Category Archives: Middle East
Israel and the West Bank build a bridge over murky waters
The new Memorandum of Understanding signed between Israel and West Bank in December 2013 goes some way to addressing Palestinian water shortages but it does not address the root causes of this shortage and the disparity in water supply between Read on! →
Peace down the line: Are Iran and the US ready to talk?
On Friday the 27th September, the president of the United States and his Iranian counterpart had a 15-minute phone talk, which signalled the first such high-level dialogue between these two countries for over 30 years. Since the Iranian Shah was Read on! →
Terrorists on Twitter: Should extremists be on social networks?
The attacks on the Westgate Centre in Nairobi by Somali terrorist group, al-Shabaab have brought into focus an age old question about how liberal western democracies handle extremists who use mass media as a propaganda tool. Al-Shabaab were probably the Read on! →
Syria: Assad might negotiate, but why would the rebels?
We are only engaging with half the problem on Syria. As hard as it might be to persuade Assad that he cannot win the war, it may be harder to persuade the rebels they should stop fighting it. The reason Read on! →
Syria: Would any US-led strike on Syria remain limited in scope?
In August 2012, President Obama declared that any use of chemical weapons by the government of Bashar al-Assad would cross a game-changing red line. When the Assad regime deployed sarin gas on a Damascus suburb, almost exactly a year later, Read on! →
Iraq: America’s forgotten allies
The recent 10th anniversary of the start of the Iraq War, has led many commentators to reflect on what was undoubtedly the biggest U.S foreign policy mistake of a generation. Many have noted the human cost of a conflict which Read on! →
Afghanistan: Translators’ visa applications [infographic]
SIV stands for Special Immigant Visa, a form of Visa issued by the U.S. State Department to legally qualifying parties. Different type of SIVs exist for different groups of refugees e.g. Afghans and Iraqis, and each type has its own rules, regulations. Read on! →
The Arab Spring: A broadcast revolution
The Arab Spring movement across the Middle East and North Africa will be remembered not by the professional news recordings and photographs of experienced journalists, but rather by the shaky hand held footage and images captured on the mobile phones Read on! →
Syria: The race for Assad’s chemical weapon stockpile
The last few weeks have been generous in events and catastrophes, from the Boston bombings to the attack on the French embassy in Libya. One event that has been strangely overlooked, but is of critical importance, is the suspected use Read on! →
Qatar: Cuban doctors in the desert
If you’re not coming to Dukhan to work at its famous oilfield or visit its isolated beaches there is a little reason to visit the Qatari town. Yet it is here that the recent completion of a new hospital marks Read on! →