists, researchers and former politicians have a hard time distinguishing between the real and the fake. Book Review of: 'The Politics of Chaos in the Middle East'
Susan Froetschel - 6/27/2008
A book's small size can be deceptive. In selecting "The Politics of Chaos in the Middle East," a reader must be prepared to release old assumptions and sort through a multitude of paradoxes and a maze of global connections, some more readily apparent than others. Saudi Oil Price Summit
Abdul Ruff - 6/27/2008
Pressured primarily by the USA and European states and with a view to trying to calm the volatile market, Saudi Arabia , the world's biggest oil producer, hosted an emergency oil meeting of oil producing and consuming nations, known as the OPEC, in Jeddah on June 22 to discuss soaring oil prices. Amid concerns that recent record oil prices are helping tip the US and other major economies towards recession, energy ministers from more than 30 countries, as well as senior executives from the world's largest oil companies, attended the conference in the city of Jeddah. The meeting took place amid ... It looks like a peace deal has been cut with Syria
Ted Belman - 6/19/2008
While media attention has been focused on the Palestinian track where no progress has been made and no real pressure applied, serious work has been going on with Syria. Don't be Fooled by Good Reviews
Prof. Barry Rubin - 6/19/2008
Golda Meir once said that a bad press was better than a good epitaph. In other words, pragmatic considerations must take precedence over public relations. Sometimes it seems as if contemporary Israeli governments have forgotten that concept. Yet in general, especially where it counts, this principle continues to prevail in Israel. Interview With Soona Samsami on Iran and NCRI
Dan Rabkin - 6/19/2008
Soona Samsami, a leading Iranian women’s rights and pro-democracy activist, joins me for an interview. She is the Executive Director of Women’s Freedom Forum and was the U.S. Representative of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) until its U.S. offices were closed by the State Department in 2003. Iraq: Battleground Between Islamists and Secularists
Prof. Daniel M. Zucker - 6/19/2008
Monica Duffy Toft, professor of public policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, recently published an article in the Christian Science Monitor entitled, “Why Islam lies at the heart of Iraq’s civil war”[1]. In her article, Toft, a recognized scholar on civil war, especially in the modern Arab world, suggests that it is the Sunni-Shiite divide that fuels the war in Iraq—that the war essentially is a religion-centered civil war. I am not an expert in civil wars, but my contacts in the Middle East and amongst Iraqis, both Sunni and Shiite, cause me to see things differently, although I a... 16 top security guards were captured by Baloch fighters
Reza Hossein Borr - 6/19/2008
In an interview on 17 June 08 with Dr Nourizadeh of Chanel one TV, the spokesman of the Peoples Resistance Movement of Iran, Jondollah, wowed to continue their struggle until the Islamic Republic of Iran is overthrown. In answer to a question that what kind of Iran he wants to see in future, he articulated a vision of equality, prosperity, freedom and democracy. He expressed that his organization's military operations in Sarawan, Baluchistan in which 16 top security guards were captured, was in response to the call of local people who had been beaten and their women had been raped by security... Utility of Religious Order (Fatwa) Against Terrorism
Tanveer Jafri - 6/18/2008
Today, when the words Islamic terrorism, Muslim terrorism or Jihad like words are being propagated in full order & for that even the Muslims of the world specially the religious leaders of the Muslims have started to feel the insult being done to the Muslims & the Islam religion. At such a time, the Muslim scholars & the Islamic organizations at international level have started serious efforts to be one against the terrorism. The Islamic Republic of Iran is inciting Shia-Sunni Civil War in Iran
Reza Hossein Borr - 6/10/2008
"Damn Omar, the Murderer of Fatema." This was the slogan of the Shia revolutionary community in Zahedan, the capital of Baluchistan on Saturday, 7 June 2008. They marched in the style of grand elections. These marches were organised by the Shia fanatics who were supported by the Iranian regime. The demonstrators had written this slogan on many cars and cardboards and they were shouting it as they were marching in Zahedan, the Sunni dominated city of Baluchistan. The Shia fundamentalists have fabricated the facts of history and alleged that Fatema, the daughter of Prophet Muhammad, was murdered by Omar, the second Caliph. The Situation on the Ground in Basra and Mosul
Nicholas M. Guariglia - 6/10/2008
Violence in Iraq has reached a four-year low. The U.S. casualty rate is now 0.72 deaths per day, constituting the eighth month in a row of dramatic improvements as compared to the 4.2 deaths per day from this time last year. Iraqi civilian deaths, too, are down. For some perspective, the monthly murder tolls in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York City were 48.7, 51.9, and 49.3 a few years ago. Today, less than 400 Iraqi citizens –– throughout the whole country, not just a few cities –– perish on a monthly basis. And this is a war zone. Drowning in Solutions
Prof. Barry Rubin - 6/10/2008
Suppose that debate over the world's most obsessive issue is based on nonsense. Consider if the policy options of governments, discourse of universities, and rivers of word in the media on this matter are clearly illogical. What if thousands of diplomats, journalists, and professors are racing down the wrong path and billions of dollars are being tossed away in a futile pursuit? Is Syria defecting from Iran?
John Loftus - 6/9/2008
While I understand that no "final" understandings have been reached, the mere fact that Syrian and Israeli governments chose this week to openly acknowledge the ongoing peace talks gives credence to the Israeli Director of military intelligence's amazing assertion last weekend. Mr. Yadlin claimed that Syria may be planning to sever its ties with Iran, in favor of closer ties with the West. Following Hitler’s Playbook
Ted Belman - 6/9/2008
Arab’s play offense while Israelis play defense. Nowhere is this more evident than in the field of propaganda. Islamist Political Activism in Jordan: Moderation, Militancy and Democracy
Prof. Curtis R. Ryan - 6/9/2008
While democracy has proven to be a fragile and elusive form of politics in the modern Arab world, Islamist movements have flourished--ranging from grass-roots pro-democracy activism to militant jihadism and terrorism. Whether Arab politics witnesses more political liberalization in the near future will depend in large part on the nature of Islamist movements, as well as ruling regimes' reactions to them. This article examines the broad range of Islamist alternatives within one of the more liberalizing Arab states--the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan--with a view to understanding the depth and breadth of Islamist forms of political mobilization. Israel Should Take Charge of the Peace Process
Ted Belman - 6/9/2008
I see the “peace process” as a danger to Israel. It empowers the international community to pressure Israel to make concessions to their arch enemy. If only the US had decided to stand by Israel’s right to retain all captured territory after the Six Day War in ‘67, we would be in a whole better place today. But they didn’t. Also the leaders of Israel share some of the blame. After that war, Israel decided, because of demographic considerations, that she didn’t want to keep all of the conquered territories. The global vision of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Reza Hossein Borr - 6/9/2008
The manifestation of the global vision of the Islamic Republic of Iran is demonstrated in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Palestine. Khomeini formulated and devised a 50-year-global-vision in which he planned for the Islamic Republic of Iran to become the main power of the Middle East and the controller of the Persian Gulf as he asserted that the power that controls the Persian Gulf controls the throats of free world. A Mullah Reality Check
Amil Imani - 6/7/2008
There is so much smoke around the Iranian Mullahs’ bomb that it makes Tehran’s smog feel like a fresh ocean breeze by comparison. Here is a partial list of misconceptions about the Mullahs, their capabilities and intentions about the bomb affair. Shattered Engagements
Prof. Barry Rubin - 6/7/2008
Engagement doesn’t always produce marriage. In the U.S.-Iran case, diplomatic engagements have been repeatedly disastrous. Yet many think the idea of engagement was just invented and never tried. Israel's Great Game
Prof. Barry Rubin - 6/6/2008
Forget all the wimpy claptrap about Israel disappearing. Anyone who believes such nonsense has obviously never been to an Israeli soccer game. Despite the Denials, For Now, Syria Lost Big in Lebanon
Prof. Daniel M. Zucker - 6/5/2008
Caroline Glick, columnist and editor at The Jerusalem Post is normally right on the money with her comments about Middle-East politics. Her column of Friday, May 23, 2008, “Column one: Assad's week of triumph” [1] was a rare exception. As the title of her essay indicates, Glick believes that Bashar al-Assad had his best week since becoming President of Syria. With all due respect to Ms. Glick’s fine understanding of the area’s complex politics, I believe that she and her title miss it, by what we in Middle America call “a country mile”. Rather than being his best week due to Hezbollah’s succes... Olmert's Dilemma and Israel's Multi-front Negotiations
Prof. Barry Rubin - 6/5/2008
Clearly, the conduct of negotiations by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government with Syria, the Palestinian Authority, and Hamas, has an Israeli political dimension. Yet it is easy to misunderstand this relationship. Revisiting Resolution 242
Ted Belman - 6/5/2008
Five months after the Six Day War in ‘67, The Security Council passed the much referred to Resolution 242. Here are the relevant parts. An Empty Package
Jonathan Spyer, Ph.D. - 6/4/2008
At this past Sunday's cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert issued a public statement relating to the revived negotiations with Syria. The talks, the prime minister wished to assure us, were "serious" and would be conducted with "all due caution." All the ingredients familiar from peace processes past were present in Olmert's statement: the gravitas; the quiet sense that history is presenting us with a chance that must not be missed; the necessary discretion. However, in the manner now familiar from Olmert's tenure as prime minister, what we were presented with was the form of something, without its content. The Fall of Lebanon
Prof. Barry Rubin - 6/4/2008
May 21, 2008, is a date—like December 7, 1941 and September 11, 2001 — that should now live in infamy. Yet who will notice, mourn, or act the wiser for it? On that day, the Beirut spring was buried under the reign of Hizballah. Speaking on October 5, 1938, after Britain and France effectively turned Czechoslovakia over to Nazi Germany, Winston Churchill said, “What everybody would like to ignore or forget must nevertheless be stated, namely, that we have sustained a total and unmitigated defeat….”[i] Hezbollah ruled, the West got fooled
Walid Phares, Ph.D. - 6/4/2008
In the next days a major battle in the War of Ideas will be unfolding worldwide and particularly through the international media. We are now witnessing a massive campaign by Hezbollah's strategic communication machine (as our Western jargon likes to describe it) to frame the outcome of the battle for Lebanon, significantly lost by the United States, the West and the forces of Democracies in the region. The main issue at hand in the Iranian funded war room is not about convincing the international community and the Arab and Muslim world that Hezbollah has defeated its opponents in that small bu... Syria Isn't Serious - Lebanon Is
Prof. Barry Rubin - 6/2/2008
Why is Israel negotiating with Syria and what happened in Lebanon ? One of these events may be the Middle East ’s most important development for 2008. Hint: it isn't the first of them. UNRWA: Barrier to Peace
Jonathan Spyer, Ph.D. - 6/2/2008
The United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) was created under the jurisdiction of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), with the unique responsibility of solely aiding the Palestinians. Due to this special status, the UNRWA perpetuates, rather than resolves, the Palestinian refugee issue, and therefore serves as a major obstacle toward resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Like no other UN body, UNRWA's definition of refugees includes not only the refugees themselves, but also their descendents. Moreover, refugees keep their status even if they have gained citizenship. UNRWA ... The gradual takeover of Lebanon by Hezbollah
Reza Hossein Borr - 6/2/2008
"When you have lost, pretend that you have won and celebrate so pompously that everybody believes you have won." This is what the Hezbollah of Lebanon did after its war with Israel, but this time when they really won in Lebanon, they did not celebrate as much as they did before just to downplay their victory and diminish its impact over Lebanon's politics and convince the Lebanese people that they did not have another hidden agenda for Lebanon. Hezbollah was right in both cases. In the first case, they had to exaggerate about their victory to inject hope and confidence in their members and t... The Paradox of Muslim Weakness
Sadanand Dhume - 6/1/2008
In the years since 9/11 two broad narratives have emerged in the West to explain the nature of the so-called War on Terror. On the right it has become commonplace to equate Islamism – the ideology that seeks to order 21st century societies by the medieval norms enshrined in Islamic sharia law – with a long line of totalitarian threats to liberal democracy. Victor Davis Hanson of the Hoover Institution, for instance, calls it a “foul apparition that has succeeded fascism, Nazism, and communism as the world's next bane.” The left, not surprisingly, sees the issue as a product of poverty or flawe... Islamists Shine in Kuwait
Abdul Ruff - 6/1/2008
Despite the anti-Islamic propaganda unleashed by the global media, Islamists, both Sunni and Shia, have won nearly half of the 50 seats in the Kuwait National Assembly elections for which were held on 17 May. Turnout was said to be modest in the morning heat and dust but had picked up by evening to end at an estimated 60% Economic concerns dominated the poll in the oil-rich Gulf emirate. While Islamist candidates won 24 seats, more than they won in the last election in 2006, liberal candidates and their allies won seven seats, one fewer than before, but the nationalist Popular Action Bloc led ... Israel-Syria Rapprochement?
Abdul Ruff - 6/1/2008
Media reports suggest that there has been a significant move from Israel to find an amicable solution to the crisis between them and Syria. Israel has utilized the services of Turkish government to achieve that goal, if they are only keen to resolve the decades’ turmoil in Mideast. Sanctions against Turkey must be imposed
Theodoros Karakostas - 6/1/2008
The European Union has just published a briefing paper on minorities in Turkey. The fact that the European Union is addressing issues of minorities in Turkey is itself positive, but utterly useless without the imposition of sanctions upon Turkey. To the average observers of the current plight of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Greek minority in Turkey, the conclusions of the European report about their problems and the prospect that the Patriarchate itself may be doomed to extinction is not exactly a new revelation. Mideast Peace and Bush Oil Diplomacy
Abdul Ruff - 6/1/2008
US President G. W. Bush, a failed president who got thousands of Muslims among others killed especially in Afghanistan and Iraq , delivers nothing but a lousy speech, has been keen, as every US President did before him, to advance the US interests across the globe. Energy resources are on the top agenda of the US policy makers and US agencies both state and non-state pursue policies to garner maximum possible resources from the regions where they are aplenty. The Bush administration has under its full and direct control the energy resources in Afghanistan and Iraq and USA has been squandering... Lebanon's collective apathy that will continue to kill
Rabeh Ghadban - 6/1/2008
I had prepared to write a piece on the strategic outlook of Lebanon’s near future. One that tried to make sense of the confusion that has clouded the recent events in Lebanon. My parents grew up in this country and I returned here a year ago to pursue a professional career, hoping that I would better understand my attachment to this unpredictable state. I spent the previous year before my arrival in Beirut writing a thesis about Lebanon, studying the need to incorporate Hezbollah and Shia aspirations more appropriately into the confessional system. I argued the need to implement reforms, su... Lebanon back to Normalcy?
Abdul Ruff - 6/1/2008
It is only ironical that the Lebanese, like Palestinians, have to settle scores with domestic opponents and e satisfied with that without having any time left for resolving the eve-increasing problems with Israel. Lebanon Settlement: Is it Temporary Truce?
Abdul Ruff - 6/1/2008
It is only ironical that the Lebanese, like Palestinians, have to settle scores first with domestic opponents and be satisfied with that without having any time left for resolving the ever-increasing problems with Israel . Was Lebanon sold to Hezbollah?
Elias Bejjani - 5/28/2008
Much has been said in praise and criticism of the "Doha agreement" that ended the bloody and criminal unsuccessful coup attempt that the Terrorist Hezbollah Militia and the axis of evil two countries, Syria and Iran, executed earlier this month in Lebanon to take over all the country, by force and topple the whole free and democratic regime. Iran spreading poison of terror in Moslem nations
Sunita Paul - 5/25/2008
Almost every day, we read news and commentaries in the international media about Iran's direct or indirect participation in instigating terror as well as religious extremism. People in most of the Western capitals consider Iranian President Ahmadinejad as a devil. There are series of facts flooding in Western media about today's 'Islamic Republic of Iran' as well as its nuclear ambition and neo-conspiracy in patronizing global terror. Moslem press maintains particular silence in projecting such actions of Tehran in general, for quite obvious reason of religious bias. He who plants the wind shall reap the storm
Colonel Charbel Barakat - 5/21/2008
"It was a forlorn day when the Lebanese agreed, albeit under duress, to the 'Taef Accord". It necessitated dismantling and disarming the militias in 1990. Syria, which at the time was occupying Lebanon, kept and retained Hezbollah, the one terrorizing Lebanon today, as the sole armed militia under the slogan of "fighting Israel". Naqba and the Muslims' Belief in Islam
Prof. John Press - 5/21/2008
I recently attended a counter protest to a Naqba rally near the U.N. building in New York. Naqba means “Palestinian Catastrophe” and refers to the creation of Israel. Apparently, other Muslim nations also considered the creation of Israel a disaster. All of Israel’s Muslim neighbors attacked Israel on its birthday. They lost. Israel exists. But I did not attend the counter demonstration because I think it obvious that Israel is right and the Palestinians are wrong. Culturism accepts the possibility that the Palestinians believe they are right. Muslims believe the Koran represents perfect morality. The Palestinians' Self-Made Naqba
Prof. Barry Rubin - 5/21/2008
It’s become fashionable to match celebration of Israel ’s founding (though part of the media can’t even admit Israelis are celebrating) with Palestinian marking of their 1948 “nakba” catastrophe. Yet whose fault is it that they didn’t use those six decades constructively? And who killed the independent Palestinian state alongside Israel that was part of the partition plan? Answer: The Arab states and Palestinian leadership themselves. How Iran is changing the balance of power in the Middle East?
Reza Hossein Borr - 5/21/2008
Lebanon fell in the lap of the Iranian regime in less than two days. Lebanon is now unofficially a colony of Iran. The illusions are over now. Those who thought that Iran has abandoned Hezbollah and occupation of Lebanon through Hezbollah were proved to be wrong. Iran designed a strategy of deception for some time to arm, equip and train Hezbollah to the highest level on one hand and to give false assurances to the Arab governments that it has no bad intentions in Lebanon. During this time, the Shia regime of Iran prepared Hezbollah so well and so much that it took over Beirout in less th... The Jews' Stupidest Pro-Obama Argument
Sammy Benoit - 5/21/2008
Two Jews are standing in front of a firing squad. They're asked if they want a cigarette. "Shah," says one Jew to the other, "You'll get us in trouble!" Khamenei and Ahmadinejad, Men of Confidence or Great Fear?
Ghazal Omid - 5/20/2008
If you could look into their eyes, hear their voice and read the silent language of gestures, what would you see, men of confidence or great fear? May 1, 2008 was declared Teachers’ day in Iran. It also featured a rare trip for Ali Khamenei to Shiraz. The senior leader of IRI has been diagnosed with many illnesses. Years have passed since his Presidency when he lost the use of his right hand to a bomb. Last year there were rumors of handing power to his successors. It is a rare and important gesture for him to venture to Shiraz, which is known in Iranian history as the cradle of Farsi Literature. This is not Islam
Sunita Paul - 5/20/2008
I was rather shocked to see stories about a religious leader in Bangladesh named Mr. Ahmadullah Ashraf, who grabbed a religious school (Madrassa) in Dhaka with the help of armed hooligans and continuing to use illegal electricity and gas connections by denouncing local laws. He reportedly is also continuing questionable personal life, which certainly goes beyond the minimal standard of dignity of any person having firm faith in God. Yes, it is unfortunately true to some extent that few people in our societies are using religion as a garb to cover their misdeeds and crimes, and the case of Mr. Ahmadullah Ashraf is just one such example. A Closer look at Right and Wrong Islam
Rashidul Bari - 5/20/2008
Osama Bin Laden and Muhammad Yunus are both Muslim, but who represents the correct Islam? Who is an asset to Islam and who is its destroyer? Who is a disgrace to the Muslims and who is the symbol of the religion? Who is most notorious member and who is the great benefactor to Islam once famous as a promoter of education, knowledge and peace. What made Dr. Alvin Harp raise the question, “When do the lives of 15 million people have a greater value than those of 1.3 billion?” Redefining What it means to be pro-Israel
Ted Belman - 5/20/2008
The strategy of J Street was to revisit what it means to be pro-Israel and to convince the public that its stance is really a pro-Israel one. To this end, Washington Post published 5 Myths About Being ‘Pro-Israel’ by Joseph Ben-Ami, J Street's Executive Director, which included this statement "And forging a healthy friendship with Israel requires bursting some myths about what it means to be pro-Israel.". I challenged its position in J-Street is setting up strawmen and speaks for a small minority Israel's Disappearing Act
Prof. Barry Rubin - 5/20/2008
Exaggerations of Israel ’s demise are greatly exaggerated, to paraphrase Mark Twain. The question is: why is this suddenly happening now and—even more important—what is the impact of this fad going to be? The answer to the second question is very surprising so keep reading. UNRWA: Refuge Of Rejectionism
Barry Rubin, Asaf Romirowsky, and Jonathan Spyer - 5/20/2008
On the surface, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) seems a humanitarian group helping Palestinian refugees. In reality, it actually helps destroy the chance of Arab-Israeli peace, promotes terrorism, and holds Palestainians back from rebuilding their lives. America's Opportunity in Iran and Iraq
David Amess - UK Parliament Member - 5/15/2008
As US rhetoric intensifies over Iran’s seemingly incessant support for Iraqi militias, five Iraqi Members of Parliament are believed to have travelled to Iran to meet Iraqi cleric Muqtadr al Sadr, hoping to end the continued bloodshed. The discussions are believed to be centred on the increasing violence caused by fighters loyal to the cleric in the Southern provinces of Iraq. However, the delegation of Shia Parliamentarians is further looking to clarify the role that Iran is believed to be playing, most significantly in the clashes across Basra. The Humiliating Price of Appeasing Iran
Prof. Sharam Taromsari, Ph.D. - 5/15/2008
In a unique action taken by prominent politicians, including a former home secretary, a former Solicitor General and a former Law Lord of the United Kingdom against the British government, Britain ’s highest legal authority handed out a humiliating ruling against the British Government. This ruling reiterated an earlier ruling by the Proscribed Organisations Appeals Commission (POAC) in which they described the British government’s attempt to list the People's Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI) as a terrorist organisation as “perverse”. The 32 page judgement was far stronger and goes beyond... Amin al-Husaini and the Holocaust. What Did the Grand Mufti Know?
Wolfgang G. Schwanitz, Ph.D. - 5/15/2008
Amin al-Husaini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, remains a controversial figure. The Palestinian leader, who was born in 1895 and died in 1974, first sparked controversy during his lifetime. As an officer in the Ottoman army during the First World War, he implemented the German idea of organizing jihad and terror behind enemy lines. (See my discussion here.) Later, he led the resistance against the British mandate authority in Palestine during uprisings in 1929 and in 1936. He fiercely opposed Jewish settlement. Lebanon to the West: Wake Up Fast!
Prof. Barry Rubin - 5/15/2008
While America's secretary of state devotes her time to doomed Israel-Palestinian talks and America goes ga-ga over a candidate whose main foreign policy strategy is to talk to dictators, still another crisis strengthens radical Islamists and endangers Western friends and interests. The US should have invaded Saudi Arabia, not Iraq.
Ted Belman - 5/14/2008
The best response to 911 is still the matter of heated debate. Obama wants out of Iraq and into Afghanistan and wants Pakistan bombed. Democrats generally argue we should have stayed in that theater and not gone into Iraq and what they want to do now is correct the administrations mistake. Hillary shares this view except for the bombing of Pakistan. This Means War
Ted Belman - 5/14/2008
Hezbollah is now in control of Lebanon. What is painfully obvious is that the vacuum created by retreat, is quickly filled by Iran through her proxies. So Israel’s retreat from Gaza enabled the takeover by Hamas. Israel’s retreat from Lebanon enabled the takeover by Hezbollah. Similarly a retreat from Iraq by US forces will enable Iran’s proxy to takeover. Life in Israel
Prof. Barry Rubin - 5/14/2008
I'm sitting in Israel's Independence Hall, a 10-minute walk from my home, a small, relatively bare room that was Tel Aviv's first city hall. Sixty years ago today, it was the place where Israel was declared a country. Gholam Haidar Baloch will be executed if he is transferred to Iran
Reza Hossein Borr - 5/14/2008
Balochistan Human Rights Watch reported that Gholam Haidar Baloch, a Pakistan national who was arrested for carrying unauthorized arms in Pakistan will be extradited to Iran after the court sentenced him for one-year imprisonment . The new government of Pakistan who has not sufficient experience in foreign policy of the region has decided to deliver this Pakistani citizen as the Iranian government claims that he is an Iranian national and he has committed crimes in Iran. Lebanon's '300'
Walid Phares, Ph.D. - 5/12/2008
While the West is busy living its daily life, a beast is busy killing the freedom of a small community on the East Mediterranean: Lebanon. Indeed, as of last week, the mighty Hezbollah, armed to the teeth with 30,000 rockets and missiles and aligning thousands of self described "Divine soldiers" has been marching across the capital, terrorizing its population, shutting down media, taking its politicians and the Prime Minister as hostages, and looting at will. The hordes of Lebanon's "Khomeinist Janjaweeds" have conquered already half of the Middle East's cultural capital, Beirut. As I have rep... What Happened to the Middle East’s Jews
Prof. Barry Rubin - 5/12/2008
Uh-oh! It’s Israel’s sixtieth birthday and that means articles on Israel in the news media and, in turn, that may often mean something between inaccuracy and slander. I’ve been conditioned by now to know what to expect. Let’s try a test. Read the following headline from a Reuters story, and guess the theme. Ready? Here we go: “Israel's Advent Altered Outlook For Middle East Jews.” The Question of Power in Lebanon
Jonathan Spyer, Ph.D. - 5/12/2008
Whe recent events in Beirut pose a simple, fundamental question: Who rules in Lebanon. The answer proposed by Hizbullah last week is that the government of Fuad Saniora and Saad Hariri is to be permitted to hold the formal reins of administration - on condition that they well understand the inherent limits of their position. Most important, any attempt to interfere with the Iranian-created and Iranian- and Syrian-sponsored military infrastructure in the country will result in a swift, disproportionate and bloody response. Happy Sixtieth Birthday Israel
Amil Imani - 5/12/2008
Israel, your people, as well as people of good will, are celebrating your sixtieth birthday. We, the children of Cyrus the Great, also would like to offer our heartfelt best wishes to you on this occasion. Yet, this, in fact, is your rebirth. Your birth occurred some 4,000 years ago. In the name of Allah
Alexander Maistrovoy - 5/12/2008
Had anyone of the European monarchs, grandees or pontifices of the XVth century ever heard a word " Prussia "? Unlikely. Stuck in the Baltic bogs between Russia and Poland , Prussia , the miserable successor to the Teutonic Order, the obedient vassal of proud Poland (Rech Pospolita), hopelessly vegetated on the boondocks of Europe . Could anyone imagine that in two centuries only Prussia would ! become one of the main players on the European arena, initiate the two most terrible in history wars and claim world hegemony? However, skeptics would not consider three important circumstances: bellig... Israel and Europe: A Pretty Good Relationship
Prof. Barry Rubin - 5/11/2008
PARIS, FRANCE. Israel-European relations are at their highest point in a very long time. The strong anti-Israel forces that are often so loudly heard in elite and media circles should not drown out that fact. Turkish Denial and The Forgotten Genocides
Ioannis Fidanakis - 5/11/2008
Throughout time man has associated certain images with events, images that shock the human mind so much they are permanently engrained in our memories. The Holocaust, the mere mention of the word fills people with images of horrible persecution. Mountains of shoes and gas chambers are all quickly associated with the horrible events which took place in the Second World War. In the United States, whippings and lynchings are seen as trade marks of African-American Slavery in the South. Today’s society identifies these images with crimes against Humanity. We are taught to no longer tolerate such a... Israel’s never-ending battle
Ted Belman - 5/11/2008
As the West ups the pressure on Israel to capitulate to Arab demands and return to the armistice lines, it is important to remember that all of Judea and Samaria were held in trust for the Jewish state from the singing of the Palestine Mandate in 1922, if not earlier from the time the San Remo Conference awarded these lands to the Jews. Force is the only Language that Hezbollah knows and understands
Elias Bejjani - 5/11/2008
The recent on-going bloody terrorism riots that Hezbollah has inflicted on Lebanon and its peaceful people since last Wednesday, tragically shows that this country today is confronting challenges of a magnitude unseen since the end of its civil war in 1990. AP Explains to you Why Israel Shouldn't Exist
Prof. Barry Rubin - 5/4/2008
If I would choose one article in the Western media that I have read over many decades as the worst piece of anti-Israel propaganda of all, it might well be Karin Laub’s April 26, 2008 piece, “Palestinian plight is flip side of Israel's independence joy.” Why? Because many articles have slandered Israel on various points or told falsehoods ranging from the disgusting to the humorous or been based on assumptions that were at odds with the truth. But in this case, the article encapsulates the way in which much of the world has turned from admiration to loathing of Israel , and the way in which Israel ’s destruction—which in other contexts would be seen as genocidal—has been justified. Yes, Iraq Had Unsettling al Qaida Connections
Nicholas M. Guariglia - 5/4/2008
The proposition that Iraq, prior to our intervention, never had a connection to al Qaida, or to any jihadist movement in a broader sense, has prematurely congealed into conventional wisdom. Nevertheless, this exemption of the Hussein family is fallacious and untrue. It would be appropriate if we can look at the history and information we have — the known knowns, let’s say — in an empirical and apolitical manner, separating this discussion from the debate as to whether or not any of this merited war. Making Mischief
Jonathan Spyer, Ph.D. - 5/4/2008
Whatever the Israelis offer, Syria won't give up its alliance with Iran, which allows it to punch above its weight in the region. With attention in the Middle East focusing on the US congressional hearings regarding a possible Syrian nuclear programme, the Syrian newspaper al-Watan made a surprising announcement last Wednesday. According to the newspaper, Israel, via Turkish channels, had in the previous 24 hours expressed its willingness to exchange the entirety of the Golan Heights area for peace with Syria. The beginning of a people’s war in Balochistan, Iran
Reza Hossein Borr - 5/3/2008
When the Islamic Republic of Iran hanged two Sunni Baluch leaders in the morning of 9 April 08, the Baluch people knew that a new era has began in the relationship between the Shia fundamentalist regime of Iran and the rising Sunni Baluch people. As the Baluch culture requires, the Baluch people offered plenty of advice to the regime to stop its atrocities in Baluchistan and if they did not, then, they would face severe consequences. As usual, the Iranian regime underestimated the inner strength of the Baluch people and continued the execution and hanging of Baluch people. Now a widespread... Israel is hanging tough
Ted Belman - 5/3/2008
First we hear that Abbas was angry with what he was told and wasn’t told when he recently visited the Whitehouse. He didn’t get the kind of support he wanted. Barak is standing firm, so far, in rejecting a stupid hudna. Muslim Women: Status and Divorce Rights Under Islamic Law
Shabdita Gupta - 5/3/2008
Muslim Law could be seen as an admirable system of jurisprudence providing, as it did, many rational and revolutionary concepts that could not be conceived by the other systems of law then in force at that distant date. It provided, for example, for the right of inheritance to the females even when there were male heirs and also the modern concept of divorce by mutual consent, while the other systems of law took so many centuries to do so. But as a result of deplorable distortions made by, and unfortunate metamorphosis undergone at the hands of Anglo-Indian courts, substantial portions of the... Why Syria can’t be 'flipped'
Ted Belman - 5/3/2008
I recently wrote The Golan is safe, for now in which I set out my reasons for and described, the US hope of flipping Syria. Israeli State Radio Outs the Academic Fifth Column
Steven Plaut - 5/3/2008
Until now, Israel’s state-owned media have generally never done any investigative reporting on Israel’s Far left and Academic Fifth Column. The TV and radio stations are owned by the Israel Broadcasting Authority, and the IBA has always been a poorly-disguised bastion of the Left. Its heads have never hidden the fact that think their mission in life is to advance the Left’s agenda. No one cares about the Golan
Ted Belman - 5/3/2008
In my article Greater Syria is the answer. Yes, no, maybe. written in Nov ‘06, I wrote: Shia-Sunni Unity for World Peace
Tanveer Jafri - 5/2/2008
The Religion of Islam outwardly seems as a single sect & generally all its followers are called the Muslims. But reality lies somewhere else. Undoubtedly, the Muslims are one in following the basic principles such as one Allah (God), One Quraan, One Hajj, and Namaz (Prayer) for five times a day, Roza (Fast) & Zakaat. Usually all the Muslims who have religious attitude try to follow these basic principles. But in reality, the Islam religion that seems one, as historical paradoxes go on, is divided in 73 different sects. The two sects - The Shiites & the Sunnies, are the major sects. Besides the... War with Iran: Closer than Ever II
Dan Rabkin - 5/1/2008
The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), the Iranian Opposition’s parliament-in-exile, is one anti-regime organization worthy of Western support. Egypt: Between the Devil and the Blue Sea
Prof. Barry Rubin - 5/1/2008
Egyptian President Husni Mubarak is 80. After over a quarter-century in office he is ready for more. But how much longer will his rule—or regime—continue? Israel is Safe and Strong. Really.
Prof. Barry Rubin - 4/30/2008
Let’s face it, after almost 2000 years in exile and only 60 years of Israel as a sovereign nation, it still feels funny for Jews, especially those outside Israel, to have a state. Google Must Be Held To Account on 'Arabian' Gulf
Amil Imani - 4/30/2008
It is one thing for Google Earth to depict the map of the world as is and another thing to manipulate it. It is one thing for any business to market its product and it is another thing to peddle something it does not own. War with Iran: Closer than Ever
Dan Rabkin - 4/30/2008
America’s Mayor and former U.S. presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani previously said that “the use of military force against Iran would be very dangerous. It would be very provocative. The only thing worse would be Iran being a nuclear power.” Giuliani is absolutely right, but why are we sitting by as these frightful alternatives become the only two feasible options? Interview with Pierre Maroun: 'Hezbollah must be confronted'
Manuela Paraipan - 4/30/2008
Pierre A. Maroun is the Secretary-General American-Lebanese Coordination Council. When Manuela Paraipan met him for an interview, he spoke openly about things that some dare not say publicly. Can Israel withstand US pressure?
Ted Belman - 4/30/2008
Recently we hear that Olmert offered to cede the Golan to Syria and I commented The Golan is safe for now. For now, because ultimately the US will be pressuring Israel to do the deal. Turkey’s Chronic Inability to Face the Truth
Edward Papelian - 4/29/2008
White House should have the courage to call a spade a spade. President Ronald Reagan did It – why doesn't everyone? How would the USA react were a country to demand that the terrible act of terrorism on 9/11 be labeled a simple "accident" and be forgotten? Does Qur’an endorse travel ban?
Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury - 4/29/2008
According to Qur’an two mosques are most sacred and precious for all Muslims. These are called Haramine in Arabic. According to the holy Qur’an, if someone stops Muslim from visiting any of these mosques, it will be considered as unforgivable sin. But, very unfortunately, due to suggestions of some uneducated clergies and anti-Semitic elements in the society, Bangladeshi government is continuing travel ban on Israel, thus stopping the people of this country from visiting Al Aqsa mosque. Palestine: Carter woos Hamas?
Abdul Ruff - 4/28/2008
Historically speaking, both USA and its major ally in the Mideast, Israel oppose Hamas Palestinians and call them the “terrorists” and USA as a long-term policy supports Israeli aggression over the Palestine, killing many each time but never condemns the repeated illegal aggression. Nor do they recognize the democratic polls held by Palestinians electing Hamas party to rule their apart of the globe. To make the peace efforts worse, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed the Hamas government led by Ismail Haniyeh, presumably under pressure form USA, and installed his own puppet government, leading to further aggravation of the conflict. The Funny Side Of Islam
Fjordman - 4/25/2008
Iranian Islamic leader the Ayatollah Khomeini once said that “There is no fun in Islam.” I disagree. Islam can be quite funny; it just isn’t intended to be so. I have long said that Islam’s weakest point is mockery. Any enemy will reveal what he fears the most, if you listen to him closely. Muslims fear criticism or mockery of their religion more than they fear death. Well, if mockery is what they fear above all else, maybe that’s exactly what we should give them? The Brutal Truth About Hamas Depravity
Tom Carew - 4/25/2008
The strict use of the term depravity has been much considered by legal and psychiatric experts in USA, where many State laws provide for severe penalties where a crime can be judged depraved or heinous, atrocious, cruel, in regared to either the [a] intent, [b] actions, or [c] attitude, which is displayed in the criminal act. And Yes, Iran Has Unsettling al Qaida Connections
Nicholas M. Guariglia - 4/25/2008
My last article explored what the 9/11 Commission had to say about Iraq’s links to al Qaida. The consensus of that commission was, in essence, that while it has not been proven that Saddam’s Iraq had any collaborative relationship with the terror group — that is to say, they never cooperated on a specific attack — there were, in fact, serious connections and high-level contacts between the two parties for years (offers of asylum to bin Laden, requests for basing privileges by bin Laden, etc.). Mercaz Harav and the G-Word
Richard Landes - 4/25/2008
Just after the murderous attack on the Seminary students in Jerusalem, SPME issued a statement to which it attached the names of the board members. The key passage runs as follows: There Is No Demographic Bomb For Israel
Ted Belman - 4/25/2008
Jews in Israel and the Diaspora follow the peace process closely and a majority of them favour the two-state solution. As Yoram Ettinger explains below, this is due in part to their fear of the alleged Demographic Time Bomb. The Palestinian State - How Near Is The Resolution?
Abdul Ruff - 4/24/2008
Amid continuous reports of killings of Palestinians by the Israeli forces, the flame of hope is being kept alive by mediators for peace in the Mideast with regular meeting and summits. Since the US brokered Annapolis summit last November, there have been a lot of activities taking place in the Middle East with several US dignitaries dashing in to mediate a truce, if possible, permanently between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Recently, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has made a couple of shuttle-trips meeting the leaders of the region. The creation of a Palestinian state has be... Is Criticism of Israel Courageous?
Ami Isseroff - 4/22/2008
There is an old joke about the Englishman who explains that their way of answering the telephone is much better: "We say 'Are you there?' If you're not, there's no sense in continuing the conversation, is there?" The same logic underlies a popular refrain that seems to accompany every recent Israel-bashing publicity gig. No matter that it is prima facie illogical, it is now a permanent repetitive feature of every article, book and interview relating to anyone who wants to criticize Israel. You can read it in the morning paper, you can hear it on the radio, and you can see it on television. Jimmy Carter does it. Professors Walt and Mearsheimer do it. Everyone's doing it. Christian Politics in Lebanon
Ghassan Rubeiz - 4/22/2008
Western media outlets have portrayed divisions within Lebanon's Christian community as threatening to tear Lebanon apart,[1] as if Sunnite-Shiite tension is negligible and the divide between Christians and Muslims has disappeared. The split that threatens Lebanon's national unity is less between Christians than between two political camps that cut across sectarian boundaries. Most Christians are not blindly following their leaders to the brink. Above all, they are divided over one m... Will the US Withdraw From Iraq And What Would Be The Consequences?
David Storobin, Esq. - 4/22/2008
The US policy in Iraq is not going to change significantly in the short-term simply because it cannot change. For the US to continue to be a superpower, it must constantly prove itself as a military superpower. Losing Iraq to the Mullahs in Tehran would be a disaster. Western Failure to Contain Iran
Dr. Sharam Taromsari - 4/20/2008
Since the 1979 revolution in Iran, international political systems have witnessed dramatic changes. The cold war was declared over after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Given the nature of these changes, terms such as critical engagement and constructive engagement became buzz words amongst foreign policy decision makers. A new world order was declared and in the UK, New Labour went as far as declaring "ethical foreign policy". Close Encounters of the Suicidal Kind: Crimes Against Jewish Humanity
Boris Celser - 4/20/2008
Israel is a confused nation, because its society is not given a chance to live a normal life, not only because of a hostile world, but also because of the ruling elite. In no other country would a perennial loser like Shimon Peres be allowed to manipulate the system for his own gain for so long and to implement his megalomaniac ideas at the expense of the lives of so many. He continues to do so almost unimpeded. Israel is in serious difficulties and, under the false pretence of being a true democracy, it is likely to never convene a real commission of truth to expose the crimes and punish the ... Iraq War: Al Qaeda Crumbled or Iraq
Tanveer Jafri - 4/19/2008
Five years have past when the American army entered Iraq. The unverified sources claim that during this period about lacs of Iraqis have been killed in terrorist activities, combats or raids by the American army. The fresh informations reveal that by now four thousand and thirty American, too, have lost their lives. Perhaps not knowing about this information, American president Bush is feeling that the Iraq government is improving its economic condition. George bush is also hopeful that soon, Iraq will be in a position to bear the expenditure of current 'War', and its reconstruction. Murderous Mothers: The Hidden Female Face of Honor Killings
Dr. Chesler, Ph.D. - 4/18/2008
Texas-born Patricia ("Tissie) Said, formerly of the Owens family, is the mother who lured her two teenage daughters, Sarah and Amina, to their deaths at the hands of their own father this past New Years Day in Dallas. How can a mother do such a thing? Even if her own life was threatened, even if her husband Yasser had literally held a gun to her head and told her to trick her daughters into returning, isn't a mother supposed to sacrifice herself for her children? Or at least to protect them? What can explain such a perversion of maternal instinct and of the life force itself? 'Annapolis' is all about ending the occupation
Ted Belman - 4/17/2008
It is standard practice for athletes and magicians to fake us out. They distract our attention to mislead us as to their intentions. Politicians do to. The Palestinian Refugee Issue: Rhetoric v. Reality
Sidney Zabludoff - 4/17/2008
The sixty-year-old Palestinian refugee issue has little connection with reality. It has become solely a bargaining chip used by Arabs and Palestinians in peace talks with Israel and, as such, is a distraction from the real issues of terrorism and boundaries. Indeed, continuing to call Palestinians refugees is a misnomer. They no longer live in tents or temporary quarters. In addition, the Palestinian refugee issue is unique. Since 1920 all other major refugee crises involving the exchange of religious or ethnic populations, while creating hardships, were dealt with in a single generation. Mea... General Michael Aoun Backs Hezbollah Worldwide
Pierre A. Maroun - 4/16/2008
During his press release on Monday April 14, 2008, Michael Aoun replied to a The Iranian Job
Colonel Charbel Barakat - 4/16/2008
During the Shah time Iran was becoming one of the major players in the Middle East region, being an oil country with a liberal regime and an ally to the West at the borders of the Soviet Union, the Shah had the best army in the Gulf very well equipped and trained in the Western military academies. We still remember the celebration of Persepolis with the fortune the Shah spent to show the glory of the ancient Persia. The French President then, Mr. Ponpidou, refused to assist to this celebration, to which all the world leaders were invited, claming that it is not fair to spend so much money for such a celebration while the Iranian people is in need of it. Michael Ignatieff in the lion’s den
Ted Belman - 4/16/2008
In the last couple of months, Barack Obama has gone before the American public to explain himself or perhaps to apologize for remarks made. He wasn’t terribly successful. Similarly, Michael Ignatieff, Member of Parliament for Etobicoke Lakeshore, Deputy Leader Liberal Party of Canada, delivered an address at Holy Blossom Synagogue, Toronto last night with the intention of doing likewise. He also wasn’t successful. The USA, Israel's Friendly Bully
Sam Vaknin, Ph.D. - 4/16/2008
It is common knowledge that, in international affairs, emotions defer to self-interest. As George Orwell noted in his masterpiece, "1984", the flux of circumstance may render yesterday's foe tomorrow's friend. Syria wants to annex Lebanon
Ted Belman - 4/14/2008
Pursuant to the San Remo Conference in 1920 The Syrian Mandate was created with France in charge. France broke it up into six separate states including Lebanon. Lebanon was intended for the Maronite Christians that lived there. But it also included some Muslims. How to Win in Iraq Without Losing to Iran
Dilip Hiro - 4/12/2008
The testimonies of General David Petraeus, commander of the American forces in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, the US ambassador in Baghdad, to the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees earlier this week have thrust the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq to the center of the presidential campaign. Turkish Revisionist Claims on Thrace
Ioannis Fidanakis - 4/11/2008
Recent events taking place in the Balkans surrounding the push for an Independent Kosovo, has many eyes now turned towards Western Thrace (Thraki). Recently, Bruce Fein of the Turkish Coalition of America released an article about the supposed Human Rights abuses facing the Turkish minority in Greece. As President of the Pan Thracian Union of America ‘Orpheus’, I find it my duty to speak out openly to prevent the spread of a Turkish smear campaign, which is more laughable then a true scholarly concern for Human Rights. The Relationship Between Traditional and Contemporary Islamist Political Thought
Sherko Kirmanj, Ph.D. - 4/11/2008
Political Islamism has often, though not always, been treated as a relatively new phenomenon. By the same token, examinations of Medieval Islamic political thought, like those of Montgomery Watt and Ann Lambton, look at this factor in its own historical context.[1] There are exceptions, of course, as with Hrair Dekmejian who studied the historical cyclic responses of radical Islamism,[2] while Antony Black has traced the broad history of Islamic political thought.[3] What is both interesting and useful at present is to take a broader view of Islamist political thinking over time and the relationship between various waves of its development. Palestinian 'Moderates' Ensure Extremism
Prof. Barry Rubin - 4/10/2008
“Rice Wins Concessions from Israel,” read the Washington Post headline after Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s recent visit. Rice herself told reporters her goal was to further Israel-Palestinian Authority (PA) talks by getting Israeli concessions to “improve the quality of life” for Palestinians. She listed ten different Israeli concessions including: removing 50 roadblocks, easing checkpoint procedures, increasing travel and work permits, backing economic projects, letting 700 U.S.-trained PA security men deploy, and giving the PA armored vehicles and night-vision goggles. Egyptian Local Poll: Mubarak's Games
Abdul Ruff - 4/10/2008
Boycotted by the main opposition group the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) and against a backdrop of violent popular unrest, centered on the Nile Delta city of Mahalla el-Kobra, local elections took place in Egypt on April 08 and calls for a boycott by the opposition. Some 52,000 local councilors are being selected - but the ruling President Hosni Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) is standing unopposed in the great majority of seats – at least in 90% of them, party sources said. Only 30 percent of seats were being contested, as the NDP has already won 70 percent unopposed. Results will be announced on April 09 and over the next five days. Turkish Secularists Attempt a Judicial Coup
Ron Coody - 4/10/2008
Understanding the complexities of the current political clash in Turkey between secularists and the Islamic leaning AK party is very difficult due to the unique character of Turkishness that has evolved over several centuries since the Fatih Sultan Mehmet first breached the walls of Istanbul in 1453 (then Constantinople) and set up his headquarters in that powerful city which would eventually become the center of a sprawling empire encompassing the historically and strategically significant lands of the Middle East, North Africa, and Southeastern Europe. These lands continue to hold signific... Islam in the Age of Extremism
Abukar Arman - 4/8/2008
Extremism is the root cause of the proliferation of violence throughout the world. It is the impetus pushing lawlessness, gluttonous greed and downright disregarding of human rights. It is a massive boulder blocking the path to peace. Iraqi Christians: Exodus, Ethnic Cleansing & Identity Annihilation
Elias Bejjani - 4/7/2008
In Bagdad on Saturday (5 April 2008), another innocent Iraqi clergyman fell victim to the on-going persecution and ethnic cleansing of Christians in Iraq. Iraqi security sources announced that a group of unknown armed men gunned down Father Youssef Adel Aboudi, a Christian priest with Saint Peter's Assyrian Orthodox Church. He was murdered while on his way to the church which is located in the centre of Baghdad. Flirting with the Mullahs
Prof. Mohammad Parvin, Ph.D. and Hassan Daioleslam - 4/7/2008
Senator Dianne Feinstein is announced as the keynote speaker of an upcoming event in Capitol Hill on US-Iran relations.1 (April 6th) Trita Parsi, the president of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) will moderate the conference. Parsi was the political advisor and assistant to now the federal prisoner Bob Ney. Ney’s conviction was partly related to the bribes he received from two London based international felons working with the Iranian regime. What could be more democratic than a referendum?
Ted Belman - 4/7/2008
Finally Bibi took a stand “I will not allow for the division of Jerusalem”. Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot wrote: "Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu (Likud) met with Condoleezza Rice Sunday, and stated that he informed the visiting US secretary of state that he would not endorse a declaration of principles calling for a return to 1967 borders and the division of Jerusalem." The Greek Minority of Turkey
Theodoros Karakostas - 4/7/2008
Last July, Army officers in Turkey were arrested for planning the assassinations of Greek Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomaios I and Mesrob II, Patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The targeting of the spiritual heads of these two ancient Christian communities is symbolic considering the genocide of Armenians and Greeks in Anatolia by Turkish regimes earlier in the twentieth century. Human rights abuses against the Christians of Turkey, harassment, and violations of religious freedom continue unabated in Turkey. What is just as appalling as the relentless assault on Christianity ... What's More Important: Blue Jeans or Being Blown Up?
Prof. Barry Rubin - 4/5/2008
It's hard to satirize a lot of media coverage about Israel and the Arab-Israeli or Israeli-Palestinian conflicts. The truly dreadful stuff is in the details, the small stories and big assumptions on which they are based, rather than in any "scoops" or blockbuster articles. The Moslem Hero of Moderation
Sunita Paul - 4/5/2008
"People are punished for crime, for creating anarchy and for putting humanity into horrifying terror. But, could we ever believe that someone would be arrested, tortured and imprisoned for long 17 months just for being in favor of global peace, inter-faith dialogue, ending religious hatred and thinking of everything good and noble for mankind? In my case it did happen and after being released on bail keeping the sedition charge very much alive. According to the allegations, my crime is: I am a living contradiction to today's phenomenon in the Muslim world, a Zionist, a defender of Israel and a devout, practicing Muslim living in the second largest Muslim country in the world." Condi's Contortions Can't Create Palestine
David Singer - 4/4/2008
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has expressed her amazement at the scope of the concessions Israel has agreed to make to the Palestinian Authority in a 35 page booklet given to her by Israel's Defence Minister - Ehud Barak - during her latest visit to Israel this week. Peace Process is a loser’s game
Ted Belman - 4/3/2008
American Friends of Likud just held a worldwide conference on “Israel at the Crossroads: The Palestinians and Gaza in the Shadow of Iran” featuring MK Yuval Steinitz, Maj.-Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror and Dan Diker. Palestinian Politics: Onward and Downward
Prof. Barry Rubin - 4/3/2008
A recent Washington Post column, entitled, “Let's Help the Good Guys in the West Bank,” provided what it thought of as good news: “Fortunately, there is a smart and honest leader of these forces: Salam Fayyad, an apolitical economist (with a doctorate from the University of Texas) who is prime minister of the Palestinian Authority.” The Legal Status of East Jerusalem Under International Law
David Storobin, Esq. - 4/1/2008
Despite the common misconception, God did not create Heaven and Earth during the 6 days of the 1967 war, and starting that late in history distorts one’s understanding of the Middle East conflict. Thus, let’s start from the beginning. This is a Cultural/Religious War
Ted Belman - 4/1/2008
Moshe Feiglin was in New York on 9/11. Two weeks later he wrote this profound article, Why America Has Already Lost the War. For him it was a cultural/religious war. The same war that Israel had been fighting for a century and losing. Islam destroyed the greatest symbol of the West, he wrote, namely the Twin Towers and nothing less would do but to destroy Mecca, Medina and al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Alliances of Convenience: What Mughniyah’s Death Reminds Us
Nicholas M. Guariglia - 4/1/2008
You could almost picture the scene: an eloquent but exclusive reception in downtown Damascus to mark the anniversary of Ayatollah Khomeini’s revolution. The lounge is full of intelligentsia and dignitaries, as one Imad Mughniyah shares stories and cocktails with the man of the hour, the host of the evening, Mr. Musavi –– the new Irania | 
