Despite the clear opposition the Obama administration and apparent ambivalence on the part of the right-wing government in Israel, neoconservative hawks here have set their sights on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad who they hope will be the next domino to fall victim to what the so-called "Arab Spring." In a much-noted op-ed published Saturday by …
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Is there a Shia crescent threatening the stability of western Asia and northern Africa? Is there a historically coded Arab-Persian enmity driving the international politics of the region? Does it date back centuries, and is it now viewed as a battle for regional supremacy? If we are to believe the media comments on the latest …
Continue reading “The Myth of a Shia-Sunni/Persian-Arab Confrontation”
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki insisted today that Iraq has no need of continued U.S. presence after 2011. Nevertheless, at least eight Iraqis were killed and six more were wounded in light violence. Meanwhile, Iraqi refugees who have returned to unacceptable conditions are again leaving the country.
At least two Iraqis were killed and 23 more were wounded in various attacks. A suspected Iranian suicide bomber was also killed. Meanwhile, Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders is criticizing Iraqi security forces for perpetrating unreported attacks on journalists. Also, the United States is proposing to sell Iraq $4.2 billion in weapons and aircraft.
At least one Iraqi was killed and eight more were wounded in light violence. Meanwhile, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari announced that full diplomatic ties with Syria will be resumed. Also, for the first time since the invasion of Iraq, more contractors have died in the country than have U.S. troops.
Thanks to Eid al-Fitr observances, violence seemingly took a holiday. Only four Iraqis were reported killed over the last pair of days. Another 12 were wounded.
Today’s attacks unsurprisingly targeted Awakening Council (Sahwa), security personnel and even a gold merchant as gunmen continue to stalk Iraq’s politically valuable targets. At least five Iraqis were killed and 29 more were wounded across the country. Meanwhile, the Justice Ministry released 198 inmates, mostly in Baghdad and Basra, over a lack of evidence against them.
The Canadian government has quietly been conducting an international criminal probe of the actions of Syrian and U.S. authorities in the case of Maher Arar, the Canadian who was arrested in 2002 by U.S. officials and then rendered to a Syrian jail where he was held incommunicado and tortured for 10 months before being released …
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RAMALLAH — Iran and Israel appear to be spoiling for a fight, going by recent belligerent statements emanating from several regional capitals. Military movement on the ground is also lending credence to the idea that the mutual loathing and major ideological differences between the two countries could lead to a vortex of violence capable of …
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The only city to report casualties, so far, today was Mosul, which saw one Iraqi death. Four other Iraqis were wounded there as well. Meanwhile, Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi traveled to Damascus to help mend relations that were damaged when Baghdad blamed Syria for enabling deadly bombings last year. At the same time, Iraq has also improved relations with Kuwait by appointing its first ambassador in 20 years.
