Posted on Mon, June 27, 2011 at 22:00 pm CEST
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Seinfeld’s Advice for Obama Administration Policy: Do the Opposite

Just your normal Middle East policy day in which every instinct the Obama administration has is wrong… Continue reading

Topics: Al-Qaeda • Islamism • Libya War • Taliban • U.S. Middle East Policy 
Posted on Sun, June 12, 2011 at 22:27 pm CEST
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Is the Battle of Jisr a-Shughour the tipping-point of the uprising against Bashar Assad?

It took Syrian president six days to send troops and tanks to punish the small northern town of Jisr a-Shughour near the Turkish border… Continue reading

Topics: Muslim Brotherhood • Shia Islam • Sunni Islam • Syria • Syrian Revolution • Turkey 
Posted on Fri, June 10, 2011 at 02:05 am CEST
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Moscow opposes Western anti-Syrian motions because of Tripoli bombing

Russia is opposed to any UN Security Council resolution on Syria,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich told journalists… Continue reading

Topics: Britain • France • Libya War • NATO • Russian Federation • Syria 
Posted on Thu, June 9, 2011 at 01:00 am CEST
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Whither Turkey-U.S. Arms Sales?

Turkey’s recent decision to spend billions of dollars buying U.S.-made helicopters underscores the continuing significance of… Continue reading

Topics: Europe • NATO • Turkey • U.S. Middle East Policy 
Posted on Thu, June 2, 2011 at 00:29 am CEST
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Syria: Are all dictators created equal?

The sharp dichotomy in America’s approach to bad guys is not merely intellectually inconsistent, it is muddled thinking… Continue reading

Topics: Arab Spring • Democracy • Human Rights • International Law • Libya War • Syria • Syrian Revolution • U.S. Middle East Policy 
Posted on Fri, May 6, 2011 at 01:51 am CEST
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U.S. Won’t Support Any Palestinian Fatah-Hamas Gov’t Unless Hamas Reforms

The U.S. won’t support any Fatah-Hamas government that includes Hamas unless the Islamist Jihadi group reforms… Continue reading

Topics: Hamas • Israeli–Palestinian Conflict • Italy • Palestinian Authority • U.S. Middle East Policy 
Posted on Sat, April 30, 2011 at 21:06 pm CEST
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WikiLeaks: Cables Portray Hamid Karzai as Weak and Corrupt

Diplomats describe Afghan president as weak, indecisive, paranoid and beholden to criminals to maintain power… Continue reading

Topics: Afghanistan • Britain • Taliban • WikiLeaks 
Posted on Mon, April 25, 2011 at 14:21 pm CEST
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The Plan in Libya (in 100 words)

Here’s what’s happening now in Libya… Continue reading

Topics: Libya War • NATO • United Nations 
Posted on Sun, April 24, 2011 at 23:55 pm CEST
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The Potential Demise of the CFE Treaty: A Major Concern for Turkey

Moscow’s decision to “suspend” its compliance with the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty since… Continue reading

Topics: NATO • OSCE • Russian Federation • Turkey 
Posted on Fri, April 22, 2011 at 21:03 pm CEST
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The Nominations of Candidates for the June General Election: A Choice Between Status Quo and Renewal

The ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) choice of candidates to the general election in June reflect a desire to entrench the power base… Continue reading

Topics: Democracy • Ergenekon • Kurdish People • Turkey 
Posted on Fri, April 15, 2011 at 23:30 pm CEST
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The Mobile Phone Dealer Explains Qadhafi-Zionist Witchcraft

An Australian reporter writes the following from Libya… Continue reading

Topics: Anti-Zionism • Libya War • The Middle East 
Posted on Fri, April 15, 2011 at 17:31 pm CEST
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Libya is A Brave Face on a Farce

In what may become a symbolic photo of the current Libyan intervention, Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi was shown on… Continue reading

Topics: Europe • Libya War • NATO • Qatar • U.S. Middle East Policy 
Posted on Wed, April 13, 2011 at 17:15 pm CEST
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Reading Ahmadinejad in Riga

There’s nothing like having to explain a complex subject to people to improve one’s own understanding of the issues… Continue reading

Topics: Arab-Israeli Conflict • Communism • Egypt • Europe • Iran • Islamism • Latvia • Russian Federation • The Middle East • U.S. Middle East Policy 
Posted on Mon, April 11, 2011 at 16:58 pm CEST
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NATO’s Mideast Policy: Kitchen Demo

I’m a big fan of Western civilzation. I like the idea of freedom. I’d like to think that NATO’s Mideast policy was… Continue reading

Topics: Islamism • NATO • Satire • The Middle East 
Posted on Tue, April 5, 2011 at 22:36 pm CEST
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WikiLeaks: Iran Undermining U.S. Efforts in Afghanistan and Training Taliban Militants

Iran is financing a range of Afghan religious and political leaders, grooming Afghan religious scholars, training Taliban militants and… Continue reading

Topics: Afghanistan • Iran • Taliban • U.S. Middle East Policy • WikiLeaks 
Posted on Mon, April 4, 2011 at 22:39 pm CEST
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WikiLeaks: Afghan and U.S. Contempt for British Military

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Helmand governor and US commander criticise UK failure to impose security and engage with Afghans… Continue reading

Topics: Afghanistan • Britain • Counter-terrorism • Taliban • U.S. Middle East Policy • WikiLeaks 
Posted on Thu, March 31, 2011 at 22:44 pm CEST
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WikiLeaks: Peace Negotiations Only Option for Afghanistan?

The remarkably moderate private views of a group of former Taliban regime officials are revealed in detail by the US embassy cables… Continue reading

Topics: Afghanistan • Taliban • U.S. Middle East Policy • WikiLeaks 
Posted on Thu, March 31, 2011 at 15:46 pm CEST
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WikiLeaks: Karzai Family Panic after Afghan Presidential Elections

Dispatches show anxiety of Hamid Karzai’s family and supporters, and US doubts about president’s volatility… Continue reading

Topics: Afghanistan • U.S. Middle East Policy • WikiLeaks 
Posted on Thu, March 31, 2011 at 01:13 am CEST
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WikiLeaks: Germany Protests U.S. Military Docking Millions from Afghan Army Fund

The US military has been charging its allies a 15% handling fee on hundreds of millions of dollars being raised internationally to… Continue reading

Topics: Afghanistan • Germany • United States of America • WikiLeaks 
Posted on Wed, March 30, 2011 at 19:19 pm CEST
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They Have a Name for Bombing Libya

After the West shamefully ignored the brutal crushing of the democracy uprisings in Iran we now have the bizarre… Continue reading

Topics: Arab Spring • Europe • Libya War • NATO • Satire • The Middle East • U.S. Middle East Policy 
Posted on Tue, March 29, 2011 at 18:01 pm CEST
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Obama’s Libyan Strategy: Recipe for a Deeper, Lengthier U.S. Military Role

In his Libya address to Americans early Tuesday, March 29, President Barack Obama failed to resolve the inner contradictions in… Continue reading

Topics: Arab Spring • Britain • France • Libya War • U.S. Middle East Policy 
Posted on Tue, March 29, 2011 at 00:21 am CEST
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The Intervention in Libya: A Feel-Good Mirage

The Western intervention in Libya is the kind of thing that makes governments feel good and look good… Continue reading

Topics: Arab Spring • Libya War • NATO • U.S. Middle East Policy • United Nations 
Posted on Sun, March 27, 2011 at 14:50 pm CEST
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Turkey: Less Democracy But An Alternative

For several years I’ve been telling you that under its current Islamist regime, Turkey has become less and less of a democratic state… Continue reading

Topics: Democracy • Human Rights • Islamism • Turkey 
Posted on Sun, March 27, 2011 at 13:45 pm CEST
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Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu: “We Need to Hinder the Despotic Ambitions of AKP”

In this exclusive interview for Turkish Policy Quarterly, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu outlines his views and his Party’s position on the pressing foreign policy choices Turkey faces… Continue reading

Topics: Anti-Americanism • Arab Spring • Arab-Israeli Conflict • Cyprus • Islamism • NATO • The Middle East • Turkey 
Posted on Sun, March 27, 2011 at 01:12 am CET
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Turkey’s Regional Leadership in the Middle East: Principle or Realpolitik?

In stark contrast to its support for the protest movements in Egypt and Tunisia, Turkey has abstained from taking a principled, democratic stand… Continue reading

Topics: Democracy • Egyptian Revolution • Islamism • Jasmine Revolution • Libya War • The Middle East • Turkey