Middle East

(From a Niqash Special Correspondent in Baghdad) A number of high profile MPs have been banned from running in Iraq’s upcoming general elections – allegedly because they contravene an electoral rule about good conduct. However there is also another thing they all have in common: They are all vehement critics of the current Prime Minister. […]

censorship

Egypt: Military Rule, Arbitrary Jailing of Protesters, and… Public Silence

contributors

(By Daniel Nour) This article will probably annoy you. Telling the truth about Egypt, speaking frankly – not appropriately, or prudently, but just plain honestly – is fraught with danger. Doing so will place me in one of two equally awkward scenarios. One the one hand, I shall be called a traitor to Egypt, a […]

Israel/ Palestine

Massive increase in Israeli Squatter settlements in West Bank blamed for Collapsing Peace Talks

Juan Cole

Israel settlements led to peace talks impasse: Palestinians (via AFP) US-sponsored peace talks with Israel have reached an impasse because of Jewish settlement activity, a Palestinian spokesman said, as plans for over 2,000 West Bank units were moved forward. The latest crisis comes as Washington scrambles for a formula… —— Related video: AmnestyInternational: “Trigger-happy […]

Dissent

Top attempts by Dictators to Shut down Twitter in Mideast (including Turkey’s PM Erdogan)

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) Trying to close down social media such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube has been a desperate ploy of dictatorial regimes throughout the world. It doesn’t work very well, since typically users find workarounds. But what is interesting is why authoritarian regimes make the attempt in the first place. At midnight last night, […]

Israel

US Special Interest Groups in the Middle East Peace Process

Juan Cole

(by Mahmoud M.A. Abdou) In this post, Mahmoud Abdou presents a summary of his book The Middle East Peace Process and U.S. Special Interest Groups. The Middle East Peace Process and U.S. Special Interest Groups is meant as a contribution towards resolving the puzzle regarding the actual clout of pro-Israel U.S. special interest groups by […]

Featured

On Iranian New Year, Russia hints it May Swing Support to Tehran over Crimea Sanctions

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) Iran may have gotten a New Year’s gift via the Crimea crisis, as Russia threatens to play the Iran card over proposed US sanctions. As I argued in the New York Times, Russia and Iran are being driven closer to one another as both are now under a US and Western European […]

Featured

Russian Annexation of Crimea, Israeli Annexation of Palestine

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) Russia’s annexation of Crimea on Tuesday is among the few significant territorial acquisitions since the end of World War II by one country from another, more or less by force. The only clear parallel I can think of in the post-War period is the Israeli annexation of the Palestinian territories in 1967. […]

Israel/ Palestine

Mapping Palestine in the Struggle for Palestine

contributors

(By Andrew Beale) Map of Palestine from late 19th century. (Flickr/T.H. McAllister) Lior Amihai didn’t grow up knowing the location of the internationally recognized border between his native Israel and the West Bank. “It wasn’t until I was 24, 23, 25-ish when it hit me that I don’t really understand what the Green Line is,” […]

al-Qaeda

As Putin recognizes Crimea, his other Client, Syria, Goes on the Offensive

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) Russian President Vladimir Putin is on a geopolitical roll these days, despite US and EU sanctions against some of his closest associates. On Monday he recognized Crimea in the wake of its referendum on secession from the Ukraine, despite Western warnings not to do so, and despite severe questions about the accuracy […]