After every bloody episode of violence perpetrated by Israel, media spin doctors are deployed with one grand mission: Absolve Israel of any responsibility in its acts of carnage. These apologists not only demonize Palestinians, but also anyone who dares to take a...
Obama’s Failure and Richard Perle’s Whitewashing of the Iraq War
As Iraq stands on the verge of a complete breakdown into mini sectarian states, former leading neoconservative and Iraq war advocate Richard Perle made a sudden appearance on Newsmax TV. His statements in the interview were yet another testament to the intellectual...
Reverting to the Ummah: Who Is the ‘Angry Muslim’ and Why
"Brother, brother," a young man called on me as I hurriedly left a lecture hall in some community center in Durban, South Africa. This happened at the height of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, when all efforts at stopping the ferocious US-western military...
Sectarian Monster Reawakened: Redrawing the Map of Iraq, Again
"Labeiki ya Zaynab," chanted Iraqi Shia fighters as they swayed, dancing with their rifles before TV news cameras in Baghdad on June 13. They were apparently getting ready for a difficult fight ahead. For them, it seemed that a suitable war chant would be...
Reporting the Middle East: Please Go Back to the Streets
Irrespective of how one feels about the direction taken by various Arab revolutions in the last three years, a few facts remain incontestable. Arab revolts began in the streets of poor, despairing Arab cities, and Arabs had every right to rebel considering the dismal...
Haftar Leads a Coup: A General’s Odd War on the Muslim Brotherhood
On 16 May, Libya’s rogue general Khalifa Haftar staged several bloody attacks against other Libyan militias in the name of eradicating terrorism by leading a paramilitary force evasively named the Libyan National Army. His well-equipped brigades were rapidly joined by...
Navigating Syria: The Impossible, Indispensable Mission
I unfriended another Facebook friend this week. It may seem to be a trivial matter, but for me, it is not. The reason behind my action was Syria. As in Egypt, Syria has instigated many social media breakups with people whom, until then, were regarded with a degree of...
Palestinian Unity: Hope and Gloom in the Beach Refugee Camp
For years, Palestinian factions have strived for unity, and for years unity has evaded them. But is it possible that following several failed attempts, Fatah and Hamas have finally found that elusive middle ground? And if they have done so, why, to what end, and at...
Martin Indyk’s Galloping Horse: Moral Crisis at Heart of Obama’s Peace
To understand how thoughtless the US latest "peace process" drive has been, one only needs to consider some of the characters involved in this political theater. One particular character who stands out as a testament to the inherently futile exercise is...
New American Reality: An Empire Beyond Salvation
US Secretary of State John Kerry couldn’t hide his frustration anymore as the US-sponsored peace process continued to falter. After 8 months of wrangling to push talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority forward, he admitted while in a visit to Morocco on...