Middle East
Middle East
Fair Observer provides inclusive, insightful and contextual analysis of the Middle East with its manifold cultures and civilizations.
-
Ashley Lohmann / Iraq / Iraq War / Iraqia Bloc / Moqtada Al-Sadr / Nouri Al-Maliki / Politics / Protest / Saddam Hussein / Sectarianism / Shia / Sunni / US Troop Withdrawal / 360° Context / Middle East / Global SecurityLast month’s spike in violence across Iraq has underscored the sectarian tensions that have been on the rise since the withdrawal of US troops. Background Of the numerous challenges facing Iraq as a nation, sectarian tension between its Shia majority and Sunni minority may be the most intractable. Sectarian rifts that deepened under Saddam Hussein’s Sunni-led regime bubbled to the surface after the United States invasion in 2003, culminating in a civil war that left tens of thousands of Iraqis dead. Although the violence has diminished significantly since 2007, tensions plague the country’s political and economic spheres, and outbreaks of violence threaten its stability....
-
360° Analysis / Economic growth / Economic Policy / Electricity Exports / EU / Foreign Investment / Inflation / Iran / Mahmoud Ahmadinejad / Nikolay Kozhanov / Oil Industry / Sanctions / Unemployment / United States / Finance & Economics / Middle EastThe international sanctions against Iran have been effective. However, they also made the Iranian elite more practical and cynical by teaching it how to survive under external economic pressure. This is the first of a two part series. International reports on the economic and political situation in Iran prepared by different respected analytical institutes and consultancies, state that sanctions adopted against Tehran by the US, EU and their partners in 2010-12, not only appear to be very effective but will inevitably put the Islamic Republic on the fringe of economic collapse. Meanwhile, diplomats and businessmen often travelling to the country draw a different picture: They describe Iran...
-
360° Analysis / AIPAC / Congress / DEFENSE GUIDANCE PLAN / Ehud Barak / George W. Bush / Iraq / Iraq War / Israel / Israel Lobby / Neoconservatives / Politics / Saddam Hussein / Stephen Zunes / terrorism / United States / US Imperialism / WMD / Middle East / Global SecurityStephen Zunes argues that the blame for the Iraq War should not be put on the Israel lobby but the Bush administration and US imperialism. This is the last of a two part series. Read part 1 here. “Pro-Israel Jewish neoconservatives like Paul Wolfowitz, Douglas Feith, Richard Perle, and other neo-cons behind the Project for a New American Century (PNAC) were among the key architects of the policy of ‘preventative war' and were the strongest advocates for a US invasion of Iraq.” While it is true that a disproportionate number of neoconservative Jews were among the policymakers who pushed for a US invasion of Iraq, it is also true that a...
-
Ahmed R.Teleb / Edouard Lambert / Eugen Ehrlich / google / google.ps / Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr / Larry Page / Palestine / Politics / Roscoe Pound / sociological jurisprudence / United States / Focus Article / Global Change / Middle EastBy Ahmed TelebMaking the decision for Google to change google.ps' website to mention "Palestine," CEO Larry Page didn't look at international law. Instead, he looked at what social institutions had done regarding Palestine. In turn, Google too followed suit. Google's decision on May 3 to change google.ps' tagline to “Palestine,” implicitly recognized it as a state. It also encapsulated a jurisprudence (philosophy of law) that harkens back to a world-wide quasi-revolution in law from 100 years ago, called by many at the time, the solution to “a crisis of democracy.” Today, that approach may herald a new period of legal transition as recent technology and new economic realities collide with old laws...
-
Al Nasser FC / Arab Spring / Dissent / Nasrawi Revolution / Politics / Prince Faisal / Prince Nawaf / Revolution / Saudi Arabia / Saudi Football Federation / Shia Minority / Soccer / Wahhabism / Women's Soccer / Focus Article / Arts & Culture / Middle EastSaudi Arabia is seeing an emergence of political dissent from soccer fans. The country may be on the verge of licensing women’s soccer clubs that currently operate in a legal nether land. Soccer, alongside minority Shiite Muslims and relatives of imprisoned government critics, is emerging as a focal point of dissent in Saudi Arabia; an oil-rich kingdom that, despite banning demonstrations by law, is struggling to fend off the waves of change sweeping the Middle East and North Africa. Nasrawi Revolution Fan pressure is evolving as a potent tool in the absence of the right to protest. It follows intermittent demonstrations, and at times deadly clashes with security forces, in the...
-
Ban Ki Moon / carbon dioxide / Carbon Emissions / climate change / Cristina Simonetti / greenhouse gases / United States / Europe / 360° Context / Global Change / Middle East / Americas / Africa / Asia / Environment & SustainabilityAs the last significant climate change conference took place six months ago, it is essential to observe developments and create awareness about the issue. Background It was not until after the efforts of a few highly committed scientists in the 1950s and 1960s, such as Hubert Lamb in England and J. Murray Mitchell in the US, that climate change was accepted as a scientific concept. Today, however, the issue is no longer about finding proof, but solutions. At the simplest level, we can define weather as what is happening to the atmosphere at any given time, while climate is what would be expected to occur at any given time of the year based on statistics built up over a long period of time....
-
360° Analysis / Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani / Ayatollah Khamenei / Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei / Green Movement / Iran / Mahmoud Ahmadinejad / Mohammed Khatami / Nuclear Program / Politics / presidential elections / Revolutionary Guard / Middle EastBy Reza JDespite the importance attached to the upcoming presidential elections, when it comes to Iran's nuclear program, there will be no change at the negotiating table. On April 18, 2013, US Secretary of State John Kerry asked senators pressing for tougher sanctions over Iran's nuclear program to be patient. He is not the only high-ranking Western politician who thinks that it would be difficult to reach to any agreement through negotiations between the P5+1 and Iran over its nuclear program before the Iranian presidential elections. Former EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana, who was the West’s main negotiator with Iran from 2003 to 2009, supports the same idea. But...
-
360° Analysis / Al-Qusayr / Bashar Al Assad / Free Syrian Army / Hezbollah / Iran / National Defense Army / Nicholas A. Heras / Popular Committees / Quds Force / Syria / United Nations Commission of Inquiry / Yarmuk Refugee Camp / Middle East / Global SecurityPopular Committees, neighborhood defense organizations mobilized to protect pro-government or politically neutral neighborhoods in Syria’s most restive regions, are evolving into locally cohesive divisions of a “National Defense Army.” They have the capacity to present a great challenge to the future military efforts of the armed opposition. [Note: This article was originally published by The Jamestown Foundation.] As the Syrian Civil War enters its second year, the lijaan sha’abiya (“Popular Committees”), local defense forces supported by the Syrian military, are taking on an increasingly important role in the country’s conflict. The...
-
360° Analysis / Anbar Province / April 20 Elections / Ba'athism / Bilal Ahmed / Democracy / Independent High Electoral Commission / Iraq / Nouri Al-Maliki / Paul Bremer / Politics / Protests / Saddam Hussein / Shia / Sunni / Syria / Middle EastBy Bilal AhmedTensions are rising in Iraq, as new waves of violence rock the country following hotly-contested elections and months of protests by its Sunni minority. It has been a bloody few weeks for Iraq. Following months of escalating protests in Sunni-dominated areas of the country, a series of highly coordinated bombings have rocked Iraq. The unrest has worsened with additional turmoil, as at least 218 people have been killed in gun battles that began when security forces attempted to clear an encampment in northern Iraq. Analysts fear that this violence, the most significant since the December 2011 US withdrawal, risks dragging Iraq back into civil war. It is difficult to discount these fears...