Barack Obama suggests Scotland should stay in UK
Barack Obama has intervened in the debate on Scottish independence by saying the United States has a deep interest in ensuring the UK remains “strong, robust and united”. The US president said at a joint press conference in Brussels with David Cameron that the UK had been “an extraordinary partner” and that, as a foreigner, More...
Sisi’s policy towards Syria
Egyptian President-elect Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi dedicated most of his electoral campaign to addressing domestic issues and Egyptian citizens’ concerns. He did not say much about world affairs, Libya’s stability More...
General Haftar’s plans and Libya’s future
Libya’s General Khalifa Haftar, the leader of Operation Dignity, is making small and important strides against opposition voices and militias in Libya. His forces have struck at the Libyan parliament, hit Islamist More...
Iran and the Ikhwan: The ideological roots of a partnership
One sizzling summer day in 2012, Tehran was abuzz with talk of an impending “historic moment.” The venue was the brand-new Hall of Conferences, constructed to host the summit of the Non-Aligned Movement during More...
Modernization is not Westernization
According to the latest Arab Youth Survey, 46 percent of respondents believe that traditional values are outdated and wish to embrace modern ideals and beliefs. This belief has risen steadily over the years- only More...
Is Russia reviving its empire?
A great many experts, observers and pundits are missing the point in their analyses of events in and around Ukraine by making two flawed assumptions. One, that the personal traits and characters of Russian President More...
A Middle Eastern ‘Perfect Storm’
In July, the world will commemorate the centennial of World War I, also known as,” The war to end all wars.” In addition to its horrendous human cost of 37 million casualties, the war led to the demise of More...
Philippine ‘spy’ sentenced to death in Qatar
The Philippines confirmed on Friday, May 23, that a Qatari court sentenced a Filipino to death last April 30 “for espionage and economic sabotage” – charges which, a report said, implicate the Philippine More...
Russian protection will not save Assad
Recently, some observers have expressed concern that Russia’s occupation of parts of Ukraine and Crimea is keeping it from supporting Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria. However, Syria’s propaganda machine More...
Migrant workers: Qatar cleans up its act
By any standards the states of the Arabian peninsula are severely handicapped. They have small populations, a sparse geography, few resources other than petrocarbons, and monarchical political systems only lightly More...