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Manufacturing Heresy: How the Mildest Muslim Liberalism is Turned into a Capital Punishment Offense

Nageeb Kashgari is a young man in a lot of trouble… Continue reading

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Rethinking U.S. Strategy in Afghanistan

As U.S. military operations in Afghanistan drag on inconclusively, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the Taliban insurgency is gaining ground… Continue reading

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From Asharq Al-Awsat: Libya’s new Intelligence Chief, Salem al-Hassi

Asharq Al-Awsat conducted a lengthy telephone interview with Al-Hassi from Tripoli… Continue reading

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Crisis in US-Israel Relations over Nuclear Talks with Iran

In the last 24 hours, the approach of international talks with Iran on its nuclear program has escalated already high tensions over the issue between the Obama administration and the Israeli government… Continue reading

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From Magharebia: Mauritanian President Rates Sahel Security

The security vacuum in northern Mali endangers the entire Sahel region, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz warns… Continue reading

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Demography is Destiny in Syria

Among the second wave of Arab Spring uprisings that followed Tunisia, Syria was the most spectacular “out of the blue” that suddenly arose in the face of the media and analytic community… Continue reading

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Good-Bye, Middle East! Quietly, Liberals and Minorities are Fleeing

I wonder how much higher are the number of visa applications from Egypt, Tunisia, and Turkey to North America, Europe, and Australia… Continue reading

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The Pragmatics of Lebanon’s Politics

Lebanese society has had a remarkable ability to overcome deep-rooted sectarian and religious divides that could readily have imploded less problematic countries… Continue reading

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What to Do About Syria

There is a strong case that can be made for doing nothing about the Syrian civil war, but a stronger case can be made for doing something… Continue reading

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Iran needs to attack Israel by 2014

A number of conservative news websites in Iran published an article by blogger Ali-Reza Forghani discussing the rationale behind an attack on Israel from the point of view of Islamic religious law, based on interpretations of the term “jihad” in Islam and the thought of Ayatollah Khomeini… Continue reading

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Will Turkey Be Able to Join the West in Confronting Iran?

The international sanctions against Iran, and most recently the decision of the EU countries to stop importing oil from Iran, are ultimately going to have a major impact on Turkey… Continue reading

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Arab Liberals Lament: Here’s How the Muslim Brotherhood is Fooling the West

Since we can’t get good coverage of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood in the Western media, it’s necessary to turn to the Islamists’ intended victims — Arab liberals — to get a better picture… Continue reading

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A House Divided Against Itself: The Deteriorating State of Media Freedom in Turkey

Most international attention has focused on the more than 100 journalists who are now in jail in Turkey as a result of what they have written or said… Continue reading

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The World Media Goes Bonkers: An Israel-Attacks-Iran Case Study

For the second time in a few months we have seen a crazy global Israel-About-to-Attack-Iran Story… Continue reading

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Kastelorizo – Mediterranean Flashpoint?

That Athens controls this wisp of land implies it could claim an exclusive economic zone in the Mediterranean Sea that reduces the Turkish EEZ to a fraction of what it would be were the island under Ankara’s control… Continue reading

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Iran and the uprisings in the Arab world: Islamic Awakening and Youths

An international conference titled Islamic Awakening and Youths convened in Tehran last week… Continue reading

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Egypt: When the Moderates are Radicals You’re in Trouble

The Middle East is so strange in Western terms, so different, and having its own unique history and institutions that unless you are really aware of those differences please pick something else to be an expert on… Continue reading

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Response to Ron Paul: Did U.S. Policy Make Today’s Islamist Iran Hate America?

Presidential candidate Ron Paul has said repeatedly that Iranians hate America because of its role in the 1953 coup overthrowing Prime Minister Muhammad Mossadegh… Continue reading

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Ankara and Baghdad: A Parting of Ways?

Until now, Turkey’s presence in Iraq has generally been encouraged by all major Iraqi groups… Continue reading

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Why We Should End Our Relationship With Pakistan

As Pakistanis burned American flags and the Washington Post wrote of “a new normal” in US-Pakistani relations earlier this month, it looked like the beginning of the end of five decades of friendly alliance between the two countries… Continue reading

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Assad contains Syrian uprising for now, with help of Russia, Iran and Hizballah

Ten months after the Syrian people launched an uprising against its ruler, Bashar Assad has recovered the bulk of his army’s support and his grip on most parts of the country… Continue reading

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Prison for Journalists: Wave of Journalists’ Arrests in Iran

Iranian reformist opposition and human rights sources have reported a wave of arrests of journalists and social media activists… Continue reading

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Why Syria’s Regime is Surviving a Revolution

Despite what is now the longest-running revolution in Middle Eastern history, the Syrian regime will probably be in power on December 31, 2012… Continue reading

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How Much Security Will NATO’s Missile Defense Shield Provide for Turkey?

By agreeing to deploy the Army Navy Transportable Radar Surveillance System (AN/TPY-2) on Turkish soil, the United States and Turkey have concluded by far the strategically most significant agreement in many years… Continue reading

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Saudi Air Force to Outnumber, Outclass and Outgun Israel’s Advanced US Jet Fleet

With its latest acquisitions from Washington and Europe, the Saudi Air Force will have more fighter-bombers of more advanced models that the Israeli Air Force… Continue reading