Category Archives: Middle East

The US as a Middle East Regional Power

Al Jazeera English posted a video brief on the ever-growing US military presence in the Middle East. Maybe it took too long for it to dawn on me, but after watching the video and in the context of a map of … Continue reading

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Must read: Arab revolts – Past and Present

al-Jazeera: The current popular challenges to the Western-sponsored Arab dictatorships are hardly a new occurrence in modern Arab history. We have seen such uprisings against European colonialism in the region since its advent in Algeria in 1830 and in Egypt … Continue reading

Posted in Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Middle East, Syria, Tunisia, Yemen | 1 Comment

Video: The IMF, Dictators, and the Arab World

See the al Jazeera video here.

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A Post-American Day Dawns in the Mideast

Here’s an interesting piece in the NYTimes Op-Ed section by Ray Takeyh.  He makes some interesting points but makes ill-informed generalizations elsewhere.  Take this statement for example: “The struggle of the Middle East during the past century was a determined … Continue reading

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Obama and Thomas Friedman

Herein lies the problem, Obama reads Thomas Friedman for analysis of the Middle East. I almost threw up a little when I read this.

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Video: “How the Middle East is Changing”

See the video here.

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Arab spring: an interactive timeline of Middle East protests

The Guardian has really showed its worth through its coverage of the revolutionary movements in the Middle East. Here’s its latest gem, an interactive timeline of Middle East protests.

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Celebrity Deaths Happen in Threes

They say celebrity deaths happen in threes. After these history-making moments, they’ll look back and say “Arab dictators fall in 3s” or 4s or 5s.  First Ben Ali, 2nd Mubarak, and now Saleh and Gaddafi cutting in front of each … Continue reading

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The Bush Administration CANNOT take credit for the Mideast uprisings!

Truthdig: The claim that George W. Bush’s war of aggression against Iraq somehow opened up the Middle East to reform is an affront to the brave crowds that have risked their lives to change the American-backed order in that part … Continue reading

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A Middle East without borders?

al-Jazeera: The modern geography of the Middle East was carved out by British and French colonialists whose sole interest was in sharing the spoils of war between themselves and in maintaining their supremacy over the region in the early part … Continue reading

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Huntington’s Clash Revisited

Excerpt: It now appears that people in these nations, like people in all nations, have multiple authentic selves. In some circumstances, one set of identities manifests itself, but when those circumstances change, other equally authentic identities and desires get activated. For … Continue reading

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How Tunisia Gave Life to the Arab Regimes’ Worst Nightmare

You can just picture it now, the Saudi king Abdullah smacking ousted Tunisian president Ben Ali beside the head for succumbing to the Tunisian revolt.  He would have preferred him to stay put no matter what. The Arab regimes’ have … Continue reading

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The Tunisian Effect: Cairo in ‘Day of Revolt’ and elsewhere

Cairo on January 25: See the video here. Jordan on January 24: See the video here. Yemen on January 23: Read about it here. Algiers on January 22: See the video here.

Posted in Egypt, Middle East, Tunisia, Yemen | Tagged | 1 Comment

The Latest WikiLeaks Leak: “US urged to tackle Iran”

al-Jazeera: Among the documents in the cache of quarter-million files are striking passages detailing US observations from meetings with foreign leaders regarding Iran. A series of diplomatic cables sent from US diplomats in the Middle East to the US state … Continue reading

Posted in Iran's Nuclear Program, Middle East, US-Iran Relations, WikiLeaks | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Arab man who posed as a Jew to seduce woman to consensual sex convicted of rape

His only crime was that he was an Arab man who slept with a Jewish woman… if this is the only “democracy in the Middle East” then the Middle East has extremely low standards – Haaretz:  An Arab resident of … Continue reading

Posted in Middle East, Racism | 2 Comments