Despotism Is Not the Solution for Egypt
The assassination of the man in charge of thousands of prosecutions including the controversial death sentences against Muslim Brotherhood followers paved the way for the incumbent Egyptian president for a…
Egyptian Soccer Player Criticizes Al-Sisi in Reflection Of Mounting Discontent
Criticism this week by soccer player Ahmed Al-Merghani of general-turned-president Abdulfattah Al Sisi’s hard-handed repression of dissent and failure to defeat a mushrooming insurgency in the Sinai peninsula signals mounting…
The Leftovers of the Middle East?
“I walked to the field hospital under the bombs and in the bad weather to have my annoying shot” The12-year-old girl, a diabetic child in a field hospital waiting for…
As a Patriotic Syrian, I Never Imagined I Would Ask For Intervention
In a UN open session, head of the Syrian Civil Defence Raed Al-Saleh speaks to the Security Council about the atrocities caused by barrel bombs calling for them to help…
This Islamic State Madness Has Gone on Long Enough
Friday, June 26, 2015 was a day of horror. In the seaside resort of Sousse in Tunisia nearly 40 sunbathing tourists were mown down by gunfire; earlier that morning a decapitated…
Advisory Council Rejects Labour Reform As Qatar Stiffens Its Back
Revived controversy over the integrity of Qatar’s successful bid to host the 2022 World Cup and persistent criticism of the conditions of migrant labour in the Gulf state appear to…
Study in Contrasts: Militaries in Political Transitions in Asia, the Middle East and North Africa
The Economist recently highlighted the contrast between post-revolt Asian societies and Middle Eastern and North African societies in the woes of a prolonged, messy and bloody transition that is pockmarked…
The Kurds – Key to Success Against “The Islamic State?”
The so-called Islamic State, more commonly called the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), has suffered few military setbacks. The one that the Iraqi and American governments like to…
The Middle East and North Africa: Adapting to a New Paradigm
The US and Arab military strategies across the Middle East and North Africa have failed to reverse the rise of often retrograde rebel forces in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Libya.…
Who’s Fighting Whom in the Middle East?
Across today’s Middle East armed forces engage each other in constant conflict. The largest of the battlefields are Iraq and Syria; others include Yemen, Sinai and Libya. When combatants set…