100 posts
Moving towards arming the Syrian rebels?
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As the Syrian conflict has descended into ever greater brutality the West has continued to reject arming the rebels, fearful that weapons might end up in the hands of radicals and only serve to fanRead more…...
Greek Cyprus ignores Turkey’s gas resistance
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Greek Cyprus says it will continue natural gas talks with large companies despite Turkey’s strong opposition, blaming it with ‘showing its true face’ READ MORE...
Are Ashton's friends using white phosphorous in Libya?
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Freedom now reigns in Libya - or so Catherine Ashton would have us believe. On 23 October, the EU's foreign policy chief issued a statement congratulating the Libyan people "on the first anniversary of the historic declaration of liberation". While A...
Palestinians Put Jordanian Option on the Table
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Article (short version) first published as Palestinians Put Jordanian Option on the Table on Technorati. Farouk Kaddoumi, a veteran PLO official, dropped a political bomb (on 31st Oct. 2012) with a call for “returning” the West Bank...
Former French Defense Minister “Gives the Bird” to a Recognition of Colonial Crimes in Algeria
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Written by Rakotomalala · comments (0) Share: Donate · facebook · twitter · reddit · StumbleUpon · delicious · Instapaper...
How Political Islamists View the Euro Crisis
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Europe's economic crisis is being used to carve out more fundamental divisions between Europe and its Muslim neighbors.
La politique méditerranéenne de l’UE: Les limites de l’approche régionale
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Les efforts en vue d’établir une politique envers les pays de la Méditerranée méridionale et orientale datent du début de la construction européenne, mais c’est avec la création du Partenariat euro-méditerranéen (aussi connu sous...
Orhan Pamuk: Europe is turning away from Turkey – and the rest of the world
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Europe is turning away from Turkey – and the rest of the world | Orhan Pamuk from World news: Turkey | guardian.co.uk by Orhan Pamuk Whatever happened to liberté, égalité, fraternité? Fear of Muslims is putting Europe’s secular...
Why Democratic Transitions in the Arab World Will Be Harder than in Post-Communist Europe
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Despite similarities, here are five reasons that political transitions in the Arab will be considerably more difficult than those experienced by the countries of the former Eastern Bloc two decades ago.
The wisdom of Freedland, stupidity of Tongue…and sinister evasiveness of German
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Very occasionally (about once every five years of so), the Graun carries a sensible, balanced and thought-provoking article that I am able to unreservedly recommend. It happened on Saturday (print edition), when Jonathan Freedland asked “We co...
An assassination in Lebanon
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I have just returned from Lebanon, a country once again shaking as the threat of violent spillover emanating from Syria grows stronger. On Friday, Wissam al-Hassan, head of intelligence in theRead more…...
Syria: Why NATO Stands Aside
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Surely, despite all the reasons for justifying no intervention of any kind in Syria, it is time for NATO to stop sitting on the sidelines.
Syria and the battle for regional control | David Hearst
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Russia and Turkey are in a war of words, but it's the makeup of the post-Assad government that's really being fought overTwo years on, they are still haggling over the name. An Arab spring? Springs are seasonal, and tumultuous though transitional gov...
What Kind of Intervention in Syria?
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This evening I took part in a lively and well-attended debate at the University College London (UCL) Debating Society, speaking on behalf of a proposition in favour of international intervention in Syria. I pointed out that there already has been i...
Turkey now angry with UN. New drama at the Turkey vs. Syria story…
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Turkey condemns UN for inaction in Syria from turkey – Yahoo! News Search Results (Images) As fighting continues to rage in Syria, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan labels the UN Secutity Council as ‘unjust’ for its inaction ove...
Turkey, Syria and vicious circles
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Hardly a day passes without a new development in the Turkey-Syrian saga. Last evening, as I was flying from Istanbul to Sofia, Turkish airforce intercepted a Syrian Air passenger plane overRead more…...
Grounding Syrian Plane. Looks like another governmental stunt for domestic purposes, but endangering neighbourly relations…
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Turkey denies accusations over held Syria plane: Foreign ministry from Hurriyet Daily News Ankara took all measures to ensure the safety of the passengers of a Syrian plane intercepted.. Syria accuses Turkey of ‘hostile’ beh...
A Darfur Scenario for Syria?
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Strong similarities can be noted between the plight of Darfur and the degenerating situation in Syria.
Opera in Algiers: the EU & Algeria Act II
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This time last year I was in Algiers as part of research for ECFR policy brief “A reset with Algeria: the Russia to the EU’s South”. At the time, Algerian policymakers seemed to reply fairlyRead more…...
In the Days of the Hangman: Assad and the UN Before Syria's Bloody Tree and Leaves
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Like his pal Plantu, Serguei probably doesn't realize it, but his Syria cartoon is just as critical of the United Nations as America's criticized conservatives and its equally demonized neocons are.
Ever closer union around the Mediterranean?
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It has been a busy week for EU policymakers concerned with relations with the Magreb. Tunisian Prime Minister Jebali was in Brussels on Tuesday for meetings with Herman van Rompuy and others toRead more…...
Nobody seems to have believed Al Arabiya claims… A FP roundup…
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Turkish pilots killed by Syrian intelligence, Al Arabiya claims from Hurriyet Daily News “Two Turkish pilots were captured by the Syrian Air Force Intelligence after their jet was shot down in coordination with the Russian naval base in [the Syrian...
Avneri on Romney and the ‘two-state solution’
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That wise commentator, Ari Avnery of Gush Shalom, comments upon Mitt Romney’s dangerous and ignorant comments on the Middle East. Above: Avneri at checkpoint protest The whole article is essential reading ( http://www.avnery-news.co.il/engli...
Aleppo Ablaze
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The worsening civil war in Syria delivers ghastly images into our living rooms every day — at least for those of us who watch Al Jazeera. But today I watched one of the most heart-breaking pieces of footage so far: the burning down of much of A...
Boycotter Israël : un devoir moral
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La quête de justice menée par les Palestiniens pour la justice et la liberté pourrait se résumer en un seul et joli mot : sumoud. La traduction communément admise en anglais est ‘‘steadfastness’’ (persévérance, indéfectible, en franç...
Le Printemps arabe n’est pas terminé
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FRIDE Middle East and North Africa expert, Barah Mikail, was recently interviewed by jolpress.com the Arab Spring’s on-going developments. Plus d’un an après les débuts du Printemps arabe, qui a soulevé et soulève toujours plusie...
Rape victim was accused of indecency. Does it tell us something about Tunisia?
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It is probably useless to make any fundamental conclusion based on this story. But my question is: How women fit into Tunisian society after the political changes? Answer: Fatima El Issawi, Research Fellow, London School of Economics Tunisian women a...
Energy Resources in the Eastern Mediterranean: Promise and Peril
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A year ago, a tempest was looming in the Eastern Mediterranean. A Turkish exploration vessel named Piri Reis accompanied by warships and jets approached a contested area of newly discovered naturalRead more…...
Obama and Morsi: Two Views of Freedom
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European leaders should take note from Obama and Morsi, who tried to address the complex issue of freedom of speech at a time when the Arab world is going through immense turmoil.
All aboard with the Estelle to challenge the blockade of Gaza
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By David Heap It was a great honour to be invited to accompany the Swedish sailing ship Estelle for a few days, from Barcelona to Ajaccio (Corsica), on its way towards Gaza to challenge the illegal and inhuman blockade which has lasted now for more t...
Judy Asks: Protecting Sinai: Can the EU Save Israeli-Egyptian Peace?
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Every week leading experts answer a new question from Judy Dempsey on the international challenges shaping Europe's role in the world.
The EU, Turkey and the MENA Region
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The Liberal Democrat Friends of Turkey hosted an unusually sparky fringe meeting at the party’s Brighton conference today at which Andrew Duff MEP outlined a proposal which he said the European Parliament was working on to offer Turkey a form o...
Europe's reaction to the Arab Spring - could do better
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The European Union's focus on the European Neighbourhood Policy as the main vehicle for its response looks increasingly like displacement activity before normal politics are resumed – claim Nick Witney and Anthony Dworkin...
"How will the US avenge the Libya Attack?" by Robert Skidelsky
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US President Barack Obama has vowed to avenge the murder of J. Christopher Stevens, America’s former ambassador to Libya. How he proposes to do this is unclear – historical precedent is of little use. In 1864, the Emperor of Abyssinia took hostag...
A Cultural Divide and an Imperative of Engagement
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Acknowledging serious differences in culture and values with many societies in the Muslim world is essential to tackling the gaps in the value of human life and religious symbols.
Benghazi: A lesson in humility
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FRIDE Middle East and North Africa expert, Barah Mikail, wrote an opinion piece for Global Experts, titled “Why Benghazi should give us a lesson in humility”. The original article can be found here, and it is also re-produced below. ...
Security Sector Reform in the MENA Region
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FRIDE Middle East and North Africa expert, Barah Mikail, recently wrote an opinion piece for Open Democracy, on the future of security sector reform in the MENA region. You can find the original version here and the text of the piece is also copied...
Syria: Reflections from the Balkans
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Macedonian non-profit outlet Diversity Media published an article/podcast [mk, sq] about the Balkan states' reactions to the situation in Syria, featuring a statement by GV Author Ruslan Trad (among others, including the Macedonian politician Sto...
Benghazi attack aftermath… Middle East Protests all over…
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What’s actually in the Mohammed video? from FP Passport by Joshua Keating Sam Bacile has reportedly gone into hiding after his film, the “Innocence of Muslims,” provoked yesterday’s violence in Egypt in Libya, including the attack tha...
Sabra and Shatila remembered
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Today is the thirtieth anniversary of the massacres (designated as genocide by the UN General Assembly), at Sabra and Shatila. These were two mainly Palestinian refugee camps on the outskirts of West Beirut, set up in the aftermath olf the 1967 w...
‘Payback’: Radio 4 play on The Yom Kippur War
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I’ve just been listening to Jonathan Myerson‘s ‘Payback’ on BBC Radio 4. It has a superb cast (including Henry Goodman as Kissinger, Peter Marinker as Nixon, Sara Kestelman as Golda Meir and Kerry Shale as Al Haig and Sim...
Libya attacks aftermath roundup… “‘EVE Online’ Community Mourns and more…
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‘EVE Online’ Community Mourns Death of Ambassador Killed in Libya Attacks from Mashable! by Chelsea Stark U.S. Drones Never Left Libya; Will Hunt Benghazi Thugs from Wired Top Stories by Spencer Ackerman The skies over Libya were clogged with U.S...
Pictures of Libyan anti-Fascists
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Just like not all Americans are like the people who made the weird anti-Islam movie that is sparking protests in Muslim nations, not all people in Libya are like the ones who killed U.S. ambassador Chris Stevens. Some of the people of Benghazi, where...
Maghreb, France: The Arc of Revolution is Long but It Bends towards Freedom
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Had humanity obsessed itself with the potential pitfalls of every fight for emancipation and always analyze the events under the prism of one segment of society, we all will still be living under the old regime of monarchy. Faysal Riad argues tha...
Jihad5; Mr Morsi, Will the Arab Uprisings lead to Mediterranean Peace or a new Jihad?
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Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi, on the first visit of a democratically elected Egyptian President to the EU, declared that he was fully supporting the implementation of Fundamental Freedoms and Human Rights in Egypt. This is certainly good news...
Israeli vs Palestine Refugees – In, Out and No Return
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One element by solving Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the question of refugees or better their right to return. When the “refugee issue” is discussed within the context of the Middle East, people invariably refer to Palestinian refugees,...
Juan Cole on Libya, Egypt and the butterfly effect
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From Juan Coles’s Informed Comment blog: The late science fiction writer Ray Bradbury authored a short story about time travelers. They were careful, when they went back to the Jurassic, not to change anything, but one of them stepped on a butt...
‘Sam Bacile’ not Israeli, not Jewish: letters to Guardian and Morning Star
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To the Morning Star: Dear Morning Star, Your article ‘US ambassador killed in wave of Islamic protests’ (M Star September 13) was highly distateful in its gloating tone and attempt to draw a moral equivalence between Christopher Steven...
the Pretext used to attack American entities is a bigger insult to Islam…
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Yahya Arhab/European Pressphoto Agency-Protesters sought to storm the United States embassy during a protest against an anti-Islamic film in Sana on Thursday. I could not follow the related news in great detail but what I understand is that: an a-obs...
Morsi’s first comments on anti-US violence
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Mohamed Morsi, the new Egyptian president, arrived in Brussels today for day long-meetings with top EU officials. But most of the world’s attention was back in Cairo, where the US embassy, like other embassies in the region, had been the target of...
A Cartoon on the Effectiveness of the United Nations Regarding the Syrian Issue
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• Foreign Minister Fabius to the (sleeping) delegates of the UN:Hold me down or I shall get very cross!• President Hollande: Well spoken!Without realizing it, Plantu echoes all the criticism that has been leveled at the United Nations by America'...
Une nécessaire relecture du Printemps arabe
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FRIDE Middle East and North Africa expert, Barah Mikail, was recently interviewed by affaires-strategiques.info to discuss his new book Une nécessaire relecture du Printemps arabe (A neccessary re-reading of the Arab Spring). You can find the inte...
The end of revolution? Not quite.
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After months of drunken revolutionary revelry, the shocking news of the death of the US Ambassador Chris Stevens in Benghazi and the preceding riots at the US Embassy in Cairo make it seem like theRead more…...
Cengiz Aktar: Yeni modellerimizden kesitler
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Yeni modellerimizden kesitler Temmuz ayında Kremlin’de gerçekleşen Erdoğan-Putin görüşmesinin videosunu görmediyseniz bir göz atmanızı öneririm. Görüşmenin özü ‘Suriye’ye rağmen ticarete devam’ idi. Bunun bir haber değeri y...
Is Egypt replacing Turkey as the regional powerhouse?
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Egypt's newly-elected President Mohamed Morsi could also cast a shadow on the efforts of Turkey's charismatic Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan to consolidate his country's vaunted potential to lead the region - writes Nora Fisher Onar...
Aid to Egypt vs. Paying Down Debt
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The debt of the U.S. Government—some $16 trillion in 2012—can be difficult even to grasp conceptually. One does not run into a trillion of anything in daily life, much less sixteen times a trillion. Without any tangible examples that can give us...
As an expert in uncovering state terrorism cases Turkey now states Syria “a terrorist state”, before it was Israel…
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Turkey Warns Syria Is ‘A Terrorist State’ from Yahoo news Turkey’s prime minister has said neighbouring Syria is a “terrorist state” that is massacring its own people, just hours after the new UN-Arab League envoy...
