Two Obama Administration Scandals on Syria?
When a delegation of Syrian Kurdish rebels recently visited Washington,… [more]
Gulf Union Fails to Materialize
Saudi and Gulf leaders held discussions in Riyadh this week on… [more]
Turkey’s Middle East Policy of Seeking To Gobble, Gobble Up the Middle East Makes Enemies of Everyone
“Countries may vary, but civilization is one, and for a nation… [more]
Syrian Kurdish Dissident: Break Syria Into Pieces
Sherkoh Abbas, a veteran Syrian Kurdish dissident, called on… [more]
Middle East Media Sampler for May 21, 2012
By Daniel Goldstein May 21, 2012
>1) Jerusalem the panoramic The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs has a remarkable website devoted to Jerusalem centering around an annotated panoramic photograph of Jerusalem. (h/t Elder of Ziyon) Of particular interest is a project titled, Jerusalem in International Diplomacy, by Dr. Dore Gold. The executive summary is here. The July 2000 Camp David Summit [...]
Middle East Media Sampler for May 20, 2012
By Daniel Goldstein May 20, 2012
1) What part of "wipe off the map" don't you understand? When Israel cites threats against its existence, there are many who tend to underplay these threats and suggest that Israel is exaggerating for one reason or another. An example of this, Glenn Kessler's "Did Ahmadinejad really say Israel should be ‘wiped off the map’?" [...]
Two Obama Administration Scandals on Syria?
By Barry Rubin May 19, 2012
When a delegation of Syrian Kurdish rebels recently visited Washington, D.C., the State Department met them to ask for a favor. What was it? The Obama administration urged them to join the Syrian National Council (SNC), the organization created by the U.S. government through Turkey to lead the opposition movement and receive Western aid for [...]
Gulf Union Fails to Materialize
By Jonathan Spyer May 18, 2012
Saudi and Gulf leaders held discussions in Riyadh this week on proposed moves toward greater unity. The meeting, however, revealed little genuine enthusiasm for such a project outside of Saudi Arabia itself and beleaguered Bahrain. But while it is unlikely that proposals for greater Gulf unity will bear fruit, the very fact that they are [...]
Middle East Media Sampler for May 18, 2012
By Daniel Goldstein May 18, 2012
1) Former President Bush on the Arab spring Former President, George W. Bush wrote The Arab Spring and American Ideals in the Wall Street Journal. America does not get to choose if a freedom revolution should begin or end in the Middle East or elsewhere. It only gets to choose what side it is on. [...]
MIddle East Media Sampler for May 17, 2012
By Daniel Goldstein May 17, 2012
1) The man who swallowed Gaza is targeted AP reports Arafat's moneyman targeted in corruption probe: Anti-corruption campaigners lauded the case against the shadowy former aide, Mohammed Rashid, as a sign of the maturing of the Palestinian political system, although the probe also appeared to be tinged with political intrigue. Rashid, who has in the [...]
Turkey’s Middle East Policy of Seeking To Gobble, Gobble Up the Middle East Makes Enemies of Everyone
By Barry Rubin May 16, 2012
“Countries may vary, but civilization is one, and for a nation to progress, it must take part in this one civilization. The decline of the Ottomans began when, proud of their triumphs over the West, they cut their ties with the European nations. This was a mistake which we will not repeat.” –Kemal Ataturk, 1924 [...]
The Rise of Hamas-Gaza
By Jonathan Spyer May 16, 2012
Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement which controls the Gaza Strip, recently held internal elections. The polls were for the Gaza Political Bureau and Shura Council, often described as the movement’s parliament. Hamas holds its votes in secret, and tries to prevent the outside world from gaining knowledge of the movement’s internal political processes. However, it [...]
Syrian Kurdish Dissident: Break Syria Into Pieces
By Jonathan Spyer May 16, 2012
Sherkoh Abbas, a veteran Syrian Kurdish dissident, called on Israel this week to support the break-up of Syria into a series of federal structures based on the country’s various ethnicities. Speaking from Washington, Abbas was also critical of US attempts to induce Syrian Kurds to join and work with the main opposition body, the Syrian [...]
Middle East Media Sampler for May 16, 2012
By Daniel Goldstein May 16, 2012
1) Hungering for more information Both the New York Times and Washington Post reported on the recently ended prisoners strike. Both reports were pretty straightforward, but not without troubling omissions. Isabel Kershner reported Palestinians in Jails End Hunger Strike for the New York Times. Although only a minority of the hunger strikers were identified with [...]
