GLORIA

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 all Syrian opposition groups. But the Turkish Islamist regime, which Obama put in charge of forming the SNC, put the Muslim Brotherhood in control, a fact … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Syria, U.S. Policy on the Middle East

Gulf Union Fails to Materialize

By Jonathan Spyer May 18, 2012

500px-Cooperation_Council_for_the_Arab_States_of_the_Gulf.svg

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 being raised at all is significant. It reflects two things: firstly, the overriding concerns felt by Saudi Arabia regarding Iranian ambitions in the Gulf … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Gulf, Middle East Politics, Understanding the Middle East

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 Spinning in his grave, indeed. for now his successors not only think they can revive a Turkish-ruled imperium but have made the very mistake of turning their backs on the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Turkey, U.S. Policy on the Middle East, Understanding the Middle East

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 has become clear that the elections represented a significant victory for Hamas’s Gaza leadership. This came at the expense … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Palestinians, Radical Movements, Understanding the Middle East

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 National Council. Abbas, who heads the Washington- based Kurdistan National Assembly, said that dismantling Syria into ethnic enclaves with a federal … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Middle East Politics, Syria, U.S. Policy on the Middle East

The Obama Government Backs the Atrocity-Producing Forces So How Will it Stop Atrocities?

By Barry Rubin May 13, 2012

How can one write satire when the Obama Administration has created an Atrocities Prevention Board to prevent mass murder and genocide at the same time as it has been largely supporting the forces most likely to commit mass murder and genocide? We can almost call these regimes the Organization of Atrocity-Exporting States (OAES). With the exception of Libya—an issue I’m not going to debate in this article--the Obama Administration has been distinguished by its accommodation with those who … [Read more...]

Filed Under: U.S. Policy on the Middle East, Understanding the Middle East

With Election Charade, Assad Bides Time

By Jonathan Spyer May 13, 2012

Polling stations for the Syrian “Peoples’ Assembly” election opened at 7 a.m. on Monday. Information Minister Dr. Adnan Mahmoud said the elections would be held in “an atmosphere of democracy and pluralism,” according to the SANA state news agency. Opposition activists dispute the claim, saying that the current polls are the latest episode in an ongoing regime campaign of window-dressing, of fiddling while the country burns. The scheduled vote is part of the strange, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Syria

Assad’s Russian Lifeline

By Jonathan Spyer May 13, 2012

The port of Oktyabrsk is situated on the left bank of the Bug River, 58 km. north of the entry to the Black Sea. Close to the city of Nikolayev, this anonymous Ukrainian port could not seem further from the strife-torn Middle East. Yet in the last year, Oktyabrsk has played a key role in the international structure that enables the survival of the Assad dictatorship in Syria. It is the main point from which ships bearing the Russian arms that underwrite the Assad regime’s survival set off … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Regional Security, Russia/USSR, Syria

The Transforming Fire: Review by Joseph Morrison Skelly

By Jonathan Spyer May 12, 2012

The Transforming Fire: The Rise of the Israel–Islamist Conflict by Jonathan Spyer (New York: Continuum, 2010), 227 pages Reviewed by Joseph Morrison Skelly Treasurer, Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa /US Army Reserve “People walked from tank to tank, shaking hands with friends, wishing each other luck. I remember standing with my friend Ariel Ronen and exchanging a few brief words before we boarded. Blond Ariel, in civilian life the owner of a marketing … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Israel, Middle East Politics, Radical Movements, Understanding the Middle East

What Do Egyptians Want? A Democratically Elected Islamist Dictatorship

By Barry Rubin May 11, 2012

Yes, friends, it’s once again time for that exciting game of Spin the Polls by the Pew Foundation. Here are the rules: Rule 1: Pew does a good job on the poll itself. Rule 2: The Pew analysis ignores or misunderstands the implications of the poll. Rule 3: The Western media and government misread the poll, often misinterpreting the results into the exact opposite of what they actually mean. They then adopt the wrong policies. Rule 4: If correctly … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Egypt, Middle East Politics, Radical Movements