May 18, 2013

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Western Leftists Back Islamists; Arab Counterparts Are Their Victims

January 27, 2013 By
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (photo: David Holt London)

OH! pleasant exercise of hope and joy! For mighty were the auxiliars which then stood Upon our side, we who were strong in love! Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, But to be young was very heaven!--Oh! times, In which the meager, stale, forbidding ways Of custom, law, and statute, took at once The attraction of a country in romance! --William Wordsworth, Poem on the French Revolution, 1789By Barry Rubin A decent but very leftist British Middle East expert once described for me … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Radical Movements, U.S. Policy on the Middle East Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

AN ISRAELI “PLAN B” FOR A NUCLEAR IRAN

July 1, 2012 By
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Assuming that Iran does indeed obtain nuclear weapons and Israel doesn’t launch an attack on its facilities, what is Israel’s “plan B” to deal with the new situation? This article analyzes the issue. Click here to download the PDF version of this article. INTRODUCTION Despite substantial sanctions designed to curb its nuclear program, Iran has refused to bend to international pressure. It has consistently violated U.N. resolutions calling for it to abandon its uranium enrichment … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Iran, Israel, MERIA Journal Volume 16, Number 02 (June 2012), Palestinians, Radical Movements, Regional Security

HIZBALLAH AND THE ARAB REVOLUTIONS: THE CONTRADICTION MADE APPARENT?

April 27, 2012 By
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Since the 1990s, Hizballah has defined itself along a number of parallel lines, each of which prior to 2011 appeared to support the other. The movement was simultaneously a sectarian representative of the Lebanese Shi’a, a regional ally of Iran and Syria, a defender of the Lebanese against the supposed aggressive intentions of Israel, and a leader of a more generically defined Arab and Muslim “resistance” against Israel and the West.  As a result of the events of 2011, most important the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Lebanon, MERIA Journal Volume 16, Number 01 (March 2012), Middle East Politics, Radical Movements, Regional, Regional Security, Syria

SYRIA’S 31 PERCENTERS: HOW BASHAR AL-ASAD BUILT MINORITY ALLIANCES AND COUNTERED MINORITY FOES

April 27, 2012 By
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As the Syrian revolution against Bashar al-Asad’s rule enters its first year, Asad appears to have a good command over Syria’s large and fractious minority community. Three of the most prominent minority groups include the Christians, Druze, and Kurds. Asad’s control of these groups was not happenstance but the result of a number of hard- and soft-power moves executed by the regime. These calculations did not simply involve direct internal dealings with said minorities, but also outreach … [Read more...]

Filed Under: MERIA Journal Volume 16, Number 01 (March 2012), Middle East Politics, Radical Movements, Regional, Syria

THE “INDEPENDENT SHI’A” OF LEBANON: WHAT WIKILEAKS TELLS US ABOUT AMERICAN EFFORTS TO FIND AN ALTERNATIVE TO HIZBALLAH

December 22, 2011 By
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U.S. diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks have given a new insight into American policy in Lebanon, especially efforts to counter Hizballah. Hizballah’s willingness to use a combination of hard power through violence and coercion, combined with a softer touch via extensive patronage networks has given them unmatched control over the Shi’a community since the 2005 Cedar Revolution. Using these released cables, this study will focus on efforts, successes, and failures made by so-called … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Lebanon, MERIA Journal Volume 15, Number 04 (December 2011), Middle East Politics, Radical Movements, Regional, U.S. Policy on the Middle East

ASSESSING THE SURGE IN IRAQ

December 22, 2011 By
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This article discusses the 2006/2007 U.S. troop surge in Iraq. It examines to what extent the shift in strategy was responsible for the dramatic drop in violence as well as the implications for U.S. strategy in future conflicts. This article can be found in PDF version here.   INTRODUCTION   Adopted at the end of 2006--by far Iraq’s bloodiest year--the troop “surge” marked a major shift in the George W. Bush administration’s Iraq strategy. Indeed, the Iraq Body Count … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Iraq, MERIA Journal Volume 15, Number 04 (December 2011), Radical Movements, Regional Security, U.S. Policy on the Middle East

NAVIGATING THE NEW MIDDLE EAST? THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION IS LOST AT SEA AND ON THE ROCKS

December 22, 2011 By
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This article surveys all aspects of U.S. Middle East policy under the Obama administration, critiques this strategy and premises, and suggests what U.S. policy should be. A previous version of this article was published in The Journal of International Security Affairs (Fall/Winter 2011).   The Obama administration has comprehensively lost its way on Middle East policy to an extent that poses tremendous dangers to the United States, Western interests, and the region as a whole. The … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Israel, Israel-Palestinian Issues, MERIA Journal Volume 15, Number 04 (December 2011), Middle East Politics, Radical Movements, Regional, Regional Security, U.S. Policy on the Middle East

COMPARATIVE COUNTERINSURGENCY IN YEMEN

September 2, 2010 By

The government of Yemen is engaged in three counter-insurgency campaigns. Southern secessionists, northern rebels, and al-Qa’ida are each challenging the state. The calls for independence, revolt, or jihad arose as the state came to exist as the equivalent of a privatized mafia, but only al-Qa’ida in Yemen (AQIY) presents a transnational threat. The lethal jihadi attack on Fort Hood in November 2009 and the December 2009 attempted bombing of an airliner over Detroit were linked to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: MERIA Journal Volume 14, Number 03 (Sep 2010), Radical Movements, Yemen

SYMBOLIC VICTIMS IN A SOCIALLY REGRESSING EGYPT: THE DECLINING SITUATION OF THE COPTS

March 7, 2010 By

  A CHRISTMAS “GIFT”[1] On January 6, 2010, at 11:30 p.m., gunshots were heard in Nag Hammadi, Egypt (a town situated 80 kilometers, or 50 miles, north of Luxor). The shooting was aimed at a group of Copts leaving church following the midnight Christmas Mass (which the Coptic Church celebrated on January 7, 2010, in accordance with the old Julian and Coptic calendars). Seven people were murdered, including a Muslim who happened to be in the vicinity. In addition, nine Copts … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Egypt, MERIA Journal Volume 14, Number 01 (Mar 2010), Radical Movements

THE CROSSROADS OF MUSLIM BROTHERS IN JORDAN

March 4, 2010 By

Manifestations of Islamic activism are abundant in Jordan. The country’s Islamist movement has played a key role in political life almost since independence. As traditional allies of the monarchy, the Muslim Brothers have participated in politics when the regime has engaged in political openness. However, their moderation in domestic politics has been accompanied by a growing radicalization on foreign policy issues as a result of their refusal to accept the Israel-Jordan peace treaty and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Jordan, MERIA Journal Volume 14, Number 01 (Mar 2010), Middle East Politics, Radical Movements
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