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The Americans call the five-day halt to Turkey’s military incursion into northern Syria a ceasefire, while the Turks prefer to call it a pause. The Kurds call the incursion something else. For them, and for American soldiers who fought with them in the war against the Islamic State (IS), as well...
Since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has been consumed by a destructive domestic struggle for power aggravated by the involvement of major external players. By 2014-16, two main centers of power emerged. The so-called “western bloc,” nominally led by Fayez al-Sarraj, rests on...
Iran is a country with a rich culture. Those who know about its ancient history probably agree that it shouldn’t be judged based on the events after the 1979 revolution. Indeed, there are many people across the globe who simply know Iran through the mainstream media’s portrayal of the oil-rich...
“The Youth in Iraq have a mad stare of despair on their faces. They have seen nothing, but Sanctions and War.” These were the words of a UN official stationed in the International Zone in Baghdad back in 2011. This month, there have been massive protests in different parts of Iraq as a result...
There is a strange irony to the latest Turkish offensive announced in northern Syria. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan couched it on his Twitter feed as a move that will “preserve Syria’s territorial integrity and liberate local communities from terrorists.” Yet the creation of a “safe...
In late 2018, Fair Observer published many articles on the killing of Jamal Khashoggi. In an editorial decision, we decided to publish a 360⁰ series and an e-magazine on the subject one year after his death. We are doing so because freedom of the press matters and his murder raises deeply...
On October 2, 2018, Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi expatriate journalist, walked into the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. What then transpired resembled a 1920s American gangland-style killing, complete with the victim’s final pleadings, the executioners’ harsh words and the chilling sound of a bone...
When Norah O’Donnell, interviewing Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), boldly opened the dialogue with the question the world has been waiting for hard-hitting journalists to ask — “Did you order the murder of Jamal Khashoggi?” — no one, including O’Donnell, could have been...
On September 26, The Jerusalem Post announced that, even after his widely reported defeat in the latest round of Israeli elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been invited to return to power, at least temporarily. In an article with the title, “Reuven Rivlin Gives Netanyahu Mandate to...
In an interview that will appear in a documentary called "The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia" to air on PBS, Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), we discover, deigned to speak in December 2018 about his responsibility concerning the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. The...
Reading tea leaves, even great Moroccan mint tea, is always challenging, especially with data that doesn’t always seem to match up. So, depending on what you’re measuring and where you gather your statistics, the message can vary from so bad to almost great, when it comes to economic...
